The Timken Company named Christopher A. Coughlin and Richard G. Kyle to the newly created positions of group presidents.


In these roles, Coughlin and Kyle will be responsible for all activities related to the company's four business segments.

In making the announcement, James W. Griffith, president and CEO for Timken, explained that effective Sept. 1, Coughlin assumes leadership of the company's Mobile and Process Industries segments, while Kyle takes the helm of the Aerospace and Steel segments.

Each also will hold corporate-wide responsibilities, with quality assurance and advancement activities reporting to Coughlin and Kyle overseeing the enterprise's innovation, engineering and technology efforts. They will continue to report to Griffith.

The company also announced that Salvatore J. Miraglia, president of the Steel Business, intends to retire at the end of the year, after more than 40 years of service with the company.

"The company's performance in recent years demonstrates the potential of our strategy to grow in markets where our knowledge allows us to create unique value for our customers," said Griffith. "The new roles position Rich and Chris to accelerate the growth of the company and to ensure that we continue to develop the capabilities that fuel this success."

Coughlin joined Timken in 1984 in the company's steel operations, working on the original Faircrest Steel Plant project. He subsequently served as business development manager and held management positions in the company's European headquarters in Colmar, France. Since 2010, he has been president of Process Industries and Supply Chain. He holds a bachelor's degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a master's degree in business administration from Case Western Reserve University.

Kyle started his career at Timken in 2006 as vice president of manufacturing for the company's former Industrial Group. Subsequently, he was promoted to president of Mobile Industries, where he drove the transformation of the segment as well as managed global manufacturing operations. In 2010, Kyle's role was expanded to include the Aerospace and Defense segment, the position he held at the time of this appointment. Prior to joining Timken, he held a variety of management positions with Cooper Industries and then was vice president of operations for a division of Hubbell Inc. until 2006. Kyle received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a master's degree in management from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Miraglia joined Timken in 1972 as a metallurgist and subsequently progressed through a variety of roles in research and purchasing. During his tenure, he held the positions of director of manufacturing in Europe, group vice president of industrial and super precision bearings in North America, and senior vice president of technology. He was named to his current position of president of the Steel group in 2005.