George H. Kirby Named as Chief Executive Officer of RS Technologies

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Nov 01, 2021, 07:10 ET

TILBURY, ON and CALGARY, AB, Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - The Board of Directors of RS Technologies Inc. ("RS" or the "Company"), a leading global provider of composite utility poles, today announced that George H. Kirby has been named as Chief Executive Officer of the Company, effective November 1^st, 2021. Howard Elliott, who has served as the President and CEO of RS for the last 10 years, and whose leadership gave rise to remarkable innovation and growth at the Company, will continue to play an integral role, remaining as President and Chief Operating Officer with a focus on operations and technology development. The Board wishes to express its deep gratitude to Howard for his dedication and impressive contribution during his tenure establishing RS as the premier composite utility pole manufacturer.

A November 2020 RS PowerON™ pole installation for a 24.9kV river crossing application by Hydro Québec north of Gatineau. Due to woodpeckers, wood pole life in this region is typically 10 years. The topped wood pole on the left is approximately 20 years old and its "like for like" replacement in the middle is 10 years old. With the installation of the RS composite pole guarding against woodpecker damage, utilities are proceeding confidently based on the pole's expected 80-year service life. (CNW Group/RS Technologies Inc.)

George Kirby, an aerospace engineer by education, studied composite structures and applied this knowledge throughout his career at GE Power, AMSC, SAIC and AECOM. Mr. Kirby, a successful public company CEO, has over 20 years of applicable experience commercializing and deploying disruptive technology.

"George's long career in the power industry commercializing disruptive technologies, plus his experience with capital markets, makes him the right leader at the right time for this phase of the Company's growth" said Don Lowry, Chairman of the Board of RS.

Until June of 2021, George was the CEO of Ocean Power Technologies ("OPT") Inc., a leader in innovative and cost-effective low-carbon marine power data and service solutions (NYSE American: OPTT). OPT is spearheading the commercialization of power generation through the deployment of technology that harnesses the mechanical energy created by waves to electricity.

George Kirby stated, "I believe RS possesses industry-leading pole technology and a growth trajectory that makes this a once in a lifetime opportunity to redefine the standard of sustainable and environmentally-responsible power pole grid infrastructure. RS Technologies' growth has been impressive with increased production capacity coming online early in 2022 at the new St. George, Utah plant to meet surging demand. Increasingly, leading utility executives are recognizing that RS offers innovative solutions that address the threat of grid instability due to the increasing severity and frequency of climate events like fires and hurricanes. The Company's products provide an indispensable means to address the impact of climate change by creating the grid of the future that is more sustainable and environmentally friendly."

George received his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Syracuse University and his Master of Business Administration from Penn State University.

About RS Technologies Inc. (RS)

RS is based in Tilbury, Ontario, Canada and is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Calgary, Alberta-based Werklund group of companies. RS designs and manufactures the world's highest performing composite utility poles that are safer, more fire and storm resilient than any other competing product. RS poles are longer lasting and more reliable than wood, steel or concrete and on an ESG basis are more environmentally friendly, consistently delivering a lower total life cycle cost than any other pole. More information on RS and its poles is available at RSpoles.com.

SOURCE RS Technologies Inc.