Slavko Planinic has been appointed country managing director and head of industrial automation for ABB in Australia.
Planinic’s strong leadership and experience across all business lines will underpin ABB’s growth momentum in Australia.
He succeeds Tauno Heinola who is retiring. With more than 30 years’ experience in ABB and having served most recently as ABB Australia’s chief financial officer, Planinic brings an understanding of the company’s market and the challenges facing key industries.
His oversight and involvement in key market segments and account management programs will see ABB well positioned to seize growth opportunities as companies look to improve their productivity and competitiveness through automation and digitalisation.
In his role as Head of ABB Australia’s industrial automation business, which is ranked number two in the market globally, Planinic will lead a dedicated team with in-depth domain knowledge.
“ABB Australia’s commitment to supporting our customers, and ongoing engagement to grow the business in our identified segments, is stronger than ever,” said Planinic.
“We believe industrial digitalisation and automation is a tremendous opportunity for businesses in Australia to raise their competitiveness globally and to play an important, decisive role for the future of this country.”
“For government, digitalisation offers innovative solutions for sustainable transport, infrastructure and energy challenges. As a technology leader, ABB is working closely with customers and industry to not only drive productivity but do so in a way that reduces environmental impact.”
Planinic has served as a director of ABB companies in Australia for many years and held finance leadership roles in Europe and across South Asia throughout his career with ABB. He holds a Bachelor of Business Degree from the University of Technology Sydney and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Slavko will continue to be based in Sydney.