BrandSafway CEO to leave company

BrandSafway’s CEO, Bill Hayes, has announced he will be leaving after spending 8 years with the company. Hayes will join a non-competing company based in Chicago; details have yet to been announced. Hayes will stay on board through June, and BrandSafway has a plan in place to search internally and externally for a new CEO.

Effective April 15, John Krenicki, the company’s chairman, became executive chairman, and will step into an interim CEO position on June 30 shall Hayes’ successor have not yet been found. Hayes said BrandSafway will be able to bring in a “fresh CEO/CFO tandem,” both of whom will be based in BrandSafway’s Kennesaw, GA headquarters.

In a statement, Hayes said, “I want you to know my decision was obviously a very difficult one. I love our team, our business and all the exciting opportunities in front of us. Working with you has been a privilege and the highlight of professional career. However, this will work out to be best for me and my family personally, and for the company overall.”

Chicago is Hayes’ hometown, which he said will allow him, for the first time in his career, to lead a company headquartered where he lives. Hayes has been CEO of BrandSafway since Safway Group merged with Brand Energy & Infrastructure in 2017.