Mattias Byström has been appointed as the new president of Esko. He brings with him over 20 years of general management experience. Most recently he was CEO of FlexLink, a global factory automation solutions business with headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Byström has eight years of prior Danaher experience in different leadership roles in what was then known as Danaher Motion. This included leading the Automated Guided Vehicle business, primarily a software systems enterprise. Earlier in his career, Byström co-founded and led two digital start-ups. His appointment is effective from 1 January 2019.
Byström succeeds Udo Panenka, who is leaving the company to pursue new opportunities. ‘We thank Panenka for his excellent service to Danaher over the past ten years, including leading Esko since 2015,’ reflected Joakim Weidemanis, executive vice president of Danaher, Esko’s parent company. ‘Under Panenka’s leadership, Esko repositioned the flexo plate production business through innovation and moved to a new site in Itzehoe. He also built up Esko’s business serving brand owners, including the acquisitions of MediaBeacon and BLUE, and initiated Esko’s software migration to software-as-a-service (SaaS).’
‘With his unique management and technology background, Byström is ideally suited to lead Esko now. I am very happy to welcome him back to Danaher and excited to place him at the head of this important business that is simplifying the packaging value chain,’ added Weidemanis.
Commenting on his new appointment, Byström said, ‘Esko has incredible potential because digitisation, automation and connectivity have gained momentum in the packaging industry in the past few years. It is my priority to ensure that Esko delivers stronger innovation that is increasingly valuable to our customers.’
