Excelitas Technologies Corp., an industrial technology manufacturer and the parent company of Phoseon Technologies, has announced the appointment of Ron Keating as its new chief executive officer (CEO) and Ben Stas as chief financial officer (CFO). Keating and Stas succeed former CEO David Nislick and former CFO Jim Rao who have announced their retirements.

“Nearly 20 years ago, I joined Excelitas, the past 13 of which I had the privilege of serving as its CEO,” says David Nislick. “I am most proud of the culture Jim Rao and I have built, the thousands of employees across the globe who have joined our community and the significant value we have created with the entire Excelitas team for our shareholders. Jim and I are both committed to ensuring a smooth transition and have committed time to support new leadership, adds Nislick, who will remain on the Excelitas Board of Directors as an independent director.

“Our Board of Directors would like to thank David Nislick and Jim Rao for their steadfast leadership. Over the last 13 years, David and Jim have built Excelitas into a leading industrial technology company,” comments Vinay Kumar, board member and partner of AEA Investors. “We have known Ron Keating and Ben Stas for over a decade and believe they can accelerate the success of Excelitas as it enters a new phase.”

Ron Keating served the past nine years as president and CEO at Evoqua Water Technologies, which he took public in 2017. This past year, he successfully led the sale of Evoqua to Xylem.

Ben Stas served alongside Ron Keating at Evoqua as the Executive Vice President, CFO and treasurer. The two also worked closely together at Kennametal, where they served in leadership positions before moving to Evoqua.

“Ben and I are honored to join the Excelitas team as we embark on an exciting future for the company,” says Keating. “With a strong foundation created by David Nislick and Jim Rao, and its best-in-class technologies delivered by a best-in-class team, Excelitas is poised for growth and sustainable success.”

In moving forward in their new capacities, Keating and Stas pledged to build on Excelitas’ strengths, on delivering exceptional value to customers and on remaining steadfast to the company’s values and commitment to employee wellbeing and safety. The two plan an aggressive schedule of visiting many of Excelitas’ sites over the coming weeks and months.