Esko is pleased to announce two
executive appointments. Udo Panenka is joining Esko as Senior Vice President
Sales, and Jon Giardina is joining Esko as Vice President Americas. Both
previously held executive roles at Danaher companies.
“We are delighted to have
executives with this high competence level joining our management. They bring a
wealth of expertise to position Esko for even greater success in achieving its
global growth ambitions, and help retain its unique positioning to answer the
increasingly evolving market needs,” states Carsten Knudsen, Esko President and
CEO. "With Udo's strong sales, marketing and general management skills, we
are confident he will accelerate the changes being implemented in our go to market
organization benefitting our customers. As critical will be Jon's role in
leading the Americas region. Esko has a state-of-the-art product portfolio that
continues to expand to meet the many challenges faced by operations worldwide.
Under the skilled leadership of these experienced managers, we look forward to
helping our customers surmount these challenges while increasing
profitability."
Udo Panenka assumes worldwide
sales, service and marketing responsibility In his new role as Senior Vice
President, Panenka has responsibility for the global Esko sales, service and
marketing organization. He replaces Christian Korte, who is leaving Esko to
pursue other career opportunities. Prior to joining Esko, Panenka was Vice
President and General Manager for Kollmorgen’s Industrial Automation Business
for Europe and India. Since joining Danaher in 2008, he has held a number of
other executive positions within the company. Prior to Danaher, he held key
sales, marketing and general management leadership positions with ABS
Deutschland, RITZ Pumpenfabrik and New Haden Pumps. Panenka has a BA degree in
Management from Berufsakademie located in Heidenheim, Germany.
Jon Giardina takes the lead for
Esko Americas as Vice President Americas, Giardina will lead the Esko
organizations in North and Latin America. Most recently Giardina was Vice
President & General Manager for Danaher’s Dynapar and West/PMA businesses.
He joined Danaher in 2006 and has filled key sales, marketing and general
management roles over the past eight years. Giardina has a BS degree in
Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois, as well as a MS degree
in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Giardina
replaces Tony Wiley, who previously managed Esko’s business in the Americas.
