CDI Corp. Strengthens Executive Team with Three Corporate Veterans

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CDI Corp. CDI (the "Company") today announced that it has added three corporate leaders to its executive management team. David Arkless will serve as President, International; Michael Castleman will be Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Operations; and Hugo Malan will join as Executive Vice President, President of Staffing for North America. Together, these hires signify a focused effort by the company to build an executive team that will accelerate value creation for shareholders.

"These are high performance hires for CDI and signal the standard by which we will run the company," said CEO Scott Freidheim. "Given an assessment of our company's talent and our aspirations toward value creation, there was an opportunity to enhance leadership in the areas of staffing, operating analytics, strategic thinking, acquisitions and partnerships, and geographic coverage outside of North America and the U.K. These accomplished executives were attracted to the opportunity to grow CDI and capitalize on our business opportunities."

A veteran of the human capital management industry, Arkless spent more than 20 years with ManpowerGroup in strategic services, global account sales, global consulting, and corporate and government affairs, along with serving as a member of the organization's global executive team. A renowned global expert in the areas of labor market strategy and business development in the sector, he has served as vice president of CIETT, the international confederation of private employment agencies, and played a major role in the development of inward investment strategies into China as vice president of the China International Council for the Development of Multi-National Corporations. Arkless will assume responsibility for all international operations focusing on global business development for CDI.

Castleman most recently served as president of Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands. In that role, he oversaw all strategy and operations related to product development and management, brand marketing, strategic sourcing, business development and brand extension. He initially joined as chief financial officer, responsible for financial management and operational performance improvement. Previously, Castleman founded or co-founded several investment firms, including Lehman Brothers Venture Partners, where he served as managing director and co-head. At CDI, Castleman will lead enterprise analytics and performance optimization, as well as corporate development via partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. 

Malan is the former president of fitness, sporting goods & toys business at Sears Holdings Corporation. He was responsible for all aspects of the growth and profitability of the fitness, sporting goods & toys businesses across both the Sears and Kmart formats, in-store and online. Previously, he held the title of managing director at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers. Malan also served as associate principal with McKinsey & Company, an information technology consultant, and researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratories. He will run all of CDI's North American staffing operations.

Like Freidheim, who joined CDI Corp. six weeks ago, the compensation contracts for these new executives are structured to emphasize the creation of tangible shareholder value. "Shareholder returns will guide everything we do as an executive team," said Freidheim. "These executives saw an opportunity to build upon CDI's current strengths and were committed to our philosophy of compensation contingent upon value creation."

About CDI
CDI Corp. CDI is an integrated engineering and technology services firm providing differentiated, client-focused solutions in select global industries. CDI provides engineering and technology solutions and professional staffing services through its global business operations. The Company also provides staffing services through its franchised Management Recruiters International, Inc. (MRI) operating unit. Learn more at www.cdicorp.com.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including, but not limited to, statements about our future financial results, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Because these forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control or are subject to change, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: weakness in general economic conditions and levels of capital spending by clients in the industries we serve; weakness or volatility in the financial and capital markets, which may result in the postponement or cancellation of our clients' capital projects or the inability of our clients to pay our fees; the termination or non-renewal of a major client contract or project; delays or reductions in government spending, including  U.S. government defense spending; credit risks associated with our clients; competitive market pressures; the availability and cost of qualified personnel; our level of success in attracting, training and retaining qualified management personnel and other staff employees; changes in tax laws and other government regulations including the impact of healthcare reform laws and regulations; the possibility of incurring liability for our business activities, including the activities of our temporary employees; our performance on client contracts; negative outcome of pending and future claims and litigation; and government policies, legislation or judicial decisions adverse to our businesses.  More detailed information about these and other risks and uncertainties may be found in our filings with the SEC, particularly in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K and the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" section of our Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We assume no obligation to update such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 

SOURCE CDI Corp.