Invacare Hires Former Commander of NATO to its Board
Invacare Corp. announced that retired General James L. Jones, U.S. Marine Corps, who recently retired as supreme allied commander of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and commander of the United States European Command, has joined the company's Board of Directors. According to Invacare, General Jones' proven leadership qualities will allow him to be an active participant in the future strategic direction of Invacare's management, sales, marketing and sourcing plans on both a domestic and international front.
"As Invacare continues to increase its focus on global sourcing and sales, it will benefit greatly from General Jones's extensive international experience and from the leadership qualities he exhibited as commandant of the Marine Corps, a position he held for four years prior to becoming NATO supreme allied commander," said Mal Mixon, chairman and CEO of Invacare. "We are honored and excited that General Jones has agreed to be a part of Invacare's board."
General Jones was unanimously elected to the board by Invacare's current directors. He will be among four nominees whose names will be submitted to shareholders for election/re-election at the company's annual meeting of shareholders in May.
"I am looking forward to serving with Mal Mixon and the other distinguished members of the Invacare board," said General Jones.
"Invacare is a world leader in the market for medical equipment used in the home and has a well-deserved reputation for innovative products. I am particularly grateful for the opportunity to become associated with a company that devotes so many resources to improving the lives of our nation's disabled veterans."
In a tribute contained in the Congressional Record, Virginia Senator John Warner noted that General Jones "led the most aggressive transformation efforts in NATO's history, including a comprehensive headquarters realignment, developing NATO's global military capabilities, creating the NATO Response Force, bringing new members into NATO's military structure, and embracing the concept and practice of out-of-area missions for NATO. Under his guidance, NATO now has 30,000 troops deployed in locations across the globe and is leading the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan."
General Jones has a bachelor of science degree and an honorary doctorate from Georgetown University. He was commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1967 and served in Vietnam as a platoon and company commander. He graduated from the National War College in 1985 and later served as military assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
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This article originally appeared in the March 2007 issue of HME Business.