Doosan Bobcat Announces New Leadership and Expanded Global Organizational Structure

WEST FARGO, N.D. (June 27, 2019) – Doosan Bobcat, a global leader in the compact equipment industry, today announced the appointment of regional presidents and a new global organization and leadership structure. In this organizational structure, the newly created global groups – engineering, procurement and strategy – will work across all regions to fully integrate and leverage the power and scale of the company. 

Consistent with this change, Doosan Bobcat announced the following leadership appointments, effective immediately. 

• Mike Ballweber has been appointed president, Doosan Bobcat North America. Ballweber previously served as senior vice president, Commercial Business, Doosan Bobcat North America. Ballweber will be based out of Doosan Bobcat’s North American headquarters in West Fargo, ND. 
• Gustavo Otero has been appointed president, Doosan Bobcat Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Gustavo previously served as vice president of Compact & Telehandlers, Doosan Bobcat EMEA. Otero will be based out of Doosan Bobcat’s Czech Republic office in Dobris. 
• Troy Kraft has been named senior vice president, Global Engineering, Doosan Bobcat. Kraft has been leading the engineering function for nearly 12 years at Doosan Bobcat. Kraft will be based out of Doosan Bobcat’s North American Acceleration Center in Bismarck, ND.  
• Alvaro Pacini has been named senior vice president, Global Procurement, Doosan Bobcat. Alvaro previously served as EMEA region president. Otero will be based out of Doosan Bobcat’s Czech Republic office in Dobris. 
• Youngmin Kwon, as senior vice president, Global Strategy & Operational Excellence, Total Quality Management, will also be a member of the global leadership team. Youngmin will be based out of Doosan Bobcat’s office in Seoul, South Korea. 

All the leaders named above will report directly to Doosan Bobcat CEO Scott Park. 

“As a global company, we are taking these steps to become even more collaborative by sharing the best ideas and innovations around the world,” said Park. “I have great confidence in each of these leaders as they take on new and expanded roles and look forward to working with them to ensure our continued growth in the global marketplace.” 

Region presidents named 

Mike Ballweber, named the new president of Doosan Bobcat North America, has been with the company since 1998, and has served as senior vice president of commercial for Doosan Bobcat North America since 2016. Ballweber replaces Park, who has served as interim president of North America since September 2018. 
 
“Mike’s proven leadership skills, record of success and deep experience in the compact equipment industry make him highly qualified for this role and will provide a valuable perspective to our leadership team,” said Park. “Mike has been instrumental in steering Doosan Bobcat’s strategy and plans moving forward.” 
 
Ballweber’s experience includes serving as president of Doosan Portable Power from 2013 to 2016, and he was vice president of product management and strategy and vice president of aftermarket and product support for Doosan Bobcat North America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Minnesota State University at Moorhead and a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University. 
  
“After 20 years with Doosan Bobcat, I am honored to step into this new leadership role,” said Ballweber. “Our industry is evolving, and I look forward to helping our teams create new opportunities to build on the strength and momentum of Doosan Bobcat North America.” 
 
In addition to the North America announcement, Gustavo Otero has been named president for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (EMEA). Otero joined Doosan Bobcat in 2015 and most recently served as EMEA region vice president of Compact and Telehandlers. Prior to this, he was vice president of Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment EMEA and has an extensive 15-year background in the global construction equipment and automotive industries. Otero earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering at Universidade de Vigo, an executive MBA from IESIDE Business Institute and a PDD from IESE Business School Universidad de Navarra. 

Global function leadership team 

As a part of this initiative, Doosan Bobcat announced additional senior leadership roles to lead the expanded global structure and help enhance and streamline the company’s focus on engineering, procurement and strategy globally. 
 
Troy Kraft, named senior vice president of Global Engineering, has led engineering for Doosan Bobcat North America for nearly 12 years. He has been appointed to join the global leadership team and is responsible for global compact equipment product development, product safety and international standards. 
 
Kraft’s career in the compact equipment industry spans 30 years, and he has served as a key member of the Doosan Bobcat engineering team for decades. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from North Dakota State University. 
 
Alvaro Pacini has been appointed senior vice president, Global Procurement. He is responsible for global procurement functions including regional governance and commodity strategic management. He joined Doosan Bobcat in 2011 and most recently served as region president of Doosan Bobcat EMEA. Pacini has an extensive, 30-year background in the construction equipment and automotive industries, including experience in operations, strategy, sourcing, supply chain and total quality management. He holds a mechanical engineering degree from the Universidade São Francisco in Brazil, and an MBA in industrial administration from INPG in Brazil. 
 
“We are extremely pleased to have Troy and Alvaro lead the global engineering and procurement function teams,” said Park. “They bring unique skills and professional insights that will enhance our global executive team, from their in-depth industry experience to technical leadership and impressive management capabilities.” 
 
Kraft and Pacini join Youngmin Kwon, senior vice president, Global Strategy & Operational Excellence/Total Quality Management, as members of the Doosan Bobcat global function leadership team. Youngmin Kwon has responsibility for global corporate and manufacturing strategy and total quality management throughout Doosan Bobcat. Joining Doosan Group in 2000, he has more than 25 years of industry experience and earned a bachelor’s degree from Yonsei University and an MBA from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 
 
“Our new global structure and leadership team will encourage greater collaboration and agility throughout the company’s worldwide regions,” said Park. “Together, we will work more closely as one global team, which will bring enhanced collaboration, innovation and continued success for Doosan Bobcat.”