When Steven W. Berglund joined
Trimble Navigation Ltd. in 1999 as president and CEO, the company had just finished two years of losses, had more than
30 percent turnover and had lost its focus
since going public in 1990.
Berglund quickly reset the company’s
focus by creating a clear strategy and
focusing on the commercial markets.
He also took on a major acquisition to
consolidate Trimble’s offerings in the
engineering and construction segment.
While this was risky at the time, it
worked out well, as the engineering
and construction business became No.
1 in market share and its revenue grew
600 percent from 1999 to 2007.
On top of that, Berglund has led the
company through 30 small technology
acquisitions in the last eight years. All
of these are aligned with Trimble’s core
strategy of using technology to transform processes and impact users’ capabilities and economics.
His efforts have paid off, as he’s led
the company through nine straight
years of 20 percent growth and
increased revenue by 1,200 percent
from 1999 through 2007. Trimble is now
No. 1 in all of its business segments,
and to stay that way, it spends more
money on research and development
than any of its competitors and owns
more than 700 patents. As Berglund
looks toward the future, he looks to
grow more by taking new products to
existing customers and expanding new
technologies to new customers.
HOW TO REACH: Trimble Navigation Ltd., (408) 481-8000 or
www.trimble.com