BLOOMINGTON, Minn. — The Toro Co. (NYSE: TTC) recently elected D. Christian “Chris” Koch to its board of directors. The addition of Koch brings the Toro board to 11 members.

Koch, 51, currently serves as president and chief executive officer at Carlisle Companies Inc. (NYSE: CSL), a global diversified manufacturing company that designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of products based in Charlotte, N.C. Carlisle Companies had $3.5 billion in net sales for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2015. Koch joined Carlisle Companies in 2008 and has held a variety of senior management positions during his tenure, including as chief operating officer and group president of Carlisle Diversified Products. Koch has served as president and chief executive officer of Carlisle Companies since January 2016 and served as president and chief operating officer of Carlisle Companies from May 2014 to January 2016. Koch currently serves as a member of the Carlisle Companies board of directors and he previously served as a member of the board of directors of Arctic Cat Inc. (NASDAQ: ACAT). Throughout his career, Koch has held various other senior management positions in the manufacturing industry, including with Graco Inc. and H.B. Fuller Company.

"Chris is a seasoned executive and public company board member with strong business acumen and significant experience managing manufacturing and sales operations around the world," said Michael J. Hoffman, Toro's chairman and chief executive officer. "His leadership, experience and perspectives will be valuable and we are very excited to have him join our board.”

Koch holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and history from Macalester College, along with a master’s degree in business administration from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.