Cognex has promoted Robert Willett, the company's president and chief operating officer, to chief executive officer. Willett will continue to report to Dr Robert Shillman, who remains chairman of the board, and who will take on the newly-created role of Cognex's chief culture officer.
In his most recent role as president and COO of Cognex, Willett had management responsibility for sales, marketing, product development and operations for both of Cognex's two divisions (the Modular Vision Systems Division and the Surface Inspection Systems Division). As CEO, Willett will now also be responsible for the company's global finance and administration functions.
'Since joining Cognex just three years ago, Rob has done a superb job of both managing our business during the 2009 downturn and in laying the groundwork for our company's record-breaking financial performance in 2010,' said Dr Shillman.
Dr Shillman continued: 'In my new role as chief culture officer, I will work hard to maintain our unique corporate culture in every office around the world so that Cognex can continue to be a great place for smart, creative and hardworking people to build their careers.'
Willett joined Cognex in 2008 as executive vice president and president of the Modular Vision Systems Division. In 2010 he was promoted to president and COO.
