DMC Global appoints O’Leary as permanent president, CEO

BROOMFIELD — DMC Global Inc. (Nasdaq: BOOM) has named James O’Leary as president and CEO, making permanent a role that he’s held on an interim basis since Nov. 29, 2024.

“I’m excited to continue working with the many loyal, hardworking DMC associates around the world on behalf of our stakeholders,” O’Leary said in a statement. “When I took over in November of last year, our key objective was to deleverage DMC’s balance sheet and restore our capital structure to optimal health. These remain our highest priorities in the near and medium term as we look ahead to a potential acquisition of the 40% stake in Arcadia Products, LLC not presently owned by DMC.”

O’Leary’s appointment comes after a period of musical chairs for the CEO position. He took on the interim role after the abrupt retirement of former CEO Michael Kuta. Kuta was appointed CEO in August 2023, months after taking on an interim co-CEO role after the departure of longtime CEO Kevin Longe in January 2023.

O’Leary also serves as executive chairman of the company, which provides products and services for the energy, construction, industrial-processing and transportation markets.

“Despite an economic environment that has grown increasingly volatile and challenging, we are focused on growing free cash flow and expanding margins at our core operations. Recent stabilization across our portfolio after a difficult 2024 is largely attributable to the efforts of our teams across the company. I appreciate our associates’ continued contributions and look forward to working with them to advance DMC’s key objectives going forward.”

DMC has experienced turnover not only in the CEO role but also in leadership at Arcadia, its architectural building products supply business. The company in January named Jim Schladen as Arcadia’s president, a role that he held from 2000 until his retirement in January 2023.

DMC has faced declining stock valuation in recent years, with minority shareholder Steel Connect Inc. making several unsolicited offers to acquire all or part of the company.

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