Great Dane CEO and President Bill Crown announced his intention to step away from his day-to-day activities as the company's president, while retaining the role of CEO. Effective Oct. 1, Dean Engelage, Great Dane's executive vice president of Sales and Strategic Planning, will succeed Crown as the company president.

Engelage's appointment is part of a managed executive transition which has been coordinated by Bill Crown and the Great Dane executive management team over the past year. Crown, who assumed the president position when Phillip Pines retired in 2010, will continue to be actively involved in the company as CEO going forward.

About Dean Engelage

Dean Engelage joined Great Dane in 2011 as executive vice president of Sales and Strategic Planning. In this role he has overall responsibility for Great Dane's sales and aftermarket initiatives, including business development, marketing and information technology. Dean also oversees the management of Johnson Truck Bodies, a Great Dane company.

Prior to Great Dane, Dean worked for American Airlines and General Dynamics in marketing, purchasing and finance, and most recently spent more than 16 years with Great Dane's parent company, CC Industries, in various management positions. Dean began his career with CC Industries in 1996 in the marketing department of Woodard, a Crown-owned furniture company, ultimately becoming president in 2004.

After Woodard was sold in 2008, Dean worked on the Johnson Truck Bodies and Trail King acquisitions and also managed the Crown's Asia operations. Today he retains an oversight role of the Crown's Asia operations in both the furniture and transportation industries.