Topcon Positioning Systems has announced that Ray O’Connor, president and chief executive officer, will retire in September 2025 after over three decades of “exceptional leadership”.
Before his retirement, O’Connor will take up the role of chairman on September 1 and Ivan Di Federico, currently executive vice president and chief strategy officer, will move into the chief executive role.
“It has been a true privilege to lead Topcon Positioning Systems for the past three decades and witness the incredible growth and evolution of the company,” said O’Connor. “I am immensely proud of what our team has accomplished and confident that Ivan is the right leader to take the company into the future. His deep technical expertise, strategic vision and proven track record of driving innovation make him the ideal choice to lead the company through its next chapter of growth and success.”
Under O’Connor’s leadership, Topcon said it has experienced dramatic organic growth and expansion into new markets and product lines. During his tenure, he was responsible for numerous key acquisitions, as well as the expansion into GNSS, radios, machine automation and global positioning software and workflow solutions for the construction and precision agriculture industries.
“Ray has made significant contributions to the global positioning industry through his many patents, inspired by his product vision and application experience. I am honoured to succeed him as president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems,” said Ivan Di Federico. “Ray has built an exceptional company and a talented team, and I look forward to building upon this strong foundation to drive continued innovation and growth.”
Topcon also announced that Philip Thach will be promoted to executive vice president chief operating officer and executive vice president chief financial officer, effective September 1. Thach joined Topcon in 2018 as chief financial officer.
Topcon Positioning Systems designs, manufactures and distributes precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial and agriculture markets. Topcon Positioning Systems is headquartered in Livermore, in the US state of California and has its European head office in Zoetermeer, Netherlands.
