By: Lorene Yue January 14, 2008   

PEOPLE - SPOTLIGHT: TIM JAHNKE

Job: CEO, Elkay Manufacturing Co., maker of kitchen and bathroom fixtures, as of Dec. 1.

Vitals: 48 years old; bachelor's degree in business, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 1981; production supervisor, Kohler Co., 1981-83; human resources manager, Clarison International Corp., 1983-86; various positions, including president of the home and family products division, Newell Rubbermaid Inc., 1986-2007.

Strong suit: Leadership development and growth.

Résumé gap: First time as CEO.

Track record: Turned Newell Rubbermaid's smallest unit into the fastest-growing in terms of sales and profits.

Job one: Growth. "I think there are significant opportunities out there for us to grow the business through acquisitions and internal growth," he says.

Obstacles: A slowdown in home construction and remodeling. "The industry is still really soft," says Richard Titus, executive vice-president of the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Assn. in Reston, Va. "That's what he's walking into. He'll have to be agile and flexible."

The plan: Putting his human resources expertise to use by building a leadership team. Recent and upcoming retirements are creating vacancies that he will need to fill with his own handpicked employees.