Newell Rubbermaid Appoints Chuck Jones Chief Design and R&D Officer to Accelerate Innovation

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Newell Rubbermaid (NYSE:NWL) today announced the appointment of Charles L. “Chuck” Jones to the newly created position of Chief Design and Research & Development Officer to drive a step change in the company’s new product design and development capability.

“I am delighted Chuck will join my executive leadership team to create products that win with consumers through excellence in performance, design and innovation”

“I am delighted Chuck will join my executive leadership team to create products that win with consumers through excellence in performance, design and innovation,” said Michael Polk, Newell Rubbermaid’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Chuck is a global leader with a proven track record of breakthrough ideas who will strengthen our capability to make our brands really matter, a key thrust of our Growth Game Plan.”

“I was drawn to Newell Rubbermaid by its portfolio of iconic brands and the opportunity to help drive a more design-driven, insight-centric culture into the company’s DNA,” said Jones. “Newell Rubbermaid is known for products that help people get more out of life, and great new innovations will make our brands matter even more to our consumers and our retail partners.”

Jones has successfully built global design and development teams that deliver high-impact innovations, most recently at Masco Corp. and previously at Whirlpool Corp. Jones is the recipient of numerous international design awards and is one of a select number of global design leaders who has received the prestigious Smithsonian National Design Award. He was named a Master of Design by Fast Company magazine and has been elected to the Academy of Fellows of the World Technology Network and the Academy of Fellows of the International Design Society.

Jones, age 53, joins Newell Rubbermaid from Masco Corp., where as Chief Design Officer he built a global design team to support the company’s 29 operating businesses and launched new products with significant sales and margin contributions. Previously, as Vice President of Global Design for Whirlpool Corporation he created a multi-disciplined global design function that developed a succession of award-winning designs and market successes. Before that, as Group Manager of Design and Business Strategy for Xerox Corp., Jones established the first interaction design function and was an early proponent of integrating anthropology and human sciences into designing more functional and user-friendly document processors.

Jones graduated with honors from Purdue University with degrees in Industrial Design and Human Factors Engineering.

About Newell Rubbermaid

Newell Rubbermaid Inc., an S&P 500 company, is a global marketer of consumer and commercial products with 2011 sales of approximately $5.9 billion and a strong portfolio of leading brands, including Rubbermaid®, Sharpie®, Graco®, Calphalon®, Irwin®, Lenox®, Levolor®, Paper Mate®, Dymo®, Waterman®, Parker®, Goody®, Rubbermaid Commercial Products® and Aprica®.

This press release and additional information about Newell Rubbermaid are available on the company’s website, www.newellrubbermaid.com.

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