ST. PAUL, MN – The Board of Directors of H.B. Fuller Co. has appointed Jim Owens to succeed Michele Volpi as President and Chief Executive Officer and Director, effective immediately. Volpi will step down from the Board of Directors.

Owens, H.B. Fuller's Senior Vice President, Americas, joined the company in 2008. Owens has delivered two successive years of profit growth in Fuller's most profitable North American business, has led the transformation of the company's Latin American businesses and has been instrumental in driving the growth agenda for the company worldwide. Previously, Owens spent 22 years with National Starch's adhesives business, a division of ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries Limited) in a variety of management positions. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Adhesives and Sealants Council for the past seven years, most recently as Chairman.