Head of Albany International Retires

Joseph Morone, president and CEO of Albany International Corp. in Rochester. Photo: Albany International

Joseph Morone, president and CEO of Albany International Corp. in Rochester, will retire in 2018. Morone has led the organization for the past 11 years and has served on the company's board of directors for the past 21 years.

Albany International is one of 10 public companies headquartered in NH (along with two publicly-traded, NH-based banks). The company is comprised of two core businesses—Machine Clothing manufactures advanced textiles, including custom-designed fabrics and belts for paper production, nonwovens, and other process industries, while Albany Engineered Composites is a supplier of engineered composite parts for the aerospace industry. Albany International operates 22 plants in 10 countries and employs 4,400 people worldwide.

"This company and both businesses are in great shape, in the hands of strong management teams, and well positioned for the future," says Morone. "I look upon this transition with the same optimism and confidence in Albany’s future as I have shared with our employees and investors during my tenure, and will do my best to keep us focused, as always, on execution – on safety, quality, delivery, cost, and technology – throughout this process.”

The company’s board has launched a CEO search to consider candidates to succeed Morone, who will continue to serve as CEO until a replacement is hired. Morone will also remain on the board for an appropriate period of time to support the transition.

Erkie Kailbourne, chair of the board, says, “The entire Albany Board – including Dr. Morone – has been laying the groundwork for a successful transition for several years, and we share in his confidence that the company will enjoy an orderly, transparent handoff and succession, and will not miss a beat in the execution of our strategy. We have retained executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, Inc. to assist us in conducting a comprehensive, global search, and all signs point to a very strong slate of candidates. With Joe’s support throughout this process, we are confident that we will achieve a smooth transition for the benefit of all of our stakeholders: investors, employees, customers, suppliers and local communities.”