Ronald D. Brown
Committee Chairperson
Ron Brown joined the A. O. Smith Board of Directors in 2001. He currently serves as chairperson of the Personnel & Compensation Committee and as a member of the Nominating & Governance Committee.
Mr. Brown served as interim president and chief executive officer of Cincinnati Incorporated, a privately held U.S.-based machine tool manufacturer, from July 2020 to December 2020. He also served as interim chief executive officer of LSI Industries Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of lighting and graphics from April 2018 to October 2018. Mr. Brown joined The Armor Group Inc. in 2013 as chief operating officer and served from March 2017 to April 2018 as vice chairman. The Armor Group is a certified woman-owned corporation which manufactures equipment and products for a variety of industrial markets. Mr. Brown was chairman and chief executive officer of Milacron Inc., from 2001 to 2008. Milacron is a supplier of plastic processing and metalworking fluid technologies.
Mr. Brown serves on the board of LSI Industries Inc., and he also served on the Board of Zep Inc. from 2010 until it was acquired by New Mountain Capital in 2015. In addition, Mr. Brown was appointed by then-Governor Kasich to the University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees in 2013 and elected chairman in 2019.