The Timken Company announced that the board of directors has named Richard G. Kyle as president and chief executive officer of the company, effective immediately. The board also elected John M. Timken, Jr. as chairman following the annual meeting of shareholders.

Kyle replaces James W. Griffith, who became president of Timken in 1999 and chief executive officer in 2002. Griffith is retiring from the company this year and did not stand for re-election as a director. He will remain with the company until June 30, to assist with the leadership transition and oversee the spinoff of TimkenSteel Corporation as an independent publicly traded entity.

John Timken's role as non-executive chairman of the board is a change to Timken corporate governance. Ward J. "Tim" Timken, Jr., who had been executive chairman since 2005, will serve as chairman, chief executive officer and president of the new TimkenSteel Corporation, and will remain a director on the Timken board.

Kyle began his career at Timken in 2006 as vice president of manufacturing and was named president of the aerospace and mobile industries segments in 2008. In 2012, Kyle was named group president, responsible for the aerospace and steel segments as well as the engineering and technology organization. He was named chief operating officer of the company in September 2013, and has been a director since November 2013.

John Timken is a private investor and entrepreneur and has participated in a number of ventures in a variety of industries. He joined the board in 1986 and has played a major role in the company's strategic drive to add product lines that complement its bearing product portfolio, including its acquisition of The Torrington Company in 2003.

Tim Timken began his career in 1992 in the company's steel business. He was elected to the board in 2002, and served as vice chairman and president of the steel business prior to being named chairman of the company in 2005.

Annual Meeting Results
In other matters of business conducted at today's annual meeting, the company also announced that shareholders elected the following directors to new one-year terms:

Phillip R. Cox
Diane C. Creel
Richard G. Kyle
John A. Luke, Jr.
Christopher L. Mapes
Joseph W. Ralston
John P. Reilly
Frank C. Sullivan
John M. Timken, Jr.
Ward J. Timken, Jr.
Jacqueline F. Woods

Shareholders also supported the company's 2013 "Say-on-Pay" vote, ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditor, and voted against a shareholder proposal requiring that the chair be an independent member of the board.