Woods to lead Astro-Med upon Pizzuti’s retirement

EVERETT V. PIZZUTI, president and CEO of Astro-Med Inc., stands beside one of his company's products, the Dash MX. Astro-Med announced Monday that Pizzuti will be succeeded by Gregory A. Woods, currently president and chief operating officer, following Pizzuti's retirement on Jan. 31, 2014. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL PERSSON
EVERETT V. PIZZUTI, president and CEO of Astro-Med Inc., stands beside one of his company's products, the Dash MX. Astro-Med announced Monday that Pizzuti will be succeeded by Gregory A. Woods, currently president and chief operating officer, following Pizzuti's retirement on Jan. 31, 2014. / PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL PERSSON

WEST WARWICK – Gregory A. Woods, president and chief operating officer of Astro-Med Inc., will replace Everett V. Pizzuti as CEO following Pizzuti’s retirement next month, the maker of specialty printers and data-acquisition systems announced Monday.

Pizzuti joined Astro-Med in 1971 with company founder Albert W. Ondis and held the position of president and COO until Ondis’ death in 2011 when he assumed his current role as chief executive. Following his retirement, effective Jan. 31, 2014, Pizzuti will remain a member of the Astro-Med board of directors, the company said.

“It is time to pass the torch to the rising executives within the company,” said Pizzuti in a prepared statement. “I believe that Astro-Med is currently well-positioned for continued growth and profitability in both of its business segments – QuickLabel Systems color label printers, and Test & Measurement ruggedized products and data acquisition systems.”

Woods, who joined Astro-Med as executive vice president and COO in September 2012, has served as the company’s president and COO since August. Before joining Astro-Med, Woods held positions as president or CEO of several industrial electronics firms, including the electronics controls division of global manufacturer Danaher Corp., headquartered in Washington, D.C.

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Upon Woods’ promotion to president and COO in August, Pizzuti commented, “Greg’s efforts over the past 12 months have already paid dividends in our sales, manufacturing, and research and development departments. He has had a considerable impact on the implementation of the company’s strategic plans, and he is a major asset to the company.”

The news of Pizzuti’s retirement follows last week’s third-quarter earnings release, when Astro-Med announced net income of $1.1 million, or 14 cents per diluted share, for its fiscal third quarter, a decline of 15.2 percent compared with last year’s third-quarter net income of $1.3 million, or 18 cents per diluted share.

Net sales for the three months ended Nov. 2 rose 13.3 percent to $18.2 million from $16 million in the fiscal 2012 third quarter.

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