L.B. Foster Elevates Key Executives to Drive Strategic Growth

PITTSBURGH, PA – May 21, 2026 – L.B. Foster Company (NASDAQ: FSTR) today announced a significant restructuring of its executive leadership, promoting three key insiders to top operational and financial roles. The move is designed to accelerate the company's strategic transformation into a technology-focused solutions provider for the global rail and infrastructure markets.

Effective June 1, 2026, William M. Thalman, the current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will become the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Sean M. Reilly will be promoted from Controller and Principal Accounting Officer to Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and Timothy J. Curran will step into Reilly's former role as Controller and Principal Accounting Officer.

The promotions come as L.B. Foster builds on a period of strong financial performance and strategic realignment. John F. Kasel, President and Chief Executive Officer, framed the decision as a direct continuation of the company's core objectives. “In continuation of the Company’s efforts to drive stockholder return and leverage talent, I am pleased to announce the promotion of three key employees to work on enhancing our performance, increasing shareholder return, and driving our strategy,” Kasel stated. “Bill Thalman, Sean Reilly, and T.J. Curran have been instrumental in our work to date, and I anticipate they will make significant contributions in their new roles.”

A Strategic Move Amid a Broader Transformation

These leadership changes are not happening in a vacuum. They represent a calculated step in a multi-year transformation that began in 2021, aimed at shifting L.B. Foster from a traditional industrial distributor to a high-margin, technology-driven enterprise. The company has been methodically reshaping its portfolio, notably divesting non-core assets like its steel piling business between late 2024 and early 2025 to sharpen its focus on proprietary, scalable solutions.

This strategic pivot is anchored in key growth areas, including digital signaling and condition monitoring systems for the rail industry, friction management technologies, and engineered precast concrete products for infrastructure projects. The company has set ambitious goals, including increasing its international revenue share from 16% in 2024 to a target of 22% by the end of 2026, driven largely by its digital rail solutions in Europe.

The timing of the announcement follows a robust first quarter in 2026. L.B. Foster reported a 23.9% year-over-year increase in net sales, fueled by a remarkable 38.4% surge in its Rail, Technologies, and Services segment. The company swung to a profit of $0.14 per diluted share, handily beating analyst expectations and prompting management to reaffirm its full-year guidance of $540 million to $580 million in net sales. This positive momentum provides a solid foundation for the new leadership team to build upon.

New COO to Bridge Financial Discipline with Operations

The most significant appointment is arguably William Thalman’s transition from CFO to COO. This move signals a deliberate effort to embed financial rigor and strategic oversight directly into the company's day-to-day operations. While Thalman has guided L.B. Foster’s finances since 2021, his background includes substantial operational leadership experience.

Before joining the company, Thalman held several key positions at Kennametal, Inc., a global industrial technology leader. Notably, he served in non-financial capacities as Vice President of Advanced Material Solutions and Vice President of the Transformation Office, where he was directly responsible for business operations and strategic program management. This dual expertise in both financial stewardship and operational execution makes him uniquely qualified to drive efficiency and ensure the company's strategic initiatives are implemented effectively and profitably.

As COO, Thalman is expected to leverage his deep understanding of financial metrics to optimize manufacturing processes, manage the supply chain, and scale the company’s burgeoning technology offerings. His experience in a dedicated “Transformation Office” will be invaluable as L.B. Foster continues to integrate digital solutions and expand its precast concrete footprint with planned capital investments in the southern United States.

Ensuring Continuity in Financial Leadership

The promotions of Sean Reilly to CFO and Timothy Curran to Controller ensure a seamless transition within the company's finance department, providing stability and continuity for investors. Both are seasoned professionals with deep roots in the company and extensive external experience.

Reilly, who has served as Controller since January 2022, has already been active in the company's investor relations, recently co-presenting at an investor conference. His career includes a long tenure at Kennametal, where he was the lead finance executive for a multinational business with over $1 billion in sales, as well as audit management experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers. As the new CFO, he will be responsible for executing L.B. Foster's disciplined capital allocation strategy, which includes a focus on generating strong free cash flow and managing a share repurchase program with $28.7 million remaining.

Curran’s promotion to Controller is a natural progression from his role as Vice President of Tax and Treasury. Since joining L.B. Foster in 2013, he has managed the company's global tax, treasury, and credit functions. His prior experience as a Senior Manager in KPMG’s Mergers & Acquisitions Tax practice provides him with critical expertise in complex financial reporting and compliance, which will be essential in his new role.

A Bet on Internal Talent and Proven Experience

By elevating Thalman, Reilly, and Curran, L.B. Foster’s Board of Directors is making a clear statement about its confidence in its internal leadership pipeline. This approach aligns with a corporate culture that emphasizes talent development and succession planning, reflecting the company’s stated “SPIRIT” values (Safety, People, Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Teamwork).

Raymond T. Betler, Chairman of the Board, underscored this point in the announcement. “These individuals have demonstrated incredible performance throughout their tenure at L.B. Foster to date,” he commented. “They have been vital in the execution of our strategic roadmap and have added significant value to the Company. These changes help to further strengthen our executive team and enhance the continued improvement of L.B. Foster.”

Promoting from within provides the organization with leaders who possess invaluable institutional knowledge, a crucial asset during a period of significant transformation. Their proven track records and deep understanding of the company's strategic goals are expected to provide steady leadership as L.B. Foster navigates the competitive global landscape and continues its evolution into a premier technology solutions provider.