WEX CEO Melissa Smith named as company chair

File Photo / Tim Greenway Melissa Smith, president and CEO of WEX Inc., now also serves as the Portland-based company's chair.

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By Staff

WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX), the Portland-based provider of corporate payment solutions, has a new board chair, and she already holds a WEX business card.

The WEX board of directors appointed President and CEO Melissa Smith as chair, succeeding Michael Dubyak, the company announced Thursday.

Dubyak, who had chaired WEX since 2013, will continue to serve as a member of the 11-person board. Smith, who continues as president and CEO, has been on the board since 2014.

“It has been an honor to serve as chair and be a part of WEX’s incredible transformation over the past 10-plus years,” Dubyak said in a news release.

“As we transition the leadership of the board, I am confident Melissa will serve as chair with the same level of integrity and commitment that she has brought to the board as a director and to her leadership of the company as our president and CEO.”

Smith, a 2017 Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year, previously succeeded Dubyak when she became president in 2013 and CEO the following year. Dubyak had held those roles since 1998, after joining the company in 1986 during its startup phase.

The WEX board has also elected Jack VanWoerkom as vice chair and lead independent director, according to the release. VanWoerkom has more than 40 years of experience as a corporate advisor and counsel, and has been an independent director of WEX since 2005. He is succeeding Rowland Moriarty, who will continue to serve as a board member.

In a separate announcement, the company said that Stephen Smith, president and CEO of Freeport-based L.L. Bean Inc., has been elected as a member of the WEX board.

Smith, who is unrelated to Melissa Smith, has served as president and CEO of Bean since January 2016. Previously, he led several brand and marketing transformations as well as operational divisions within Walmart’s international subsidiaries in China and the United Kingdom.

“Steve brings a proven track record of success in building customer engagement programs for globally recognized companies,” Melissa Smith said. “Combined with his diverse international marketing and operational experience, we are confident Steve will be a great asset to our board as we continue to build on our strong foundation for sustainable growth.”

WEX recently reported strong financial results from its second quarter, beating consensus forecasts of earnings and revenue. For the full year, the company expects revenues in the range of $1.72 billion to $1.75 billion, and adjusted net income in the range of $399 million to $410 million, or $9.10 to $9.35 per diluted share.

On Friday morning, WEX shares were trading at about $205, little changed from Thursday's close.