Johnson Controls has named Richard Lek as vice president and president, Building Solutions Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America (EMEALA), effective today. In this role Lek will serve as a member of the Executive Committee and lead the execution of our go-to-market strategy in EMEALA, using customer and market insights to capture new growth opportunities, and will deliver superior customer experiences throughout the building lifecycle. Lek succeeds Marc Vandiepenbeeck, who continues to serve as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Johnson Controls.
“Richard brings a wealth of experience to his new role, building on a successful decades-long career at Johnson Controls driving business results in Europe,” said Johnson Controls Chairman and CEO George Oliver. “We’ve seen an improvement in our EMEALA segment as we have implemented our end-to-end operating model. I have every confidence that he will continue the incredible progress we’ve experienced the past two years, which included a significant improvement in profitability.”
Lek joined Johnson Controls more than 20 years ago and has deep knowledge of products, markets and customers, having held multiple roles across both the field and Global Products businesses. Prior to taking this role, he served as vice president & general manager, Continental Europe, where he drove business growth with double digit return on sales, operational efficiency improvements and positive performance metrics.
“I have tremendous passion for Johnson Controls and take pride in the colleagues and customers that I am privileged to work with each day. I look forward to continuing this momentum and building on the strong foundation already in place as we transition to a simpler, higher growth company positioned to deliver more consistent, predictable results,” said Lek.
Lek will be based out of the Johnson Controls Rotterdam office.