BEDFORD, Mass., Feb. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in consumer robots, today announced that the company is expanding its management team, naming current Vice President and General Manager, EMEA, Jean Jacques (JJ) Blanc as Chief Commercial Officer and Charles (Charlie) Kirol as Chief Supply Chain Officer. These hires, along with the appointment of Keith Hartsfield as Chief Product Officer in September and the upcoming appointment of Julie Zeiler as Chief Financial Officer on May 4, position the company for future growth and improved profitability as it expands production overseas, fortifies its robotic vacuum cleaner leadership, diversifies its product portfolio and establishes new revenue streams within the smart home ecosystem.
"With more than 30 million robots sold, iRobot is entering its next phase of growth," said Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot. "The promotion of JJ to Chief Commercial Officer and the hiring of Charlie as Chief Supply Chain Officer strengthen iRobot's management team and will better enable the company to capitalize on near- and long-term growth opportunities as we expand manufacturing capabilities, broaden our global sales presence, and diversify our product portfolio. JJ's strong commercial orientation, proven ability to scale businesses and customer centricity, combined with Charlie's deep operational experience and ability to build bridges between engineering and supply chain teams, will be tremendous assets as we look to take iRobot from $1.2 billion in revenue to a multi-billion dollar company in the years ahead."
As Chief Commercial Officer, JJ will be responsible for leading iRobot's global go-to market commercial strategy, including direct-to-consumer and retail sales for the Roomba® robot vacuum, Braava® robot mop, and Terra® robot mower. He will provide strategic direction and leadership for iRobot to fortify segment share in existing markets and introduce new products to sales channels. Currently serving as iRobot's Vice President and General Manager of EMEA, JJ has more than 30 years of commercial management experience. With a deep international background and a track record of driving double-digit growth in the premium segment, JJ oversaw the successful acquisition of iRobot's largest distributor, Robopolis SAS, in 2017 and grew the company's EMEA business to $358 million in revenue in 2019. Prior to iRobot, JJ held leadership roles in commercial management at Whirlpool Corporation, including General Manager, France and Vice President of Sales, North West Europe. Earlier in his career, JJ held commercial roles at Phillips Electronics.
As Chief Supply Chain Officer, Charlie will be responsible for driving strategic direction and operational excellence across iRobot's manufacturing and supply chain organization as it expands its capabilities and presence overseas. In his role, Charlie will lead all aspects of contract manufacturing, plant and network operating efficiency, quality, logistics, supply, warehousing, safety, and short and long-range capacity planning and allocation. Charlie brings with him more than 20 years of leadership in supply chain, most recently as Senior Vice President, Global Operations at Sensata, a global $3.5 billion technology company with operations and business centers in 12 countries. During his five-year tenure at Sensata, Charlie also served as Vice President and Chief Procurement Officer. Before Sensata, Charlie spent seven years in leadership roles at Stanley Black & Decker, including as Vice President of Global Supply Management – Industrial Segment & GSM COE. Earlier in his career, Charlie spent nine years at General Electric Capital Corporation. He also served as a Logistics Officer in the U.S. Navy and continues to serve as a Senior Supply Chain Officer in the Navy Reserve.
JJ will assume the role of Chief Commercial Officer on April 13, 2020, and a search for his replacement as Vice President and General Manager, EMEA is currently underway. Until that position is filled, JJ will serve in a dual capacity as the interim leader of EMEA and Chief Commercial Officer. Charlie began as iRobot's Chief Supply Chain Officer on February 17, 2020. Both JJ and Charlie will report directly to iRobot's Chairman and CEO, Colin Angle.
About iRobot Corporation
iRobot®, the leading global consumer robot company, designs and builds robots that empower people to do more both inside and outside of the home. iRobot created the home robot cleaning category with the introduction of its Roomba® Robot Vacuum in 2002. Today, iRobot is a global enterprise that has sold more than 30 million robots worldwide. iRobot's product line, including the Roomba and the Braava® family of mopping robots, feature proprietary technologies and advanced concepts in cleaning, mapping and navigation. iRobot engineers are building an ecosystem of robots and technologies to enable the smart home. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
For iRobot Investors
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to iRobot Corporation's expectations concerning management's plans, objectives and strategies, including revenue growth, improved profitability, diversification of revenue, entering new markets, fortifying segment share, and the introduction of new revenue streams. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. iRobot undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks faced by iRobot, see the disclosure contained in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
SOURCE iRobot Corporation
