Wabtec Names New Chairman and Company President

Wilmerding, Pa.-based Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation -- aka "Wabtec" -- reshuffled its management crew a bit this week.

On Tuesday, the rail and industrial supplier announced that Board of Directors Chairman William E. Kassling has stepped down and has been replaced by as chairman by company President and Chief Executive Officer -- now "Chairman and CEO" -- Albert J. Neupaver.

That move left Wabtec short one president, and so the company promptly retitled President and Chief Operating Officer Raymond T. Betler as its new "president and COO." Going forward, Betler will be responsible for Wabtec's day-to-day operations, including finance, HR, corporate development, and legal.

Going even farther forward, Betler is being groomed for the top job. Commenting on his colleague's promotion, Neupaver called "Ray's promotion to president and COO ... an important step in our ongoing succession planning process."

In other news, Wabtec on Tuesday announced a 2-for-1 stock split and increased its per-share dividend by 60%, to $0.04 per share. The first issuance of the new dividend will become payable on Aug. 30, after the stock split has been effected.

The article Wabtec Names New Chairman and Company President originally appeared on Fool.com.

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