Festo Names Dr. Wilm Uhlenbecker CEO of its North America Business Region
March 4, 2025
Uhlenbecker will assume his new role on April 1 upon the retirement of current CEO Carlos Miranda.
Festo announced the retirement of Carlos Miranda, its North American Business Region CEO, effective April 1 and the appointment of the region’s new CEO Dr. Wilm Uhlenbecker.
A family-owned global business with more than $3.7 billion in revenue and 20,000 employees, Festo is recognized as one of the world’s leading automation suppliers and innovators. The company’s global headquarters is in Esslingen, Germany. This year, Festo is celebrating its 100th anniversary and more than 50 years in North America.
Uhlenbecker began his career in 1994 as a management trainee at Robert Bosch GMBH. He distinguished himself in every position, and, by 2003, he was the Assistant to the Robert Bosch CEO and Supervisory Board chairman. He has held senior leadership positions throughout his career and in 2019 was named President NA, Brose Group. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a MBA degree, both earned at RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany. Uhlenbecker will report directly to Thomas Böck, Chairman of the Board. He started at Festo on January 15 and will undergo an intensive two-month onboarding process.
“As a family business entering its second century, everyone at Festo takes the long-term view and prizes innovation, sustainability, customer service, and support of coworkers,” said Miranda. “After extensive meetings with Dr. Uhlenbecker, I know that he shares these values, which are essential for everyone taking a leadership role at Festo. I am proud to be making the announcement of his appointment and extremely proud of my 24 years at Festo.”
“Carlos Miranda is an innovator,” Uhlenbecker said. “Festo North America today has a state-of-the-art distribution, custom manufacturing, and training center in Mason, Ohio, that serves North America and was built on his watch. Festo’s sales force is the most highly trained and motivated I’ve encountered, as are its distributors. And its dedication to customer success and innovative solutions is phenomenal. Festo North America is not on the cusp of growth, it’s growing.”
Miranda began his career as a sales manager at Trottner McJunkin in 1990. He joined Festo in 2001 as the Sales Director for Festo Mexico and by 2004, was named CEO of Festo Mexico. In 2010, he was promoted to President Festo Americas and in 2017, he was named President and CEO of North America, which includes Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
Festo at a glance
Festo, the world’s leading supplier of automation technology and technical education, is deploying its products and services to meet the challenges of digitization and smart production. Founded in 1925, the family-owned company based in Esslingen, Germany supports a wide range of needs for advanced solutions in factory and process automation. In Canada, Festo has been supporting Canadian industry for 50 years, continuously elevating the state of manufacturing in this country with innovative products, optimized motion control solutions and unrivalled support.
Globally, some 300,000 customers put their trust in the company’s pneumatic and electric drive products and technology. In addition, Festo Didactic provides state-of-the-art training equipment and educational programs for industrial companies and educational institutions – about 56,000 customers worldwide. The Festo Group registered sales of €3.81 billion in the 2022 financial year and is represented worldwide at 250 locations with about 20,800 employees. About 7% of its annual turnover is invested in research and development.
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