Patterson Companies adds two new board members

March 19, 2014
Patterson Companies, Inc. announced that Neil A. Schrimsher, president and chief executive officer of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. and Sarena S. Lin, corporate vice president, strategy and business development, for Cargill, Inc., were elected to the company’s Board of Directors, increasing the board’s size to 10 members.

March 19, 2014

Patterson Companies, Inc. announced that Neil A. Schrimsher, president and chief executive officer of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. and Sarena S. Lin, corporate vice president, strategy and business development, for Cargill, Inc., were elected to the company’s Board of Directors, increasing the board’s size to 10 members.

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“We are delighted to have Neil and Sarena join Patterson’s Board of Directors,” said Scott P. Anderson, chairman and chief executive officer. “Both bring broad-based experience, further augmenting the diverse capabilities and strength of our board. We know that with Neil’s deep wholesale distribution and executive leadership experience, and Sarena’s vast global and strategic management expertise, our board will be an even greater resource for Patterson’s shareholders and management. We look forward to the contributions they will both make.”

Since fall 2011 Schrimsher has been president & chief executive officer of Cleveland-based Applied Industrial Technologies, one of North America’s largest industrial parts distributors. Previously Schrimsher was executive vice president of Cooper Industries, a global electrical products manufacturer, where he led multiple businesses in Cooper's Electrical Products Group and headed numerous domestic and international growth initiatives. Other experience includes senior leadership positions for Siemens Energy & Automation, part of Siemens AG, the global electronics and electrical engineering company. He began his career at General Electric Company and rose through a succession of positions in GE Lighting. Schrimsher holds an MBA from John Carroll University and a BS in Business Administration (Marketing) from the University of Tennessee.

Lin has been with global food producer Cargill for almost three years. Prior to joining Cargill, she was a principal at McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm, where she was the co-founder of the McKinsey Asia Center, a special initiative to support the company’s globalization efforts for Asian and Western clients. Before joining McKinsey, she held leadership positions with Procter & Gamble. Lin holds an MBA in Strategy and an MA in International Relations from Yale University. She received a BA in Computer Science from Harvard University.

Dividend Increase
The Board of Directors of Patterson Companies also today declared a 25 percent increase in the regular quarterly cash dividend to $0.20 per share, from the prior quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share. The dividend will be payable on April 25, 2014, to shareholders of record on April 11, 2014.

According to Anderson, “This dividend increase demonstrates our confidence in Patterson's continued ability to generate growing cash returns on our business investments and growth opportunities. Patterson has a strong commitment to delivering long-term value to our shareholders.”