BURLINGTON, Ont. - Anna Galoni has been appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of bearing and seal specialist Thordon Bearings Inc., a Thomson-Gordon Group company.
Galoni joined the Burlington, Ontario-headquartered company in 2007 after graduating from Queens University with a master's degree in Epidemiology.
Prior to her appointment in April, she held a number of senior roles in various departments including human resources director, new product development director and, subsequently, chair, Thordon Bearings – a position she continues to hold.
Her appointment follows the retirement of Terry McGowan, who stepped down after almost 14 years in the CEO role.
Galoni said: “I am very excited to be leading Thordon Bearings at this new juncture in its long and illustrious history. I look forward to working with the senior management team to build on the work of my predecessor and to ensure the company remains at the very forefront of environmentally focused clean power generation and industrial pump seal and bearing solutions.
“We have now completed an internal restructure and finalized a set of business objectives designed to strengthen our leading position in our core market segments while creating opportunities in new ones, such as the forestry and mining industries. We are also close to unveiling a new micro hydro power turbine, which could see us enter the turbine manufacturing market.
“We are not a huge company, but we make a significant difference in terms of customer value, customer service and in helping customers’ achieve their operating and environmental sustainability goals.”
As the company’s first female CEO, Galoni hopes the appointment will encourage more women to consider senior executive positions in the maritime and industrial manufacturing sectors.
“A woman does bring a different viewpoint to the Boardroom, but these industries are still male-dominated industries,” she said.
“We recently advertised a senior role but when I asked about the proportion of women that had applied for the role, I was shocked to learn there were none. Maybe they might be more open to applying for jobs in the manufacturing sector when there is a female at the helm, I don’t know. What I do know is that these industries need to be made more attractive to women. Boardrooms need to be diverse; they need to be open to different concepts, different perspectives, different ideas.”
Commenting on her appointment Thomson-Gordon Group Innovator and Thordon Bearings Founder, George (Sandy) A. Thomson, said: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of my stepdaughter Anna as our new CEO. After three generations of family ownership, the Thomson-Gordon Group, and Thordon Bearings is now looking to a fourth-generation family member to safely navigate the company through the challenges of the future.
“Anna has impressed throughout her years with the company and is now beginning to implement a plan that will see us expand and diversify the portfolio into other markets. Our philosophy, then and now, is to innovate and make systems and technologies that last a lifetime. This will continue to be at the heart of everything we do.”
In addition to the clean power generation and industrial pump sectors, Thordon’s polymer technologies are used across the aviation, oil and gas, and maritime industries. The company’s bearing and seal products have achieved worldwide renown as grease- and maintenance-free, environmentally safe alternatives to traditional bronze bearings.
“There's a lot of things happening,” Galoni said. “People here are excited. I am excited. Innovation is a big part of our 110-year-history and this will continue. We want to grow the business and have big plans to take us to the next level, internationally. There is a lot of potential.”