Trimble CEO Steve Berglund leaves his post

  • Push-out Score determined
  • After almost 21 years in the position
  • Praise and thanks for Berglund
  • Rob Painter taking over
  • Berglund will remain as executive chairman at Trimble
  • Berglund made a lengthy statement and said 220 words

(exechange) — Sunnyvale, California, October 30, 2019 — Steve Berglund, chief executive of Trimble, leaves his position. As announced by Trimble Inc. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, Steven W. (Steve) Berglund leaves his post as Chief Executive Officer at the agriculture company after almost 21 years in the role, effective January 4, 2020.

It is the end of an era.

Among the 3,000 largest publicly held companies incorporated in the U.S. based on market capitalization, the average tenure of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 7.3 years, according to data compiled by exechange. On an accumulated basis, around 4% of the CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months left their posts after more than 20 years.

Steve Berglund’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Robert G. (Rob) Painter, currently Chief Financial Officer of Trimble Inc.

It is a generational change as well. Rob Painter is about 20 years younger than Steve Berglund.

The company is also conducting an external search process to replace Painter as CFO. “The Board of Directors has undertaken a process to identify Mr. Painter’s successor as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, and anticipates that a replacement will be appointed by January 4, 2020,” Trimble said.

“The outcome of a multi-year board process”

Steve Berglund’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Trimble chairman Ulf Johansson said: “This decision is the outcome of a multi-year board process, which provides us with full confidence in our choice.”

Berglund will remain as executive chairman at Trimble

“Berglund, who has served as president and CEO since 1999, will transition to executive chairman of Trimble’s Board of Directors effective January 4, 2020,” Trimble said.

“Stepping down”

Trimble said: “Trimble … announced today that its Board of Directors has unanimously elected Robert G. Painter to succeed Steven W. Berglund as president and CEO of Trimble effective January 4, 2020, the first day of Trimble’s 2020 fiscal year. Painter will also join the Trimble Board of Directors on January 4, 2020.”

Trimble further said: “Steven W. Berglund is stepping down from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company effective January 4, 2020.”

“Not the result of any disagreement”

“Mr. Berglund’s decision to step down as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company is not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter related to the Company’s operations, policies, or practices,” Trimble said.

Share price increase since November 2015

The announcement follows an increase in Trimble Inc.’s share price of 74% since November 2015.

Chaired by Ulf Johansson

Trimble Inc. is chaired by Ulf Johansson.

Ulf J. Johansson was appointed chairman of the board in 2007, and has served as a director of the Company since December 1999.

In the position of CEO since 1999

Steve Berglund became CEO of the Company in March 1999.

Berglund has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Trimble since March 1999.

Prior to joining Trimble, Berglund was president at Spectra Precision, a group within Spectra Physics AB. Berglund’s business experience includes a variety of senior leadership positions with Spectra Physics and manufacturing and planning roles at Varian Associates.

He began his career as a process engineer at Eastman Kodak.

He attended the University of Oslo and the University of Minnesota where he received a B.S. in chemical engineering.

Berglund received his M.B.A. from the University of Rochester.

Berglund serves on the board of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group and the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and is chairman of AEM’s construction sector board.

He is also a member of the board of directors and audit committee of Belden Inc., a global provider of end-to-end signal transmission solutions.

Push-out Score determined

The Push-out Score™ determined by exechange gauges the pressure surrounding the management change on a scale of 0 to 10.

Read the full story in the exechange report 44.2019 ($).