Published 5/8/2024

Okuma America Corp. Announces New Personnel Appointments

The company has appointed four new personnel to direct and support the company’s strategic growth initiatives in the Americas.

Edited by: Chris Pasion

Managing Editor, Modern Machine Shop | Production Machining

Timothy Thiessen (top left), Mike Hampton (top right), Summer Cline (bottom left) and Simon Schneider (bottom right). Source: Okuma America Corp.

Okuma America Corp. has announced new personnel appointments to direct and support the company’s strategic growth initiatives in the Americas.

Timothy Thiessen was promoted to the role of senior vice president of sales and marketing. In this new role, Thiessen will continue to lead the Okuma America sales, product management, marketing and corporate accounts teams and partnerships with Okuma distributors throughout the Americas region. Prior to this appointment, Thiessen served in various roles at Okuma America Corporation, including vice president of sales and marketing, senior regional sales manager and applications engineer.

Summer Cline was appointed to the role of senior vice president of finance. In this role she will continue to be responsible for the company’s finances and lead the accounting, HR and IT teams. Cline previously served as vice president of finance at Okuma. Prior to her time at Okuma, Cline served as a vice president of finance at Source Technologies, as well as in a variety of roles at Compass Group North America, including director of strategic projects, project manager and project analyst.

Simon Schneider joined Okuma America Corporation in March 2024 in the role of director of Okuma Factory Automation. He will be responsible for leading Okuma America’s Factory Automation Division as the group develops and expands a comprehensive line of CNC automation solutions to be used with Okuma machine tools. Prior to joining Okuma America, Schneider served as an engineering manager, director of customer services and quality, quality manager, business process analyst and mechanical engineer at Chiron America Inc.

Mike Hampton was appointed to the role of field service senior manager. In this new role, Hampton will lead the field service group to provide comprehensive service to Okuma users in the Americas. He previously served as business development manager with a focus on growing aftermarket parts and services. He also managed the Okuma Partners in Technology program and its supporting technology centers. Prior to joining Okuma, Hampton served as a business development program manager for PFC Brakes.

Additionally, the company recently appointed Wade Anderson to the position of vice president of the Engineering & Factory Automation Division for the Americas.