KIK Consumer Products Appoints Michael Sload As CEO To Lead Company’s Continued Growth
Sload, previously KIK’s Group President, brings nearly three decades of consumer products leadership experience
Prior CEO Jared Knudson appointed Executive Chairman of Board of Directors
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA., July 13, 2022 – KIK Consumer Products (“KIK” or the “Company”), a global leader in pool, household cleaning, and automotive products, announced today that Michael Sload has been promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Sload previously served as KIK’s Group President, leading the Company’s operating units to record financial performance. Mr. Sload succeeds Jared Knudson, who will become Executive Chairman of KIK’s Board of Directors.
“Over the past few years, KIK has made exceptional progress as we have expanded our product portfolio, broadened our customer base, and significantly grown our revenues to drive profitability,” said Mr. Knudson, who was named CEO in 2018. “Michael’s wealth of relevant consumer products experience and demonstrated ability to drive sales growth and create value for our stakeholders make him ideally suited to lead KIK’s next chapter of successful growth.”
Since 2018, KIK has executed numerous organic and inorganic growth initiatives to become one of North America’s largest independent consumer products marketers and manufacturers. The Company has expanded in the high-value natural pool treatment category, integrated a large portfolio of acquisitions, divested its contract manufacturing business, and is closing in on the completion of its flagship, state-of-the-art pool products facility. With sales of approximately $2 billion, today KIK has a global team of more than 2,500 employees, operates a portfolio of over 20 leading brands, and manufactures its products at over 20 facilities across North America.
“I am delighted at the opportunity to lead KIK as CEO,” said Mr. Sload. “In recent years, KIK has successfully navigated a very dynamic environment, bringing consumers high-quality products while protecting our position with customers as a partner of choice. Moving ahead, our mission will not change. I look forward to working with our entire team as we continue building a leading consumer products company.”
Steve Silver, a member of KIK’s Board of Directors and Senior Managing Director at Centerbridge Partners, KIK’s lead investor since 2015, said: “We want to thank Jared for leading the highly successful revitalization of KIK and making the Company into the growing and profitable organization it is today. We are delighted that Jared will continue his involvement as Executive Chairman and believe that KIK is well-positioned for further success under Michael’s leadership as CEO.”
About Michael Sload
Mr. Sload is a consumer products global executive with more than 30 years of general management and marketing leadership. He joined KIK in 2019 as Auto President and was promoted to Group President in 2020, where he was responsible for leading KIK’s Pool, Household, and Automotive businesses and associated manufacturing organizations.
Previously, Mr. Sload spent 24 years at Colgate Palmolive where his last assignment was leading the company’s worldwide Personal Care business. Before then, he was responsible for Colgate’s businesses in the UK and Nordics and led all marketing in Latin America and the U.S. He began his career in consumer products at Nestle Food. Mr. Sload has also been Executive Vice President of Brand Marketing at Mastercard, with direct responsibility for brand strategy, advertising, digital marketing, insights and analytics, among other areas.
Mr. Sload received his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth where he has served on the MBA Advisory Board. He also has an undergraduate degree from Trinity College in Hartford, CT.
About KIK Consumer Products
Since 1993, KIK has successfully grown from a single-plant operator in store-branded (private label) bleach to the leading North American independent marketer and manufacturer in household cleaning products and a global leader in pool and spa treatment and automotive products, with brands including Bioguard™, Clorox Pool and Spa™ (under license), Prestone™, Spic and Span™, and Comet™. In entering these segments, KIK capitalized on an opportunity to leverage its core manufacturing and marketing competencies to drive scale in fragmented industries. KIK has transformed its businesses through a combination of organic growth initiatives and strategic add-on acquisitions and has continued to experience strong growth in all categories. For more information, visit www.kikcorp.com.
Media Contacts
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