True Search Recruits CEO for ProGlove
March 16, 2023 – Global talent provider True has assisted in the recruitment of Stefan Lampa as the new chief executive officer of ProGlove, a global provider of wearable scanner solutions in Munich, Germany. He succeeds Andreas Koenig, who steps down for personal reasons. With more than 30 years in the industry, the experienced CEO will leverage his deep knowledge and expertise to continue ProGlove’s international growth path.
“We are very pleased that Stefan Lampa will become our new CEO,” said Ken Allen, chairman of the board at ProGlove. “Stefan has a clear vision, promotes a collaborative work culture, and is committed to driving innovation as the key prerequisite for our business success. This makes him the perfect match to continue Andreas Koenig’s inspiring leadership, which has taken the company from a start-up to a fast-scaling company.”
Mr. Lampa has a background in mechanical engineering and gained experience in the areas of digitalization and industry 4.0. Both became a focus of his leadership. Mr. Lampa most recently served as president at Cargotec Corp. During his tenure he drove a transformational strategy to turn the traditional heavy logistics equipment supplier into a technology leader based on electrification, robotics, and a digital offering. As CEO of KUKA Roboter, Mr. Lampa re-focused the robotics maker to include the general industry market as a complement to its existing automotive business. He also established a new corporate culture that hinges on a collaborative and international approach. Mr. Lampa’s executive management experience also includes 23 years with ABB, including six years as global head of robots and applications.
“Stefan’s track record speaks for itself,” said Andreas Näsvik, partner and head of industrial and business services, Nordic Capital Advisors and board member of ProGlove. “At Cargotec, he not only improved the profitability, but helped streamline the company. At KUKA Roboter, he delivered the best financial results of any KUKA company ever to date in 2017 and 2018. His remarkable accomplishments also include the turnaround and comeback of ABB Robotics during 2011-2015.”
“While these are certainly the things that impressed the board of ProGlove and Nordic Capital as the owner of ProGlove, it was just as important to find somebody who will continue the splendid work of Andreas Koenig,” Mr. Näsvik said. “Needless to say, we are certain that Stefan with his excellent communications and participative work approach is a perfect fit for ProGlove and that he will take this organization to the next level.”
“ProGlove is superbly positioned to address some of the key topics many traditional industry organizations are struggling with,” said Mr. Lampa. “Digitalization and human-machine collaboration are just two examples. What really gets me excited about ProGlove, though, is the young, energetic team. This reminds me of the pioneer spirit I experienced during the early days of industry robotics. To be successful in our targeted market we will need to generate value for our customers. At ProGlove, I see the commitment, dedication, and agility to put ourselves in our customers’ shoes and design the solutions that will make a difference for them.”
Founded in 2014, ProGlove provides smart wearable scanner solutions that fuel a continual stream of worker-driven productivity gains. ProGlove’s customers include organizations such as BMW, DHL, Gap Inc., and Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services. The wearable tech pioneer employs more than 350 people from over 30 countries with offices in Chicago, Coventry (U.K.), Munich (Germany), and Belgrade (Serbia).
Nordic Capital is a private equity investor with a commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Focus sectors are healthcare, technology and payments, financial services, and selectively, industrial and business services. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested EURO 22 billion in over 130 investments.
Serving the Private and Public Sectors
Working in both the private and public sectors, True Search has offices throughout the U.S. as well as the EMEA and APAC regions. Since the late 1990s, the firm’s founders have refined their search process with a blend of data-centric insights, relationship-building, and experience to produce a methodology that consistently improves hiring decisions and accelerates growth.
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The firm’s clients include Jet, Work Front, and Summit Partners. True Search is a subsidiary of True Platform, a global portfolio of human capital services and products for high-growth tech and tech-enabled organizations. True recently placed No. 7 on the Hunt Scanlon Media “Top 50 Recruiters” ranking.
Recent Funding
LLR Partners, a private equity firm based in Philadelphia, made an investment in True. The partnership is aimed at developing and expanding innovation within the talent space.
LLR Partners, which has raised more than $5 billion to fund investments across the technology and healthcare sectors, is said to have bought into True’s mission to disrupt a stagnant industry in desperate need of tech-driven talent solutions. “They expressed interest and we were compelled to listen, even though we were not looking for a financial partner,” said Brad Stadler, True co-CEO and co-founder, at the time of the investment. “Through our discussions, we quickly became aligned on how they could operationally and strategically support our long-term vision.”
“We also aligned on our ability to control our own destiny with no pressure to transact,” said Joe Riggione, True co-CEO and founder. “Our collective vision is for True to remain independent and become the industry’s dominant brand. We couldn’t be more excited about partnering with LLR to get there.”
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media