ETQ, part of Hexagon, announced that it has appointed John Taylor, its former Senior Vice President of Engineering & Operations, to Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective immediately. In this new role, John will be responsible for overseeing the strategic direction of ETQ Reliance, the company’s Industry-leading, cloud-native Quality Management System (QMS). John replaces ETQ’s co-founder and CTO, Morgan Palmer, who is transitioning out of the CTO role to pursue personal interests.

ETQ also has added ETQ’s Vice President of Product Management, Jamie Fernandes, to the ETQ executive team, expanding his role to include corporate strategy and long-term product direction. Both Jamie and John will continue to evolve ETQ Reliance, along with ETQ’s Chief Architect, Heera Sharma, who has played a strategic role in the growth of the solution as the industry’s most advanced QMS.

“Over the past four years, John has been instrumental in the transformation of ETQ’s engineering organization, leading major initiatives, such as the development of Reliance NXG and the implementation of our agile development process,” said Rob Gremley, CEO, ETQ. “Because of his proven vision and deep understanding of the technology innovation that will drive the next era in data-driven quality, we’re confident that he will fill the big shoes left by our former CTO, Morgan Palmer.”    

John has 30 years of software development and senior leadership experience. Prior to joining ETQ in 2018, John was senior vice president with PTC, where he led the software development team responsible for the development and maintenance of its industry-leading IoT platform and other solutions. John previously held strategic positions with Axeda Corporation, including Vice President, Research & Development and Director of Engineering.

Since Jamie Fernandes joined ETQ in 2021, he has transformed ETQ’s product management team and processes into a highly visionary and collaborative organization that works closely with Engineering. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in Software as a Service (SaaS), marketing automation, human capital management (HCM) platforms, Product Portfolio Management (PPM) and cybersecurity. Prior to ETQ he held senior-level product positions with Mimecast, Sophos, Sermos and other technology companies.

“I’m very proud of ETQ’s growth and accomplishments over the past 30 years and I couldn’t be more pleased with its decision to appoint John Taylor as my successor,” said Morgan Palmer, ETQ’s former CTO.  “ETQ Reliance is well positioned to lead the way in data-driven, connected quality for key industries, such as manufacturing and life sciences, and I’m confident that John, Jamie, Heera, and the rest of the executive team will lead Reliance to new heights when it comes to product innovation and autonomous quality.” 

In addition to strengthening its executive team, ETQ has marked significant milestones this year, including the launch of a new version of award-winning, cloud-native QMS, Reliance NXG; new Quality Events and Lab Investigation applications; and participation in Hexagon Live, a major industry event where CEO Rob Gremley, Morgan Palmer, and ETQ customers Ben Bollenbacher from Kimberly-Clark and Sara Hanks, from global rail manufacturer Wabtec, presented. 

For more information, visit www.etq.com.