Following a 36-year career with the company, Ken McDougall, president of Skyjack, a Linamar Corporation company, has announced he will retire.
McDougall’s retirement will take effect on January 1, 2024, at which point Charlie Patterson, current vice president of international operations, will take over as president. McDougall and Patterson will work together for the remainder of 2023 to ensure a smooth transition, Skyjack says.
McDougall joined Skyjack parent company Linamar in 1987 as a tool designer, moving up into critical roles, including global sales and estimating manager and vice president of operations. During his tenure as president, McDougall oversaw the acquisition of two telehandler lines from Carelift/Zoom Boom and Volvo, as well as numerous new product launches. He also was responsible for increasing the company’s global manufacturing capacity, taking the number of manufacturing plants from two in Canada to five globally.
“It has been an honor to serve as Skyjack president during this period of immense growth and transformation. 2023 marks my 36th anniversary with Linamar and Skyjack, and over those years I have had the great pleasure of working for and with countless talented and dedicated individuals,” says McDougall. “It has been an honor to lead the Skyjack team and I am confident that with his experience, knowledge and leadership skills Charlie Patterson will do an outstanding job in moving Skyjack forward.”
Patterson started with Skyjack in 2000 as UK sales manager and went on to lead the UK and European operations for the organization. He oversaw the opening of Skyjack offices in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Australia and previously led sales in Asia-Pacific.
“I am thrilled and honored to take on the role as Skyjack president,” said Patterson. “Ken has done an exceptional job moving Skyjack forward to date, and I look forward to continuing to build upon that momentum. As always, Skyjack will be dedicated to being easy to do business with, while developing simple and reliable solutions for rental companies worldwide.”
