NAVICO appoints new President & CEO
A new era for the leading company in marine electronics Jens-Thomas Pietralla takes over the role of President & Chief Executive Officer of Navico Holding A.S. following the official retirement of former CEO, Darrell Lowrance, as of 18th January 2007. Darrell Lowrance stands down as President & CEO of the Navico Group following a hugely successful half-century in the marine electronics business and will become a member of Navico's Board of Directors.
In September 2006 Pietralla joined the newly-created Navico Group headquartered in Oslo, Norway as Chief Operating Officer and CEO-elect.
As President & CEO, Pietralla is at the helm of one of the world's leading players in marine electronics, with responsibility for the company's four established brands, B&G, Eagle, Lowrance and Simrad.
Pietralla highlights the distinctiveness of the product brands within the market as a key competitive advantage of the Navico Group: "We are in a unique position. Our brands cover all sectors from freshwater and sport fishing right through to grand prix sailing, superyachts and professional vessels."
"We will capitalise on the strong position of our brands and the group's synergies in development and in-house manufacturing to ensure the continued growth and strength of Navico. The further development of outstanding product innovations and the fostering of genuine customer orientation are vital to ensure the continued profitable growth of Navico in a competitive market," states Pietralla.
Pietralla was born in Wolfsburg, Germany on 2nd March, 1969. After studying physics and mathematics at the University of Ulm, he joined the Munich office of renowned management consultancy McKinsey & Company, working for clients in the high-tech and telecommunications sector, as well as the consumer goods industry.
Pietralla became a member of McKinsey's High-Tech Leadership Group and transferred to the New York Office for two years. He returned to Germany in 2000, focusing on Siemens in his role as a partner at McKinsey.
In April 2002 Pietralla joined Siemens AG to become Executive Board Member of Mobile Devices as Senior Vice-President for Strategy and Marketing. In this role, he reported directly to the CEO of the Mobile Devices Division and helped grow the business to EUR 5 billion by 2004.
In May 2004 Pietralla became Chief Marketing Officer of Siemens Mobile, responsible for all marketing activities and several sales initiatives related to the B2B and B2C divisions of Siemens' largest business group.
Further information from:
Knut Morten Brekke
Navico Norway AS
Tel: +47 6712 6416
Fax: +47 6712 6499
E: knut.morten.brekke@navico.com
www.navico.com
Saul Trewern
Saltwater Public Relations
Tel: +44 (0)1202 669244
Fax: +44 (0)1202 672221
E: saul.trewern@saltwatercoms.com
www.saltwaterpr.com