The industrial technology manufacturer focused on delivering innovative, market-driven photonic solutions, Excelitas Technologies, appointed Ron Keating as its new chief executive officer and Ben Stas as chief financial officer. They succeed former CEO David Nislick and former CFO Jim Rao who have announced their retirements.

“Nearly twenty years ago, I joined Excelitas, the past 13 of which I had the privilege of serving as its CEO,” said David Nislick. “I am most proud of the culture Jim Rao and I have built, the thousands of employees across the globe who have joined our community and the significant value we have created.”

“Jim and I are both committed to ensuring a smooth transition and have committed time to support the new leadership,” added Nislick, who will remain on the Excelitas board of directors as an independent director.

“Our board of directors would like to thank David Nislick and Jim Rao for their steadfast leadership. Over the last 13 years, David and Jim have built Excelitas into a leading industrial technology company,” said Vinay Kumar, board member and partner of AEA Investors. “We have known Ron Keating and Ben Stas for over a decade and believe they can accelerate the success of Excelitas as it enters a new phase.”

Ron Keating served the past nine years as president and chief executive officer at Evoqua Water Technologies, which he took public in 2017. This past year, he successfully led the sale of Evoqua to Xylem.

Ben Stas served alongside Ron Keating at Evoqua as the executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. The two also worked closely together at Kennametal, where they served in leadership positions before moving to Evoqua.