Having served as CTO at MiR since January 2018, Søren E. Nielsen already has extensive knowledge of the company and its organization. Mark Jagiela, CEO of parent company Teradyne, emphasizes the continuity that the appointment of Nielsen ensures: "Søren E. Nielsen is an outstanding manager who will ensure the continuation of our strategy and business momentum. MiR is still a young company with enormous potential to change the world by optimizing the logistics of thousands of companies worldwide. As President of MiR, Søren E. Nielsen will carry forward the passion, innovation and vision that has enabled MiR to achieve this development. Our new President is an expressive leader. He will take a pragmatic and balanced approach to organization and processes in order to effectively drive the company forward. Søren E. Nielsen has a unique ability to reconcile the satisfaction of customer needs with strategic foresight in terms of innovation and leadership. His level-headedness inspires everyone who works with him."

Growth during the corona pandemic

The new President is looking forward to the task ahead and appreciates his promotion, also in view of the current unpredictable global market situation. His 25 years of experience in management positions at international companies such as Danfoss and Siemens will help him in this challenge. The qualified mechanical engineer received his management training at McKinsey & Company.

"Despite the current situation, MiR 2020 continues to grow," explains Nielsen. "We haven't put the brakes on, which gives us an advantage over other companies. Around the world, our flexible robots are helping to compensate for lost sales in industry, the healthcare sector and logistics by increasing efficiency and productivity. Our robots revolutionize the intralogistics processes of their users and at the same time improve occupational safety by relieving their employees of manual transport tasks."

Nielsen was MiR's fiftieth employee when he joined the company in 2018. MiR now employs 220 people, most of them at its headquarters in Odense, Denmark. "During the coronavirus pandemic, our recruitment declined," reports Nielsen. "However, our workforce had grown exponentially since the company was founded. This means we have been able to consolidate our organization and optimize our production processes in many ways. We have benefited from this and today I am proud to say that the company I will be leading from August is stronger than ever before."

Nielsen sees maintaining the corporate culture as one of his core tasks: "MiR is characterized by a strong ambition, coupled with a healthy competitive but focused mindset. We decide quickly where we want to go and help each other to achieve our goals - without political maneuvering or internal squabbles."

"Mr. MiR" leaves the ship

In just a few years, MiR has risen to become a well-known and renowned company both in Denmark and internationally - with Thomas Visti as its front man in the media. "It is 'Mr. MiR' who is now leaving. In this respect, I have big shoes to fill," says Nielsen. "Thomas Visti was extremely good at giving the MiR brand an international face - which means that we had a lot more media attention than would have been expected for a company of our size. Personally, I am a different story, but I will do my best."

Current CEO Thomas Visti is delighted with the choice of his successor: "When Søren came on board, we needed a leader with international management experience. He has made a significant contribution to optimizing processes and structures. I am therefore very happy to hand over the reins to Søren." Thomas Visti will be able to say more about his future plans in August. He will be leaving the company at the end of July.