AIA Corporation, Neenah, Wis., announced yesterday that the company’s president and CEO, David Woods, has decided to retire as an officer and director. The company has launched a search process to identify a successor, but Woods has agreed to remain in his positions until the company identifies his successor—a process the company expects will take between three and six months. Woods’ decision to retire will bring to a close a career of nearly 14 years at AIA Corporation.
“David Woods has been a very strong leader, only the third CEO in the company’s great, 36-year history, and one who has managed the company through challenging times and market transitions,” said Tom Lehr, chief operating officer and executive vice president for AIA Corporation. “The company is grateful for his innumerable contributions and his distinguished tenure within the promotional products industry over the last 25 years.”
Woods joined AIA Corporation in 2003, when it was called Adventures in Advertising and was based in Quincy, Mass. During his time as CEO, he advanced the company in many ways, including:
- Doubling system-wide sales from $90 million to more than $170 million
- Establishing and drove a strategy to strengthen the company financially, leading to a record level of profitability in 2015
- Relocating the company from Massachusetts to Wisconsin
- Acquiring promotional product distributor Flagship Promotional Services in May 2011
- Expanding the company’s investments in technology, leading to the launch in 2016 of AIA Corporation’s transaction and marketing platform
- Expanding AIA Corporation’s customer base to include several hundred of the country’s leading promotional products distributors
- Leading the company through its August 2013 acquisition by McNally Capital, a family office private investor that has invested heavily in the company’s continued growth
- Expanding AIA Corporation’s reputation among the most highly respected providers of distributor services, with the company consistently ranking in the top 10 as measured by system-wide sales
“I’ve been privileged to lead one of the industry’s greatest companies,” Woods said. “After almost 14 years as CEO, 25 years in the promotional products industry and 50 years of professional accomplishment and dedication, the time is right to transfer leadership of AIA to a new generation. I look forward to working closely with the board of directors to find my successor and then to shift to a series of family and personal projects I’ve wanted to begin.”
The AIA Corporation board of directors, with the help of an executive search firm, is managing a process to identify Woods’ successor, and is considering leading candidates from inside and outside of the promotional products industry.
For more information on AIA Corporation, visit www.aiacommunity.com. Also, check out our Q&A with Woods here.
