Festo Appoints North American COO and VP of Sales

Summary

June 2, 2021 - Festo announces that Kim Harper-Gage, who joined Festo in February 2020 as vice president of operations, has been appointed chief operating officer, and John Holmes, who has more than 25 years of experience at Festo, has been appointed vice president of sales–North America.
 
“It’s an honor to lead the Operations team for Festo North America,” said Harper-Gage. “I look forward to continuing our hard work to build greater efficiencies and greater cooperation as a region, serving our customers and partners at our utmost potential, so they too may reach and surpass their operational and productivity goals.”
 
In her new role as COO, Harper-Gage will focus on the strategic development of Operations throughout North America, ensuring benchmarking and sharing of best practices within Festo’s North America business region. She is responsible for overseeing the Regional Service Center (RSC) and Customer Solutions production in Mason, Ohio, as well as supply chain and distribution logistics in Mexico and Canada. She will also continue to directly support Livermore, Calif., operations.
 
“Festo has built a reputation as a trusted global leader in automation,” said Holmes. “I’m honored to step into the role of Vice President of Sales in an ongoing effort to provide customers with dependable and innovative automated solutions.”
 
Prior to Holmes joining Festo, he worked for United Manufacturing Systems, a custom machine and automation provider serving the aerospace, building products, and consumer goods industries.
 
“John is a proven senior executive who has built his career on successfully anticipating and serving the needs of customers,” said Carlos Miranda, CEO North America at Festo. “John is a strategic thinker with deep industry knowledge who is well-suited to lead during a time that is both complex and challenging, yet full of excitement and opportunities.”
 
Harper-Gage played an instrumental role in navigating Festo’s COVID-19 response, ensuring workplace safety for Festo employees, and preventing minimal to zero disruptions for customers globally. Despite pandemic challenges, Festo’s Mason facility has experienced exponential growth.
 
“Kim is a valued leader in operational excellence,” said Carlos Miranda, chief executive officer North America at Festo. “In the last 12 months, she has achieved significant accomplishments in the areas of leadership and production by increasing the efficiencies of Festo’s Livermore facility. I’m very much looking forward to working with Kim in her new role as COO.”