June 5th, 2014 - The Planon Group today announced to – from July 1st 2014 – operate with dual headquarters in order to better support the growth of its North American business. Currently the Netherlands office serves as Planon’s worldwide headquarters; from the second half of 2014 this will become the company’s European based headquarters. The company’s current Braintree (MA) regional office will become its North American based headquarters.
As part of this strategic move, Planon’s board member and shareholder Fred Guelen will be appointed as President of the American operations and relocate to the United States. He will lead the American and Canadian operations. The US General Manager Brian Lynch and Canadian General Manager Elie Elkaim will remain operationally responsible for the day to day business. CEO Pierre Guelen will remain based in Planon’s European headquarters.
The increasing importance for Planon of the North American market, the considerable growth as a company and recent large contract wins – like the National Institutes of Health – support the decision to open a US based headquarters. This also shows Planon’s strong commitment to obtain a leading position in the North American market comparable to Planon’s position in Europe. Planon has been recognized by Gartner as a ‘leader’ in the Integrated Workplace Management Solutions (IWMS) market for five consecutive years.
“We expect to grow our North American business significantly in the coming years and plan a number of investments to support this ambition. We will also further strengthen our non executive board to reflect the new situation”, said Fred Guelen. “We see a clear consolidation trend amongst competitors in the global market and at the same time a growing demand in the North American market for IWMS. Based on our acknowledged experience and strong proven solution, Planon is excellently positioned to benefit from the opportunities the market is offering and increase our service to our North-American customers.”