When Joe Liotine was named Briggs & Stratton’s chief executive officer in August, he shared his hopes of guiding the company deeper into its electrification journey and accelerating its commercial growth.
Those hopes have ended abruptly after just five months as Liotine has “exited the company,” according to a statement issued Tuesday.
Liotine came to Briggs & Stratton after spending 18 years working as a Whirlpool executive.
Briggs & Stratton leadership did not provide a reason for Liotine’s departure, which was first reported by the Milwaukee Business Journal, but did say an interim CEO has already been put in place.
Kristina Cerniglia, senior vice president and chief financial officer, has been appointed interim CEO of Briggs & Stratton. She has been with the company for two years.
“Given her leadership acumen and in-depth knowledge of the company, she is ideally positioned to lead the business during this transition period,” according to Tuesday’s statement.
Before joining Briggs & Stratton, Cerniglia was senior vice president and chief financial officer of Hillenbrand Inc., a publicly listed global industrial manufacturing company with $3 billion in revenue, for eight years. She began her career at United Technologies and Stanley Black & Decker.
“In the last few years, we invested considerably in growth areas, including upgrading manufacturing facilities to increase capacity for our commercial electrification and Turf & Consumer Products business,” said Cerniglia. “We continue to expand our Vanguard commercial engine line to accelerate growth, and our energy storage business has the industry’s most powerful line of natural gas-powered air-cooled generators. I look forward to working with our long-serving leadership team to continue to drive the company’s success. We remain committed to providing our customers with the innovative, dependable products and services they rely on.”
