KiddeFenwal Appoints New CEO

ASHLAND, Mass. – November 4, 2024 – KiddeFenwal, a leading provider of industrial and commercial fire suppression systems and safety controls, has appointed Rekha Agrawal to serve as the firm’s CEO. The move further positions the company to achieve significant scale and expand its market share both domestically and overseas.

Ms. Agrawal has held leadership roles at Tyco and Johnson Controls, where she led both product and service businesses generating more than $1B in revenue, overseeing teams focused on engineering, supply chain, sales and product management, as well as M&A initiatives. She joins the company from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and holds a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Waterloo and B.S. and M.S. degrees in engineering from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Ms. Agrawal succeeds Rachid Ouenniche, who guided KiddeFenwal through numerous evolutions, including its July 2024 acquisition by Pacific Avenue Capital Partners, a middle-market-focused private equity firm specializing in carve-outs and complex situations.

“KiddeFenwal has enjoyed incredible momentum as it accelerates its growth trajectory and further enhances its value proposition to industrial, commercial and marine customers and OEM end users,” said James Oh, Partner at Pacific Avenue. “We thank Rachid for his contributions and are excited about the new era ahead under Rekha’s leadership.”

“I am thrilled to be partnering with Pacific Avenue in returning to the Fire industry, and grateful for the opportunity to lead the team responsible for the KiddeFenwal brand, one I have long respected,” said Ms. Agrawal.

See also: KiddeFenwal Leadership Team.

About KiddeFenwal

KiddeFenwal is a global leader in industrial and commercial fire suppression systems and safety controls. With a legacy spanning more than a century and the agility achieved as a standalone company, KiddeFenwal designs and delivers next-generation technologies that protect lives, livelihoods, critical infrastructure and even priceless museum artifacts. Its trusted brands, including Kidde Fire Systems, Kidde Fire Protection and Fenwal Controls, serve a wide range of sectors, from energy and manufacturing to marine, infrastructure and OEM applications. Headquartered in Ashland, Massachusetts, KiddeFenwal has a growing global presence across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific regions; in Vietnam, KiddeFenwal Vietnam is the point of contact for products, design consulting and technical support.

Source: KiddeFenwal press release on Business Wire (Nov 4, 2024)