Ann Arbor, MI –- The 2014 RIA Board of Directors election results were announced:  Stu Shepherd, CEO - Americas, KUKA Robot Group, was named the new Chairperson. Joining Shepherd on the RIA Executive Committee includes the following robotic industry leaders:

• Past Chair Catherine Morris, ATI Industrial Automation;
• First Vice Chair Joe Gemma, Staubli Robotics;
• Second Vice Chair Mike Jacobs, Applied Manufacturing Technologies;
• Secretary Curtis Richardson, Spirit Aerosystems; and
• RIA President Jeff Burnstein.

“I’m thrilled to be named Chair of the RIA board,” said Shepherd. “For the past 40 years, RIA has made outstanding contributions to the betterment of the robotics industry. I, along with my dedicated board colleagues, look forward to continuing that tradition of service to the industry. It’s an exciting time for robotics as innovative technologies have allowed for growth of automation into new industries in North America and abroad.”

Joining the board for his first two-year term is Brian Behm, PaR Systems, Inc. Re-elected to new two-year terms for 2014-15 are John Bubnikovich, ABB Inc.; Mick Estes, FANUC America Corp.; and Kirk Goins, Comau Robotics.

The remaining Board members for 2014 include Henrik Christensen, Georgia Institute of Technology; John Clark, Epson America; Tim DeRosett, Yaskawa Motoman; Dean Elkins, Yaskawa Motoman; Joyce Guthrie, USPS; Charles Keibler, Genesis Systems Group; Dana Komin, General Motors; Mark Lewandowski, Procter & Gamble; Scot Lindemann, JR Automation; Steve Rock, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Pete Squires, Schneider Packaging Equipment.