8-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 6, 2020

COLUMBUS MCKINNON CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

New York

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)

Registrant's telephone number including area code: (716) 689-5400

_________________________________________________

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

On March 2, 2020, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Columbus McKinnon Corporation (the “Company”) appointed Ms. Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn to its Board.

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn, 60 years old, is the Chief Executive Officer and President of Claridad LLC, a digital and internet of things consulting company. Prior to her tenure at Claridad, Ms. Beliveau-Dunn worked for twenty-two years in a variety of management positions at Cisco Systems Inc., which included eleven years as Vice President and General Manager of Services. Prior to Cisco, Ms. Beliveau-Dunn ran business operations at Micronics Computers and the secure systems product lines for Wang Laboratories.

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn served as President of the Board of the IoT Talent Consortium, a membership-driven non-profit organization from 2016 through March 2018. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), a leading global water technology company, and Edison International (NYSE: EIX) and its subsidiary Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn will stand for election at the Company’s annual shareholder meeting on July 20, 2020. She will serve on the Compensation and Succession Committee, and the Corporate Governance and Nomination Committee. The Board has determined that Ms. Beliveau-Dunn satisfies the definition of “independent director”.

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn will participate in the Company’s standard outside director compensation program. Pursuant to this program, each member of the Board, who is not an employee of the Company, receives an annual retainer of $125,000, payable $65,000 in cash and the remainder in stock. In addition to the annual retainer, directors who are not employees of the Company receive 1,500 restricted stock units annually which vest over 3 years. The Chairman and Committee Chairs receive additional fees, which are not applicable to Ms. Beliveau-Dunn. Also, the directors receive reimbursement for the expenses they incur in attending all board and committee meetings.

On March 6, 2020, the Company issued a press release announcing the appointment of Ms. Beliveau-Dunn to the Board. A copy of the press release is filed with this Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1.

(d)  Exhibits.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Dated:  March 6, 2020

		Exhibit

EXHIBIT 99.1

News Release

205 Crosspoint Parkway

Buffalo, NY 14068

Immediate Release

Columbus McKinnon Appoints Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn to

Board of Directors

“Jeanne is a visionary technology executive with a demonstrated track record of success in strategy deployment, planning, business structure optimization, and product and service creation,” commented Richard H. Fleming, Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO. “As a leading voice on digitization, the internet of things and collaborative knowledge systems, we are confident that she will provide valuable perspectives as we advance Phase III of our Blueprint for Growth strategy to further evolve into an industrial technology company.”

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn has more than 30 years of experience as a technology executive and is a recognized transformational leader that has successfully created differentiated strategies for growth and market leadership. Since 2018, Ms. Beliveau-Dunn has been the chief executive officer and president of Claridad LLC, a digital and internet of things consulting company. Previously, she was at Cisco Systems Inc. for 22 years which included eleven years as Vice President and General Manager of Services. Prior to Cisco, Ms. Beliveau-Dunn ran business operations at Micronics Computers and the secure systems product lines for Wang Laboratories.

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn served as President of the Board of the IoT Talent Consortium, a membership-driven non-profit organization from 2016 through March 2018. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Xylem Inc. (NYSE: XYL), a leading global water technology company, and Edison International (NYSE: EIX) and its subsidiary Southern California Edison (SCE), one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.

Ms. Beliveau-Dunn is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s executive leadership program, Harvard University’s accelerated master’s in business administration program for executives and is an active National Association of Corporate Directors fellow. Highly recognized by several organizations for her governance leadership, Ms. Beliveau-Dunn was recently recognized by Women Inc. as one of the Most Influential Corporate Directors in 2018.

About Columbus McKinnon

Columbus McKinnon is a leading worldwide designer, manufacturer and marketer of motion control products, technologies and automated systems and services that efficiently and ergonomically move, lift, position and secure materials. Key products include hoists, crane components, actuators, rigging tools, light rail work stations, and digital power and motion control systems. The Company is focused on commercial and industrial applications that require the safety and quality provided by its superior design and engineering know-how. Magnetek is a brand of Columbus McKinnon Corporation. Comprehensive information on Columbus McKinnon is available at www.cmworks.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future sales and earnings, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such statements, including the effectiveness of the Company’s 80/20 Process to simplify operations, the ability of the Company’s Operational Excellence initiatives to drive profitability, the success of the Company’s efforts to Ramp the Growth Engine, global economic and business conditions, conditions affecting the industries served by the Company and its subsidiaries, conditions affecting the Company's customers and suppliers, competitor responses to the Company's products and services, the overall market acceptance of such products and services, the ability to expand into new markets and geographic regions, and other factors disclosed in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this release.

Contacts: