Permobil names Chuck Witkowski as its new CEO
The former Knoxville and now Nashville residents was known as the best example of Lee Martin's "technopreneurial” program.
The Board of Directors at Permobil has appointed former Knoxville and now Nashville resident Chuck Witkowski, currently President of Permobil Americas, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Permobil. He will assume his position on July 1, succeeding Bengt Thorsson, who is stepping down after seven years as CEO.
Witkowski, who founded two Knoxville start-ups – Protein Discovery while working on his MBA at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and later Hubble Telemedical – has been leading Permobil’s operations and expansion in North America since 2019. This region is the company’s largest market, contributing more than 65 percent of total revenue. Concurrently, he has also served as the Chairman of the Board for the Permobil Foundation.
Protein Discovery was founded around the concept that Lee Martin advocated. Termed the “technopreneurial” program, it simply meant come get an MBA degree and leave with a company (see the first two articles that appeared in teknovation.biz – Part 1 and Part 2). In November 2011, Protein Discovery merged with Expedeon Ltd., a global provider of protein research products. His second start-up named Hubble Telemedical was sold to the medical device firm Hillrom (now part of Baxter). At Hillrom, he continued as Vice President and General Manager and built the company’s high-growth vision care division.
“Under Chuck’s leadership, we have seen tremendous growth in North America, and I am confident that his energy and focus on innovation make him the right person to further develop Permobil. At the same time, the Board and I would like to extend our gratitude to Bengt Thorsson for his outstanding contributions during his tenure as CEO. Under his leadership, the company has substantially enhanced its profitability by driving growth and improving efficiency, while also broadening its range of products and services,” says Martin Lundstedt, Chairman of the Board of Permobil.
“I am honored by the board’s confidence, and I approach the role of leading Permobil with humility and enthusiasm. Permobil stands as a shining example of Swedish innovation and industrial excellence, having enabled independence for millions of people around the world through technology. Our future is extremely bright, but to realize it we must remain focused, continue to transform and accelerate our pace of innovation,” says Witkowski.
Permobil creates advanced assistive solutions that make the lives of people living with disabilities more enriching.
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