Photo | Courtesy of The L.S. Starrett Co.
Roger Amrol, president and CEO of L.S. Starrett
3 hours ago
After private equity buyout, fifth-generation leader exits L.S. Starrett Co. as new executive leadership team takes over
WBJ | FILE PHOTO
The L.S. Starrett Co. was founded in Athol in 1880.
After a March merger with a private equity firm, The L.S. Starrett Co. will be led by someone outside the Starrett family for the first time in its 145-year-old history.
The global tool manufacturer based in Athol named four new executive leaders, with fifth-generation leader Douglas Starrett stepping down as president and CEO after 48 years with the company.
L.S. Starrett named Roger Amrol, former president and CEO of Robert Bosch Tool Corp. North America, as its next CEO and president, replacing Douglas Starrett, whose great-great-grandfather Laroy Starrett founded the company in 1880.
Amrol is a graduate of Averett University in Virginia with an MBA and a bachelor’s degree from College of Charleston in South Carolina.
Douglas Starrett had led the company since 2001. L.S. Starrett has not yet responded to an inquiry from WBJ asking if he remains on the company’s board or with the business in any other capacity.
Amrol will be joined by three new executives at the company: Barry Laughlin as chief operating officer, Allen Look as global chief information officer, and Jon-Michael Raymond as chief revenue officer, according to a company press release issued Friday.
Laughlin most recently served as chief operating officer for Indiana-based lighting equipment manufacturer Group Dekko.
Look has previously served as chief information officers for North Carolina-based pumping equipment company Hayward Holdings, while Jon-Michael Raymond comes to L.S. Starrett from Wisconsin-based sorbent manufacturer FyterTech Nonwovens, where he served as global sales and marketing senior vice president.
The new executives will be based out of Starrett corporate headquarters in Athol. They will focus on continuous improvement, growth and innovation, according to the press release.
L.S. Starrett became privately-held again last year after a 37-year stint as a public company, following a merger with MiddleGround Capital, a Kentucky-based private equity firm founded in 2018 and investing in manufacturing and specialty distribution companies. L.S. Starrett had been traded on the New York Stock Exchange, with shareholders receiving $16.19 per share when the merger was finalized in June.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
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