Dick Farmer, chairman of the board of directors at Counselor Top 40 distributor Cintas Corporation, has announced his retirement from that position, effective immediately. Farmer, who founded Cintas in 1968, will remain on the board as chairman emeritus, while Robert Kohlhepp will assume the role of chairman. “There is no one who can surpass the standard of ethical and intellectual brilliance that Bob has brought to every position he has held in the company,” said Farmer, in a statement. “I am confident that he, along with my son, Chief Executive Officer Scott Farmer, will see our company to continued success, with our rich culture serving as the foundation of that success.”
Over the past 41 years, Dick Farmer has grown Cintas from a small uniform and towel supply business to the nation’s largest uniform company. A Nasdaq-100 company, Cintas’ sales approach $4 billion annually. The company, however, has not been insulated from the downturn in the economy. Cintas’ fiscal year that ended in May broke a 40-year streak of rising sales and profits that stretched back to its founding. Lately, though, the company’s stock price has recovered, rising more than 30% since July.
Kohlhepp, 66, a former Cintas vice chairman, first joined the company in 1967 as controller. In 1979, he was appointed executive vice president and in 1984 became president and COO. In 1995, he became CEO, the position he held until becoming vice chairman in 2003. Kohlhepp holds an MBA from Xavier University, where he was appointed chairman of the board of trustees in September. He also currently serves as director of Parker Hannifin Corporation in Cleveland.
Source: Wearables Style Issue 110
