CONKLIN, NY – Universal Instruments has appointed Brad Bennett as president, succeeding Jean-Luc Pelissier, the company’s CEO and president for the past 16 years who will retire after a brief transition phase.

Bennett has held various management roles at Universal, most recently as business unit general manager and VP, and 15 years prior as vice president of global field operations. In that role, he was responsible for the profitable growth of six regions with diverse product line objectives. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

"It’s an honor to hold this leadership position in the company I have devoted my career to," said Bennett. "I couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to build on the foundation that was established by Jean-Luc and I am very optimistic that we are poised for growth and success as a part of the Delta family.

“We have an amazing team of people here at Universal and we have our sights set on some very ambitious goals. We’ll continue to aggressively pursue those goals while collaborating with the world’s leading technology companies to ensure our solutions create better value for our customers," he said.

Joining Bennett’s executive staff is Debbora Ahlgren, who was appointed vice president of global customer operations. She has more than 20 years of industry experience, most recently as general manager of Edwards Vacuum, a global leader of vacuum and abatement solutions for semiconductor manufacturing.