EXHIBIT 99.1
ABM ANNOUNCES STRATEGIC RE-POSITIONING AND KEY ADDITION TO COMPANY LEADERSHIP
— James Lusk to Head New Shared Services Center, Will Succeed George Sundby as CFO at Year-End —
— Relocating Business Units to Gain Operating Efficiencies —
— Executive Headquarters to Locate in New York in 2008 —
SAN FRANCISCO — March 12, 2007 — ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE: ABM), a leading facility
services contractor in the United States, today announced a series of operational and leadership
initiatives reinforcing
the Company’s commitment to increasing shareholder value and establishing a
platform supporting significant long-term growth.
Central to the initiatives is the establishment of a Shared Services center consolidating certain
of
the Company’s back office functions in Houston, Texas. By integrating support functions, the
new Shared Services unit will increase operating efficiencies and enhance
the Company’s competitive
position within the industry. It also represents an extension of ABM’s ongoing strategy to invest
in its technology infrastructure.
James Lusk, an executive with experience directing implementation of a Shared Services unit at
other companies, is joining ABM this month as Executive Vice President. Initially, Mr. Lusk will
head the Shared Services implementation and effective
December 31, 2007, he will succeed George B.
Sundby as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
In addition:
the Company will locate its ABM Janitorial headquarters in Houston; its other business
units will be concentrated in southern California; and, in 2008, its executive headquarters will
locate in New York City.
“ABM is at an exciting juncture,” said ABM President and Chief Executive Officer Henrik Slipsager.
“Building on our current momentum to position
the Company to best meet both market dynamics and
customer-driven demands, we are re-positioning
the Company for competitiveness and expansion. By
consolidating back office functions in a Shared Services center in Houston, concentrating our
non-Janitorial operational units in southern California, and re-tooling our management organization
— including locating our executive headquarters in New York closer to many of our major customers
— we will gain operating efficiencies and be able to capitalize on growth opportunities. These
actions are not expected to have a material impact on previously issued earnings guidance.
“Jim Lusk brings a wealth of experience to help us achieve these new initiatives. He is a
recognized thought leader in the area of corporate Shared Services and has
implemented these types of programs successfully for other companies. Given ABM’s evolution, Jim
is exactly the type of executive we’ll need to succeed in the next phase of our growth — a
strategic adviser to the CEO and a partner to the business unit management.
“I’d like to thank George Sundby for his many contributions to ABM. George has played a
substantial role in establishing ABM as an industry leader. In particular, I’d like to recognize
his efforts in enhancing our finance and control environment and leading the Company’s response to
Sarbanes-Oxley. We appreciate his willingness to continue serving the Company through the end of
the year and his commitment to ensure a smooth transition. Understanding that he’s not prepared to
relocate at this point, we wish George much success in his future endeavors.”
Lusk Named EVP; Will Succeed Sundby as CFO at Year-End
Mr. Lusk, most recently served as Avaya’s Vice President, Business Services & Chief Operating
Officer for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. He is a member of the Board of Directors of
Glowpoint, Inc., serving on the Audit and Compensation Committees.
Among his prior positions, Mr. Lusk served as President, Business Services and acting Chief
Financial Officer at Lucent Technologies. During his tenure there, Mr. Lusk created and launched
Lucent Financial Services, which provided high volume/low cost accounting and financial transaction
processing to Lucent. In conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Mr. Lusk also coauthored the
book “Shared Services — Adding Value to the Business Units.”
He has also served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of
Bioscrip/MIM Corporation, and has held positions at AT&T Corporation, Amerada Hess, Children’s
Hospital and Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. Mr. Lusk holds an MBA in Finance from Seton Hall
University and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is
a CPA and was inducted into the AICPA Business and Industry Leadership Hall of Fame in 1999.
Effective
December 31, 2007, Mr. Lusk will succeed George B. Sundby as ABM’s Executive Vice
President & Chief Financial Officer.
ABM Janitorial to Houston, ABM Facility Services to Southern California
As part of the new initiative,
the Company will locate the headquarters of its ABM Janitorial
business unit from San Francisco to Houston in 2008.
The Company will retain the current regional
locations of its Janitorial business, including the Northern California region based in San
Francisco.
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The Company’s other business units — including AMPCO Parking, ABM Security Services, ABM Facility
Services, ABM Engineering and Amtech Lighting Services — will be headquartered in southern
California. As with Janitorial,
the Company will retain the current regional locations of those
business units.
Executive Headquarters to New York
In 2008,
the Company’s will begin a multi-phase relocation of its Executive Headquarters from San
Francisco to existing offices in New York.
The Company’s Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial
Officer and corporate management team will be located in New York. The move will provide improved
access to a significant portion of
the Company’s customer base, the financial markets, and to
potential future international opportunities. This location will also enable
the Company to more
easily recruit executive talent.
About ABM Industries
ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM) is among the largest facility services contractors listed on
the New York Stock Exchange. With fiscal 2006 revenues in excess of $2.7 billion and more than
75,000 employees, ABM provides janitorial, parking, security, engineering and lighting services for
thousands of commercial, industrial, institutional and retail facilities in hundreds of cities
across the United States and British Columbia, Canada. The ABM Family of Services includes ABM
Janitorial; Ampco System Parking; ABM Security Services; ABM Facility Services; ABM Engineering;
and Amtech Lighting Services.
Cautionary Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
This
press release contains forward-looking statements that set
forth management’s anticipated results based on management’s plans and
assumptions. Any number of factors could cause
the Company’s actual
results to differ materially from those anticipated. These risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to: (1) a change in the
frequency or severity of claims against
the Company, a deterioration
in claims management, the cancellation or non-renewal of
the Company’s
primary insurance policies or a change in our customers’ insurance
needs; (2) a change in actuarial analysis that causes an unanticipated
change in insurance reserves; (3) inadequate technology systems that
cannot support the growth of the business; (4) acquisition activity
slows or is unsuccessful; (5) labor disputes that lead to a loss of
sales or expense variations; (6) a decline in commercial office
building occupancy and rental rates lowers sales and profitability;
(7) financial difficulties or bankruptcy of a major customer; (8) the
loss of long-term customers; (9) intense competition that lowers
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revenue or reduces margins; (10) an increase in costs that
the Company
cannot pass on to customers; (11) natural disasters or acts of
terrorism that disrupt
the Company in providing services; and (12)
significant accounting and other control costs that reduce the
Company’s profitability. Additional information regarding these and
other risks and uncertainties
the Company faces is contained in the
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other reports it files
from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
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Contact:
ABM Industries, Inc.
Henrik Slipsager (President & CEO)
(
415) 733-4000
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