Capital Safety announced that Anders Pettersson has joined the company as its new Chief Executive Officer. For the last eight years, Pettersson has served as president and CEO of Sweden-based Thule AB, a global manufacturer of sports and utility transportation products. Pettersson replaces former Capital Safety CEO, Gareth Rhys Williams, who left Capital Safety to pursue other interests.

 “We thank Gareth for the quality of his leadership and the many initiatives that he put in place during his tenure which have strengthened the position of the Group. We wish him well for the future.” commented Nils Stoesser, Capital Safety Chairman of the Board. Pettersson will be based at the Capital Safety Group headquarters in Milton Keynes, U.K., and will oversee the company’s global operations, which includes 16 manufacturing, distribution and training facilities. He plans to split his time among the company’s different locations across five continents.

“Anders’ background leading companies toward true globalization is impressive,” said Nils Stoesser. “He joins us on the heels of strong financial performance in 2009. Despite the stress of the global economy, Capital Safety has continued to make investments to serve our customer base, and now we feel poised to expand our position as the global leader in our category.” Recently, Capital Safety added new warehouses in New Zealand, Mexico and Southern California, and sales offices in Brazil and China to its global operations footprint. “From the onset, I look forward to bringing our team together in closer collaboration,” said Pettersson, “and further strengthening our innovation leadership with a robust R&D pipeline of breakthrough products, such as the recently launched ExoFit NEX.” Pettersson will continue to expand Capital Safety’s market share in key growth regions like Europe, Asia and Latin America while further solidifying its leading position in the North American market. Pettersson previously served in executive positions at Thule, Gunnebo, Trelleborg and Akzo Nobel and assumed the role of Capital Safety CEO effective April 1.