MSA Safety appoints COO Steve Blanco as CEO effective May 10th

MSA Safety has elected Steve Blanco as CEO, effective May 10, which follows the company’s annual meeting of shareholders. The Board has also elected Blanco as a director of the company, effective immediately. Blanco currently serves as MSA‘s President and COO. His election is part of a planned management succession and coincides with a decision by MSA Chairman and CEO Nish Vartanian to inform the Board of Directors that he intends to retire as CEO in May of this year. Blanco joined MSA in 2012 as VP of Global Operational Excellence. In 2017, he was named President of MSA Americas, responsible for the company’s business in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Vartanian intends to continue his service on the MSA Board. Prior to joining MSA, Blanco worked for Eaton Corporation, a global and diversified power management company. Prior to that, he worked for Ford Motor Company and Visteon, serving in a variety of engineering, plant management and operations roles.