Kohler Engines promotes Brian Melka to president

Following Tom Cromwell’s promotion to group president of Kohler Power, the company promoted Brian Melka to president of Kohler Engines.

Melka is responsible for the engines business in the Americas region, establishing strategic direction, managing operational demands, driving growth and profitability objectives and attracting and developing talent. In addition, he will have worldwide responsibility for new product development, marketing and overall growth of the gasoline engines product lines. Melka joined Kohler in 2013 in the role of vice president.

Prior to Kohler, he served in numerous senior capacities at Rexnord Corp., where he most recently held the role of vice president — global mining and product management. Before joining Rexnord he spent more than 12 years working for various Textron businesses including Greenlee Textron andJacobsen Textron.

Melka holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin, an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.