PEOPLE WATCH
New President and Vice-President for IFR
Jane Heffner has been elected as the new President of the International Federation of Robotics( IFR). She takes over the rotating presidency from Takayuki Ito of Fanuc Corporation. The new President holds the position of Global Vice President of Channel Communication at Teradyne Robotics. Her new Vice President, Adrien Brouillard, heads the robotics division at Stäubli as Executive President. He completes the federation’ s new leadership team.
“ I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Takayuki Ito for his outstanding leadership and dedication since taking office in 2024,” Heffner said, following her election.“ The global robotics industry is at an important inflection point, driven by rapid advancements
Image: © International Federation of Robotics.
Jane Heffner takes over from Takayuki Ito in Chicago.
in artificial intelligence and automation. We will continue to build on the excellent work that Takayuki has done as ambassador of the global robotics industry.”
Jane Heffner has more than two decades of leadership experience including in automation, robotics, automotive and aerospace. While assuming her new leadership role at IFR, she will continue in her position at Teradyne Robotics, a global provider
Adrien Brouillard. of collaborative industrial and autonomous mobile robots. Teradyne is headquartered in North Reading, Massachusetts( USA). n
https:// ifr. org
Allegra becomes new CEO of Automha
The Board of Directors of Automha has named Francesco Allegra as CEO of the company. The appointment supports the expansion and strengthening of Automha’ s growth within Comau, which includes capitalising on synergies with Invent. Automha specialises in intelligent, automated storage and retrieval systems, while Invent provides advanced picking and sorting technologies, material handling systems and warehouse control software. Both companies are owned by Comau, which delivers advanced automation solutions.
Francesco Allegra.
“ The intralogistics sector is expected to achieve double-digit growth over the next three to five years, driven by the continued expansion of e-commerce and the evolution of supply chains. As such, Francesco Allegra will build on our strong track record to enhance our integrated logistics automation offering, allowing us to take on largerscale projects, reach new markets and create new opportunities around the world,” commented Automha.
Francesco Allegra added:“ In assuming the leadership of Automha, my focus will be on [ achieving ] the company’ s full potential. I have seen first-hand the strengths of the team and technologies, as well as the market opportunities that lie ahead. By working together with Comau and Invent as a single technology hub, we are well-positioned to drive transformation and the optimisation of production processes of our customers around the world.”
Francesco Allegra has held senior executive roles within FCA, Geox and Comau. He succeeds Franco Togni as Automha CEO( who becomes Honorary Chairman). Allegra will retain his current position as Chief Operational Performance Officer at Comau. n
www
. automha. com
Redditch engineer retires after 50 years
An engineer is hanging up his micrometre after spending more than five decades on the shop floor. Gerry Dunne, who started his working career as an apprentice toolmaker with Brandauer in Birmingham( UK) in 1976, has just retired as operations director of Pre- Met in Redditch( UK).
Dunne has spent the last seven years supporting the growth of the metal stampings and pressing specialist, upgrading its manufacturing operations and integrating the recent acquisition of Quality Springs and Pressings. He has used his hands-on leadership style to champion lean manufacturing and just-in-time processes, helping the firm achieve more than £ 3m of new orders across automotive, rail and defence.
Gerry Dunne.
“ I’ ve seen and lived through a lot of changes in industry over the last fifty years,” explained Dunne, who was named as‘ Midlands Champion Toolmaker’ by the Engineering Industry Training Board in 1979.“ It has been a fantastic 50 years. I’ ve made so many lifelong friends and been involved in manufacturing businesses that make products we use in everyday life.”
Gerry Dunne started his industrial career in 1976 as an apprentice toolmaker at Brandauer. He spent nine years learning his trade and honing his skills, including designing a multistage progression tool capable of operating at 1000 strokes per minute. He then joined the tooling division of Westley Richards & Co, working his way up to managing director of Westley Engineering by 2008. At Kienle & Spiess, he oversaw expansion to £ 20m and various successful collaborative projects across sites in Germany and Hungary. n
www. metalpressings andstampings. co. uk
20 | ismr. net | ISMR October 2026