Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | OCTOBER 28, 2024 Ian Walsh, who was hired as Bloomfield aerospace manufacturer Kaman's chief executive officer in 2020 and helped orchestrate the company's sale this year to a private equity firm, was replaced as CEO in October, and so were his top lieutenants. The Right Fit Private equity deals bring operational, other changes for CT manufacturers By Harriet Jones hjones@hartfordbusiness.com H igh-profile private equity deals in Connecticut — most notably for Kaman Corp. in April of this year, and Barnes Group just a few weeks ago — have headlined what is becoming a major trend in the state's manufacturing industry. And Connecticut is following a global movement. New York-based investment firm Jahani and Associates recently reported that private equity firms put around $262 billion into manufacturing companies between 2020 and 2024. But while it has become a valuable source of liquidity for high-cost industries, taking on private equity can mean significant change for companies, whether they were previously closely held — often by generations of the same family — or publicly traded. For instance, in October, Nashville, Tennes- see-based Arcline Investment Management quietly installed a new leadership team at Bloomfield aerospace manufacturer Kaman, which it acquired in a $1.8 billion deal just a few months prior. Kaman now has a new CEO, chief financial officer, and other C-suite executives who previously led another Arcline-owned manufacturer. Whitcraft, the long-established East- ford-based aerospace components manufac- turer, was bought in 2017 by Greenbriar Equity Group. Then in 2022, the company's owner merged it with another Connecticut supply chain company, Manchester's Paradigm Precision, which had been owned by Carlyle Group since 2013. The resulting company was renamed Pursuit Aerospace. Before announcing its pending $3.6 billion acquisition by Apollo Management, Barnes After being acquired by private equity firm, Kaman quietly has new leadership team installed By Greg Bordonaro gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com B loomfield-based aerospace manufac- turer Kaman Corp., which was acquired by a private equity firm in April, quietly has a new senior leadership team. Ian Walsh, who was hired as Kaman's CEO in 2020 and helped orchestrate the company's sale to Arcline Investment Management, is out, and so are some of his top lieutenants. They were replaced this month by a senior executive team that most recently led Rhode Island aerospace company Quantic Electronics, which is also owned by Arcline, a Nashville, Tennessee-based private equity firm that lists nearly two dozen companies in its portfolio. Kaman Corp. did not make an announce- ment about the leadership shake up. The company also didn't provide a comment about the leadership changes. Arcline's $1.8 billion purchase of Kaman was completed in April. In July, Walsh, who was still CEO at the time, told the Hartford Business Journal that the company had shed about a dozen corporate and administrative staff since the Arcline deal had been completed, and that additional corporate cuts were being finalized. However, he said Arcline's long-term plan was to grow the business by focusing on new technology development and exploring busi- ness opportunities with its other subsidiaries. Since that interview, Kaman has installed four new senior leaders, including: • President and CEO Ross Sealfon. According to his LinkedIn account, he started in his new role this month. Up until then, he was the CEO of Quantic Electronics, a manufacturer that has various business units that make radiofrequency and micro- wave technology for the aerospace, defense and other industries. • Chief Financial Officer Joe Salsbury. According to his LinkedIn account, he started in his new role this month. Previ- ously, he was Quantic's CFO. • Senior Vice President of Strategy and Acquisitions Diane Guite Rothkopf, who also started in October and came from Quantic, where she held a similar title, according to her LinkedIn account. • Chief Growth Officer Jessen Wehrwein. He started this month and previously held the same role at Quantic. Kaman also has a relatively new general counsel and corporate secretary, Danny Lee. According to his LinkedIn profile, he was formerly the senior vice president and general counsel of Textron Systems, before joining Kaman in May. HBJ FILE PHOTO Group had been under pressure from major investor Irenic Capital to explore a strategic review after what Irenic saw as "underwhelming" financial results. Chris DiPentima, CEO of the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, says operational change is to be

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