As part of his employment agreement as the president and chief executive officer at Winnebago, Michael Happe has the option to establish offices in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-area rather than relocating to the company’s headquarters in Forest City, Iowa, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday (Dec. 21)
The new CEO joins Winnebago officially on Jan. 18 after a 19-year stint at The Toro Company, which has its headquarters in the south Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. Forest City is a 135-mile drive south from Minneapolis' downtown.
“Happe is not required to relocate to Forest City and has been authorized by the Board to establish an office presence in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area,” according to the filing.
The company mentioned the expansion in a news release Monday (Dec. 21) to announce the board of directors’ approval of Happe, calling it a “corporate expansion,” but offering few details about the nature of that expansion.
The move is not expected to change day-to-day employment for the company’s 2,850 employees, according to the release.
The filing also outlined Happe’s compensation, which includes a base pay of $550,000 and a $330,000 signing bonus in addition to incentive bonus and stock options.
To read the employment agreement information, click here.
Company Adds Counsel
Winnebago made another addition to its team Tuesday (Dec. 21) adding Cory Nelson to the position of assistant general counsel and secretary.
Nelson received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Iowa and his juris doctor degree from Columbia Law School in New York.
Prior to joining Winnebago, Nelson worked at Sidley Austin in New York as an associate attorney.