Peggy Johnson

Agility Robotics - United States

Agility Robotics, creator of the bipedal Digit robot, has appointed veteran tech executive Peggy Johnson as chief executive officer, replacing co-founder Damion Shelton, who will now serve as company president.

Agility says Johnson will draw on her decades of technology leadership experience to guide the company’s next phase of growth as Agility expands commercial deployments, broadens its product portfolio and prepares to manufacture Digit at scale.

Johnson most recently served as chief executive officer of spatial computing company Magic Leap. 

Previously, Johnson spent six years as executive vice president of business development at Microsoft.

Prior to that, Johnson spent 24 years at Qualcomm, where she served as a member of the company’s executive committee and held various leadership positions across engineering, sales, marketing and business development. 

Throughout her career, Johnson has received extensive recognition for her engineering and business successes.

In 2017, Business Insider named her the most powerful female engineer in the United States, and in 2016, Silicon Republic named her among the most powerful women leading technology around the world.

In 2013, Johnson was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame.

Neil Frohnapple

Terex - United States

Terex Corporation has named Neil Frohnapple as vice president of investor relations, reporting to Julie Beck, senior vice president and chief financial officer. 

Frohnapple joins Terex from The Timken Company, a USD5 billion industrial manufacturing company, where since 2019 he had served as head of investor relations. 

Before that, he spent 13 years as a sell-side equity research analyst covering industrial companies in the machinery and multi-industrial sectors.

"We are delighted to welcome Neil to Terex," says Beck. "He will be responsible for spearheading our investor relations strategy to deliver value for Terex shareholders."

Frohnapple holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in finance from Ohio’s John Carroll University.

Barry Guildford

GRI - Sri Lanka

Barry Guildford is the new global commercial director at specialty tyre manufacturer GRI.

Guildford was most recently the head of region northeast Europe and head of sales Contitrade at Continental, where he overhauled automotive retail networks across multiple countries.

His experience spans electric vehicle car service diversification, fleet business development, digital fleet management and marketing.

"His extensive experience and proven leadership skills make him the ideal candidate to drive GRI’s commercial strategy forward," says Prabhash Subasinghe, GRI’s managing director.

Brett Wood

Industrial Truck Association - United States

Toyota Material Handling North America president and chief executive officer Brett Wood has been elected chair of the Industrial Truck Association (ITA) for a second term.

During Wood’s 34-year tenure at Toyota, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing innovation and excellence in manufacturing and logistics, emphasising sustainability, safety and technological innovation.

“His leadership and deep industry expertise will be invaluable assets as we continue to drive member value and raise awareness on safety, such as through our National Forklift Safety Day held each June,” says ITA president Brian Feehan.

In accepting the position, Wood says: “As we navigate an evolving landscape, I look forward to collaborating with industry stakeholders to champion innovation, safety and sustainability in the powered industrial truck industry.”

Trey Hitson

Battery Builders - United States

Battery Builders, also known as BBI, has hired Trey Hitson as director of sales, one of a number of new appointments.

Hitson has more than 15 years of experience in the motive power industry. He joined the BBI team in April 2023.

Mark Rigor and Andy Trout were also named as regional sales managers.

Rigor, who previously worked at Raymond, Power Designers and Bulldog Battery, is based in Yorba, California.

Trout, who previously worked for Complete Power Systems, is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and will serve the Mid-East sales region.