Sarasota manufacturer names new board chair

Laura Dempsey Brown is the new chair of the board of directors for Sarasota-based hydraulic cartridge valve manufacturer Helios Technologies. 

The board elected Brown following the retirement of her predecessor, Philippe Lemaitre, who served as chair since 2013 and joined the board in 2007, according to a statement.

“On behalf of the board and the entire Helios team, we are grateful for Philippe’s leadership over the years and are thrilled to have Laura take the baton as our new chair,” Helios President, CEO and CFO Sean Bagan says in a statement. “We are a very different company than the one Philippe joined nearly 18 years ago, having meaningfully grown and diversified during that time. I have appreciated his counsel and advice rooted in many years of experience with the company.”

Helios, which supplies engineered motion control and electronic controls technology to more than 90 countries, reported $805.9 million in sales in 2024. Last week, when it issued quarterly dividends to stockholders, it announced it had declared quarterly dividends consecutively for more than 28 years.

“I look forward to partnering with Laura and the board to maximize value for all stakeholders by leveraging our strong set of assets, industry leading products, and top-tier talent that power our business,” Bagan says in a statement.

Photo by Cristian Ortega

Brown joined the board of directors for Helios in April 2020 after retiring in 2018 from W.W. Grainger Inc., an Illinois-based supply and industrial products company where she worked for 19 years. At W.W. Grainger, Brown held several executive roles, most recently as senior vice president of communications and investor relations. While at the company, she also helped lead a multi-year market expansion across the United States.

Brown has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University and is also a CPA. She is a member of The Chicago Network, International Women’s Forum and the Dean’s Council of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. For six years, she served on the board of Make-A-Wish Illinois, including two years as board chair. 

“Helios is a portfolio of companies with deep histories and strong cultures,” Brown says. “I look forward to working with the board, Sean and the rest of the management team to unlock the potential for the company. We plan to improve our performance, deliver profitable results and enhance shareholder returns.”