Molex CEO Martin Slark Retiring After 42 Years with the Company

Molex announced that CEO Martin P. Slark would be retiring in November after 42 years of service. Slark led the company through significant growth, as well as through Molex’s acquisition by Koch Industries in 2013. Over his 13-year tenure as CEO, Molex’s revenues and profits more than doubled and its number of global employees grew from 27,000 to 46,000. His focus on profitable growth has resulted in more than a dozen strategic acquisitions for Molex, as well as the company’s entry into new markets that include autonomous vehicles and connected health.
 
“It has been an incredible 42 years at Molex,” Slark said. “Working first for the Krehbiel family and then for Koch Industries, has been an amazing journey.”
 
Slark was elected to the Koch Industries Board of Directors in 2017. He will remain on that board, where he is responsible for helping drive improvements and advances in the application of new technology throughout Koch Industries.
 
Slark joined Molex in 1976 in England and has held numerous leadership positions around the world. He served as president of Molex’s Far East South Region from 1988 to 1994 and as president of the Americas Region from 1994 to 1999. Following that, Slark was an EVP from 1999 to 2001, when he took over as COO until 2005, when he assumed the role of CEO.
 
Molex COO Joe Nelligan will become CEO upon Slark’s departure. “I want to thank Martin for his many contributions,” Nelligan said. “Molex’s growth reflects his vision and leadership, which has helped make Molex one of the largest and most respected companies in our industry.”
 
Nelligan began his career at Molex in the Product Engineering department. After working two summers as an intern, he joined Molex full-time in 1986. He held several roles in engineering, product management, and sales before being named director of new product development for the Global Commercial Products Division in 2002.
 
In 2005, he became VP of sales & marketing for the Americas Region, and then VP of the Datacom Global Industry Group in the Global Sales & Marketing Division in 2007. In 2009, he was named VP of product development and commercialization for the Global Commercial Products Division. And in 2013, he was promoted to SVP and president of the Global Commercial Products Division based in Singapore, a position he held for three years. He was named COO for Molex in 2016 and assumed an additional role as president in 2017.