Shift in leadership provides for growth in certification and environmental service offerings
NORTHBROOK, Ill., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a world leader in advancing safety, has announced the appointment of Gitte Schjotz as president of its operations in Europe and Latin America.
Schjotz, who has served since 2004 as UL's senior vice president of Global Standards, Accreditation and Certifications Programs, will be responsible for advancing the organization's ambitious growth strategy in the two regions while delivering improved levels of global integration, streamlined service delivery and enhanced customer service processes.
She succeeds Steve Wenc, who has led UL operations in Europe since 2008 and has held the dual role as president of UL Environment, one of UL's fastest growing business initiatives, since the business unit's establishment in 2009. Wenc will focus his responsibilities exclusively on UL's development of sustainability standards for home and family products and drive his business' global services expansion.
"At UL, we are extremely fortunate to have a strong and visionary leadership team that has taken our organization in important and exciting new directions," said UL's president and CEO Keith Williams. "I am confident Gitte will build on the many contributions Steve has made in his leadership of our European and Latin American operation and add new accomplishments rooted in her knowledge and passion for our business and our customers. At the same time, Steve's continued leadership as president of UL Environment will clearly accelerate the strong growth we have seen from this important new area for our business."
In 1993, Schjotz joined Demko, the Danish Testing and Certification Organization, which was sold to UL in 1996. Her career and home has spanned three countries. In 1999, she moved to Germany to become a member of the European Management Team and later in 2002, she moved to the U.S., to serve as the general manager for UL Knowledge Solutions, which today is known as UL University. Since 2004, she has served as the senior vice president of Global Standards, Accreditation and Certifications Programs at UL, a role she will continue together with her new role in Europe and Latin America.
Schjotz currently serves on the Market Strategy Board of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in Geneva, Switzerland and is a board member of the Danish company Alsiano. She represents UL on the board of shareholders of UL-DQS in Frankfurt, Germany and is a voting Council member of the International Federation of Inspection Agencies (IFIA).
"Her knowledge, experience and energy make Gitte uniquely qualified to lead our European and Latin American operations during a time when we are growing UL to extend our leadership in safety certification and testing to deliver new capabilities to industries that are redefining safety in the 21st Century," said Williams.
Schjotz holds a Master of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Copenhagen Business School and is a graduate of the UL Executive Leadership Program from Yale University.
About UL
UL is a premier global independent safety science company with more than 115 years of history. Employing more than 6,800 professionals in over 96 countries, UL has five distinct business units -- Product Safety, Environment, Life & Health, University, and Verification Services - to meet the expanding needs of our customers and to deliver on our public safety mission. Additional information about UL may be found at UL.com.
SOURCE Underwriters Laboratories Inc.
