Potter Global Technologies, a manufacturer of fire, life safety, and emergency communications solutions, today announced the appointment of Roel Vestjens as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Roel Vestjens succeeds Gerry Connolly, who has led the company since 2019.
Roel joins Potter after an extensive career across leading industrial businesses. He most recently served as CEO of Belden, a signal transmission solutions company, where he spent 17 years in various leadership roles. Prior to Belden, he served in various roles at Royal Philips Electronics and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.
“We are confident that Roel’s track record and wealth of experience in elevating companies and growing global businesses will be invaluable to supporting Potter’s continued ability to develop new ways to serve our customers and protect lives,” said Mark Levy and Kevin Layne, Co-Chairmen of the Board at Potter. “We are grateful to Gerry for his contributions to Potter’s success over the past several years and are pleased to welcome Roel to lead Potter in its next chapter.”
“Potter has a rich history as a trusted provider of mission-critical, high-quality fire safety and emergency communication equipment supported by incredible customer service. I see substantial potential for continued growth and am delighted to join the team at such an exciting time in the company’s journey. As we grow from here, we will be building on Potter’s legacy of reliability and innovation in fire and life safety to better serve our customers and protect the public,” said Roel Vestjens.
“I am incredibly proud of the tremendous growth and milestones that we have collectively achieved over the past several years,” said Gerry Connolly. “Potter has a bright future ahead, and I look forward to supporting Roel and the Board as they continue to take the company to new heights.”
“Roel is a proven leader with a customer-centric mentality. We believe his experience and expertise will help Potter accelerate its growth, building on Potter’s over 125-year legacy of product excellence and customer service and the meaningful progress over the last 5 years under Gerry’s leadership,” said Brandon Brahm, Partner at KKR and member of Potter's Board of Directors.
