Jeff Benck President and CEO, Benchmark Electronics

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. announced that its board of directors has appointed Jeff Benck, 53, as president and CEO.

His official start date will be March 18, 2019, at which time he will succeed Benchmark’s current president and CEO Paul Tufano, who will remain with the company as an advisor through December 31, 2019.

Upon joining the company, he will also join the company’s board of directors.

He is a seasoned leader with over 30 years of experience in the technology sector. He most recently served as president and CEO of Lantronix, provider of secure data access and management solutions for industrial IoT, where he drove growth through a focus on operational execution and product innovation. Under his leadership, the company’s profitability more than doubled and market capitalization more than tripled, delivering significant shareholder value.

“Jeff is an outstanding leader with a proven track record of success in the technology industry,” said David Scheible, COB of directors. “Over the last several months, the board conducted a thorough and thoughtful search process, and the board is confident that he is the right person to lead Benchmark towards the full achievement of our strategy. Jeff brings proven leadership and operational skills to the team with a distinct understanding of the opportunities ahead, and his expertise in IoT is particularly relevant as we transition to a 5G world. We are excited to begin working with him as we continue to transform the business to create long-term value for all stakeholders.”

He added: “I would like to once again thank Paul for his contributions to Benchmark. He has been an invaluable part of the company during his tenure as a board member and later stepping into the CEO role. Paul’s vision and drive have strengthened the foundations of Benchmark, and he leaves the company more resilient and well-positioned to achieve our strategy and long-term business goals.”

“The last two years have been an incredibly rewarding time in my career and I’m grateful for the support of our board, management and all of our employees as we worked together to reposition the company for growth,” said Tufano. “Benchmark is in capable hands and on a clear path, and I’m looking forward to working with Jeff and the leadership team on a seamless transition.“

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead Benchmark and to begin working with its outstanding leadership team and talented organization of professionals,” said Benck. “There are tremendous opportunities ahead given the company’s engineering, technology and manufacturing platforms, and I’m looking forward to leading its next stage of growth. Together with the team, I am confident that we can continue to set the standards for excellence and drive innovation in the industry for our customers, employees and shareholders.”

Jeff Benck Biography
He most recently served as Lantronix‘s president, CEO and director since December 2015. As a result of his achievements while at Lantronix, he was recently named IoT CEO of the Year by IoT Breakthrough, an independent organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global IoT market. He also recently spent two years as an independent board director for Netlist Corporation, a provider of high-performance modular memory subsystems.

Prior to joining Lantronix, he served as president and CEO of Emulex Corporation, a supplier of networking, monitoring and management solutions from July 2013 until Emulex was acquired by Avago Technologies in May 2015. He joined Emulex in May 2008 as EVP and COO and was subsequently appointed to president and COO in August 2010. Prior to joining Emulex, he was president and COO of QLogic Corporation, a supplier of storage networking solutions. Earlier, he spent 18 years at IBM Corporation where he held a variety of executive leadership roles, including serving as VP of xSeries, BladeCenter and retail store solutions development.