Jack Lee has been appointed as the new president of Key Technology – Americas. Lee is in charge of developing strategies to let food processors in North America and Latin America use Key’s high-performance digital sorting, conveying, and process automation systems as well as its first-rate customer support.

Antoine van Bree, President/Managing Director, Key Technology – EMEIA, will continue to be in charge of Key’s operations in Europe, the Middle East, India, and Asia. Carson Brennan, who is moving to the Chicago region and taking on a larger role in business development at Duravant, is replaced by Jack Lee. Along with Don Douglas, the President of WECO, Lee takes on leadership of Key in the Americas and WECO.

“Key and WECO occupy an exciting space at a dynamic time. By working with food processors to optimize final product quality, despite extreme weather causing wide fluctuations in the quality of harvested crops, we’re able to act as a buffer to improve things for farmers, food processors, and consumers alike. We’re also addressing sustainability by reducing food processors’ energy and water use, plus decreasing their reliance on manual labor. Our purpose is to feed the world,” Lee declared.

Lee has more than 20 years of industrial automation leadership experience. He most recently held the position of President of Red Lion Controls, a department of Spectris PLC. Before that, he held several executive positions at Emerson Electric, including vice president of global marketing and business development, and he served as managing director of surface equipment and automation at Dover Artificial Lift.

“We’re delighted to have Jack at Key. His passion for continuous improvement, experience applying technology to address changing market needs, and team-oriented leadership style is driving a growth plan focused on delivering exceptional customer value. Jack is committed to Key’s ongoing success and aligning WECO together with Key. We’re accelerating on our strategy to pursue more common commercial opportunities and provide Duravant’s customers with a more integrated and comprehensive suite of sorting solutions,” Mike Kachmer, President and CEO of Duravant mentioned.

Lee served as the director of strategic planning and the director of the global food and beverage industry at Emerson Process Management. Lee has three master’s degrees in addition to his bachelor’s from Rice University, including a master’s in chemical/industrial engineering from the University of Houston, a master’s in engineering management from Northwestern University, and a master’s in business administration from the same institution.