MILWAUKEE — Rockwell Automation Inc. announces senior leadership transition to be effective November 1, reporting to Blake Moret, Chairman, and CEO.
Ernest Nicolas, currently vice president, global supply chain, is promoted to senior vice president, Operations & Engineering Services. He will have global leadership accountability for the six functions in OES that include, Global Supply Chain (Strategic Sourcing, Materials, Logistics, and Customer Care), Quality & Continuous Improvement, Engineering Services, Manufacturing Operations, Manufacturing Services, and Workplace Services. Nicolas will lead more than 9,500 OES employees and contractors and 19 manufacturing plants globally.
Mike Laszkiewicz, senior vice president, Operations & Engineering Services, announced his intent to retire effective January 31, 2020. He will continue to report to Moret until his retirement and will work to ensure a successful transition. “I appreciate Mike’s continued service to ensure smooth leadership transitions in the coming months,” said Moret. “Mike has held many leadership roles through his thirty-year career, notably leading the Power Control Business in CP&S before his senior leadership role in OES. His counsel to me has been tremendously valuable.”
“Ernest is precisely the kind of leader I want to accelerate our growth. Ernest brings a wealth of manufacturing and supply chain leadership experience, and a passion for people, with genuine care for team success,” said Moret. “I value his thoughtful and strategic counsel.”
Nicolas joined Rockwell Automation in 2006 as a Lean, Six Sigma Project Manager and has held several roles within the Operations & Engineering Services (OES) functions, including vice president, Global Supply Chain and vice president Strategic Sourcing and Supply Management, director Asia Pacific Manufacturing Operations and plant manager Twinsburg Operations.
Before Rockwell Automation, Nicolas spent 9 years in various roles of increasing responsibility at General Motors Corporation. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), the advisory board for the Grainger Center of Supply Chain Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and on the board of directors for the Milwaukee Urban League.
Nicolas holds a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Operations Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Master of Science (M.S.) in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Manufacturing Systems Engineering from Kettering University.