Dean Engelage, Great Dane’s president, will succeed Bill Crown as the company’s chief executive officer effective Jan. 1, 2023, with Crown announcing his intention to step away from the role.

“It has been a privilege to serve Great Dane as CEO over the past 25 years, where both our internal team and our customers feel like family,” said Crown. “Dean and I have worked closely together, and Dean has been a terrific leader and president for Great Dane. I step aside with confidence that Great Dane is in good and capable hands.” 

“I am honored to accept my new role as CEO of Great Dane,” Engelage said.

Engelage joined Great Dane in 2011 as executive vice-president of sales and strategic planning and was later appointed president in 2013. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University and has a master’s degree in finance. 

Rick Mullininx will succeed Engelage as president and chief operating officer of Great Dane, also effective Jan. 1, 2023. Mullininx has been with Great Dane for 40 years and served in various engineering and manufacturing roles. Most recently, he served as executive vice-president of engineering.

“Great Dane is an exceptional company and I take on this new position with excitement and humility,” said Mullininx. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He also earned a master of science in mechanical engineering from the University of South Carolina.