As of year end 2005, Norman Walker will step down after eight years as Chief Executive Officer and President of K'NEX. He will continue with the company in a consultancy role.
Joel Glickman, co-founder and inventor of K'NEX, will return to his previous role as Chief Executive Officer, while also maintaining his current position as Chairman of the Board. Glickman will once again be directly involved in new product innovation while also focusing on strategic direction.
Michael Araten, who joined the Company formally in May, and had been acting as a consultant for over a year prior, will be President and Chief Operating Officer, directly responsible for all daily operations of the Company. He previously spent 14 years at entrepreneurial companies both large and small, including Toll Brothers, Inc. and O'Neill Properties Group.
"I've enjoyed my time at K'NEX enormously," said Norman Walker. "It has been a great challenge, but the brand is now firmly established and there are other things I would like to do in my working life before I retire. I feel that now is a good time to hand back the baton to Joel, and I am pleased that I will be staying closely in touch with the company in my new role."
"Norman has done a great job for K'NEX in taking it to a higher level in an exceedingly competitive market place," added Joel Glickman. "He has been responsible for developing and successfully marketing award-winning toys and developing a team that will continue to move this company forward. We are very proud of the organization and systems that Norman and the rest of the executive team have built, and we respect his wish to step down to a less demanding position after such a long and distinguished career in the toy industry. We thank him for his many years of dedicated service."
Said Michael Araten, "I am very excited to be part of a tremendous brand. My previous experience focused on building houses and communities across the country; now I'll be dealing with construction on a whole new scale. My focus will be making certain that our team designs and delivers the best construction toys to children across the globe."
Bob Glickman, co-founder, will continue as Vice Chairman, Secretary of the Board, and will assist in legal, investor and other corporate matters, as well as being involved in setting strategic direction.
About K'NEX
Founded in 1992, K'NEX Industries was established to make and sell what has become one of the world's leading integrated construction systems for children. Winner of over 150 international awards and recognitions, K'NEX seeks to build young minds with its exciting product line and critically acclaimed K'NEX Education program. For more information, please visit www.knex.com.
© 2005 Business Wire
