The Lee Company Announces Leadership Change
The Lee Company will have a new, but familiar face leading the company in July.
The company announced May 3 that Marietta Lee [pictured above] will become president and CEO effective July 10.
She will succeed Bill Lee, who has led the company since 2009. He will remain as chair of the company’s board of directors.
July marks the 75th anniversary of the company, which Marietta Lee’s grandfather founded.
She becomes a third-generation owner, and the first woman to hold the position of president and CEO, a major milestone in the company’s history.
“I’m honored and excited to be taking on this new role,” Marietta Lee said.
“I plan to continue our long tradition of steady, stable growth, expanding and improving our products, and serving markets all over the world.”
Connecticut Legacy
The Lee Company manufactures products that span across a wide range of industries.
With its headquarters in Westbrook, it is a world leader in miniature precision fluid control products.
The company has grown from 800 to more than 1,100 employees in the past 13 years.
Bill Lee led the company through both exciting and challenging times, including the coronavirus pandemic.
“This transition has been many years in the making,” he said. “I have complete confidence that Marietta is going to be a terrific leader of The Lee Company.”
Between the growth and pandemic challenges, the Lees have worked to find innovative and creative solutions to grow and attract talent.
Earlier this year, the company announced it would be offering free medical insurance to all employees.
Up the Ladder
Marietta Lee has played an active role in The Lee Company’s success since joining the team in 2001 after working for several years in the television industry.
From the moment she joined the team, she wanted to learn about every aspect of the family business and its operations.
She worked her way up the ladder, becoming general counsel in 2019 and adding COO to her title in 2020.
Prior to Bill Lee’s time as CEO, Marietta Lee’s father ran the company.
“My father and then my uncle have led the business in such a way that I know my grandfather would be proud,” she said.
Putting employees first has long been the Lee family’s trademark, exemplified through generous profit sharing and benefits.
“None of this would be possible without our amazing team of employees,” she said.
“To know that the family has confidence in me and supports me makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
Champion for Connecticut
Aside from the Lee Company, Marietta Lee takes an active role in supporting the greater region and state.
She serves on the boards of Essex Savings Bank, Yale New Haven Hospital, CBIA, and the Madison Board of Police Commissioners.
In November she was named vice chair of CBIA’s executive board.
“Marietta is a true champion for growing Connecticut’s economy and population,” CBIA president and CEO Chris DiPentima said.
DiPentima said she takes her board roles very seriously and is highly engaged.
“Not only does she want to be part of The Lee Company’s success, she wants to help the region and state succeed too.”
As a woman in leadership in the manufacturing sector, Lee makes a point of embracing women leaders across the state.
Within The Lee Company, she schedules time for women from various departments to get together in a casual setting to support one another.
Part of that group is the company’s first woman chief engineer and first woman manufacturing manager.
“When I entered manufacturing 20 years ago, there were not a lot of females working in the industry and I felt very alone,” Lee said.
“I hope that these women can really feel that they have support from their colleagues.”
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