Joe A. Raver, 42, will become the new president and chief operating officer of the Batesville Casket Company, a subsidiary of Hillenbrand Inc., effective June 15. In his new role, Raver will succeed Kenneth A. Camp, who was named president and chief executive officer of Hillenbrand Inc. on April 1. Camp has served as president and CEO of Batesville Casket Company since May 2001.
Raver is currently vice president and general manager of the respiratory care division of Hill-Rom Holdings, a leading global provider of medical equipment and services. He joined Hill-Rom in 2004 as vice president of strategy and shared services. Prior to joining Hill-Rom, Raver spent 10 years in a variety of leadership positions at Batesville Casket Company and Hillenbrand Industries, culminating in being named vice president of logistics at Batesville Casket in 2002. He holds a bachelor's degree in economics from Dartmouth College and a master's of business administration with honors from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
"We are extremely pleased to have an executive of Joe's caliber on the Hillenbrand, Inc. management team," said Camp. "His successful track record, deep industry knowledge, and past broad experiences will serve him well as he leads this division into the future. As I focus my attention on increasing shareholder value in our new publicly traded company, Hillenbrand Inc., I have great confidence in Joe's ability to lead the Batesville Casket team."
"Undoubtedly, this is the most exciting challenge I have had in my career. Batesville Casket is an iconic brand in the funeral service industry and I very much look forward to continuing to build on the great legacy that Ken and others have built over the years. I am also fortunate to be working with a strong management team that serves our customers with superior products and services," said Raver. "I particularly look forward to working with Ken, his management team, and the board of Hillenbrand Inc. as we focus on building shareholder value for the new public company."
Hillenbrand Inc. is the holding company for Batesville Casket Company, a leader in the North American death care industry through the manufacture, distribution and sale of funeral service products to licensed funeral establishments. Batesville sells primarily burial caskets, but also provides cremation caskets, containers and urns, and selection room display fixturing for funeral establishments.
