Whirlpool Corporation announced the promotion of David A. Binkley to senior vice president for global human resources, effective immediately. Binkley also was named to the company's executive leadership committee.

"This promotion recognizes the strategic importance of the senior human resource role within the leadership of our company and Dave Binkley's continuing solid contributions to that role," said David R. Whitwam, Whirlpool's chairman and chief executive officer.

Binkley, 44 years old, had been corporate vice president for global human resources since March 2001.

Binkley joined the company in 1984 as a regional human resources manager for Whirlpool's sales group and quickly was promoted to increasingly senior ranks within the domestic human resource function. In 1992, he moved to the company's European headquarters in Comerio, Italy, as a director for human resources and two years later to a similar position with Whirlpool Asia in Singapore.

In 1995, Binkley was named vice president for human resources for Greater China, where he had responsibility for Whirlpool's headquarters in Hong Kong and for the company's then four joint ventures in China. He returned to Whirlpool's global headquarters in the U.S. in 1996 as a corporate director for management resources. In 1998, he was named vice president for human resources for all of North America.

A graduate of Michigan State University, Binkley received a bachelor of science degree in business and human resources. He also attended MSU's Graduate School of Labor and Industrial Relations.