Anderson takes over operational management

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 26, 2003

Camcon Technology has signed up Ian Anderson as Chief Operating Officer.

Camcon Technology has signed up Ian Anderson as Chief Operating Officer.

Anderson joins Camcon to take over the day-to-day operational management of the company, relieving its founder Wladyslaw Wygnanski to focus on research and development.

Anderson has a strong track record in general management, specifically developing business and market strategies for technology companies.

In addition to operational management activities, Anderson will be responsible for raising the profile of Camcon through sales and marketing.

He will also work with the board to ensure ongoing company funding.

Camcon has developed a wide range of bistable electronic actuators and valves that outperform traditional designs in terms of speed, energy consumption, heat dissipation and lifetime.

Applications include gas and liquid flow control, remote location and sub-sea oil drilling and production, automotive engine control and noise and pollution reduction in the aviation industry.

"I firmly believe that technical talent should be focused appropriately and not become bogged down by day-to-day management issues.

It is an irony of a successful technology startup that the inventor and founder will typically spend less and less time on product development and increasing amounts of time on operational management issues as the company becomes successful.

Anderson's appointment is a bold statement of how we expect Camcon to develop - most companies don't do this until later in their life cycle", said Danny Chapchal, Chairman, Camcon Technology.

Anderson joins Camcon after 18 months running Hespian, a management consultancy that he originally founded in April 1996 to provide short term and interim management consulting services to technology companies.

Clients included Merryweather Group, for whom he acted as Managing Director developing a new business plan and securing funding, and Gable CAD Systems also as Managing Director, returning the business to profit within nine months.

Anderson was a Business Unit Director at Unisys between November 1999 and January 2002, responsible for running the Advertising Solutions Business Unit following the acquisition by Unisys of PPI, a US supplier to the advertising solutions market.

He was responsible for raising revenues by 15% to $7 million following a business review post acquisition that saw the group expand to 45 people.

Prior to Unisys, Anderson was Marketing Director at ISGI Systems, a Siemens Company that supplied software solutions to the media, publishing and information technology sectors.

Between April 1995 and March 1996 he delivered growth of 20% and managed a group of eight marketing executives and software engineering resources in Germany and Finland, totalling 55 people.

Anderson was part of a management buy-in of Atex Systems, a leading system integrator in the media, publishing and information technology sector, from Kodak.

As a Senior Vice President responsible for corporate business strategy he spearheaded the company's return to profitability, establishing sales of $60 million and breakeven within 18 months from annual losses of $25 million.