Winnebago Industries announced that it has appointed Bryan Hughes as Chief Financial Officer, effective May 15.
Hughes will report to President and CEO Michael Happe and will be based in the company’s Eden Prairie, Minn. office. Hughes will succeed Sarah Nielsen, who will remain with the company in Forest City to assist with a smooth transition.
Hughes joins Winnebago after more than 25 years in financial leadership roles, including the past 20 years at Ecolab, a global leader in water, hygiene, and energy technologies and services with 2016 net sales in excess of $13 billion, where he held multiple roles with increasing responsibility at the business unit and corporate levels throughout his tenure.
Most recently, Hughes was the senior VP and corporate controller, where he had global responsibility for the financial reporting and analysis, planning, forecasting, accounting and internal audit functions.
He was previously Ecolab’s VP of finance for the company’s global institutional business. Hughes began his career as a CPA with Ernst & Young and joined Ecolab in 1996, where he held various management positions in finance over the course of his career, including financial planning and analysis, commercial finance and decision support, and internal audit. Hughes received a bachelor’s degree in business and accounting from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.
“Bryan brings an exceptional track record of public company leadership, as well as strategic and financial expertise that will further enhance our leadership team as we continue to transform Winnebago Industries into a premier outdoor lifestyle company,” said President and CEO Michael Happe. “We are excited to welcome Bryan to our team as we build upon the strong foundation we have in place to enable Winnebago to compete effectively across the entire RV market. We look forward to benefitting from Bryan’s experience and strategic guidance as we work to take Winnebago to new levels of growth and profitability and deliver shareholder value going forward.”
Happe continued, “I also want to thank Sarah Nielsen for her many contributions to Winnebago Industries since joining the company more than a decade ago. Sarah has been an excellent ambassador for our brand and certainly instrumental in Winnebago’s operations, including her critical role in helping the company navigate a significant economic and industry recession. We are grateful that Sarah has agreed to help facilitate a seamless transition process for a short period after Bryan arrives.”
“This is an exciting time to be joining the Winnebago team,” Hughes said, “and I am honored to become part of the company’s rich, proud history and very strong brand. I look forward to contributing to the future growth of the company and to bringing my passion and varied experiences to the CFO role to help guide Winnebago in its evolution as a stronger, more profitable enterprise. I am excited to work with the entire team as we strive to deliver disciplined growth and value creation for our customers and shareholders.”