Navico names new president, CEO
TULSA, Okla. – Marine electronics manufacturer Navico has named a new president and CEO in the wake of the resignation of former president and CEO Jens-Thomas Pietralla, which became effective June 1.
Pietralla will join Navico’s board as a non-executive director and will be succeeded by Leif Ottosson, EVP and COO Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the company reported in a statement this week. Ottosson will combine the CEO role with his continued leadership of the EMEA region, Navico stated.
Pietralla joined Navico in September 2006 as CEO-Elect and succeeded Darrell Lowrance in January 2007. After what the company called “successful integration, right-sizing and establishment of strong regions from 2006-2009,” Navico plans to simplify its structure by combining the EMEA management with the Navico Group Leadership.
“Integrating three marine electronics companies with seven brands and almost as many business cultures based in 12 countries in eight time zones on three continents into one Navico house of brands has proven to be a huge undertaking. Almost three years later, we can declare victory in this battle,” said Pietralla.
Ottosson takes on the new role with experience from strategic, financial and operational roles in a variety of industries to his new assignment, according to Navico. He holds a BS (magna cum laude) in Finance and Mathematics from Northern Arizona University and an MBA from Harvard University. Prior to joining Navico, Ottosson successfully started three companies within manufacturing, software and consulting. He also was a board member and the CFO of a large UK-based metals-and-minerals company and the head of finance of Skanska, a global construction company.
“On behalf of the Board and the Owners, I like to express my sincere thanks to Jens-Thomas for doing an excellent job of integrating the company and positioning Navico for success. We want to leverage his experience to benefit Navico going forward and are grateful that he has accepted our invitation to serve on the company’s Board of Directors,” Ottossan said.
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