Thordon Bearings appoints new CEO

Anna Galoni, Thordon Bearings Inc. CEO and Chair

Anna Galoni has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of bearing and seal specialist Thordon Bearings Inc., a Thomson-Gordon Group company.

Galoni joined the Burlington, Ontario-headquartered company in 2007 after graduating from Queens University with a Masters’ Degree in Epidemiology.

Prior to her appointment in April, she held a number of senior roles in various departments including Human Resources Director, New Product Development Director and, subsequently, Chair, Thordon Bearings – a position she continues to hold.

Her appointment follows the retirement of Terry McGowan, who stepped down after almost 14 years in the CEO role.

Galoni said: “I am very excited to be leading Thordon Bearings at this new juncture in its long and illustrious history. I look forward to working with the Senior Management Team to build on the work of my predecessor and to ensure the company remains at the very forefront of environmentally focused clean power generation and industrial pump seal and bearing solutions.”

“We have now completed an internal restructure and finalized a set of business objectives designed to strengthen our leading position in our core market segments while creating opportunities in new ones, such as the forestry and mining industries. We are also close to unveiling a new micro hydro power turbine, which could see us enter the turbine manufacturing market.”

“We are not a huge company, but we make a significant difference in terms of customer value, customer service and in helping customers’ achieve their operating and environmental sustainability goals.”

As the company’s first female CEO, Galoni hopes the appointment will encourage more women to consider senior executive positions in the maritime and industrial manufacturing sectors.

“We recently advertised a senior role but when I asked about the proportion of women that had applied for the role, I was shocked to learn there were none. Maybe they might be more open to applying for jobs in the manufacturing sector when there is a female at the helm, I don’t know. What I do know is that these industries need to be made more attractive to women. Boardrooms need to be diverse; they need to be open to different concepts, different perspectives, different ideas.”

In addition to the clean power generation and industrial pump sectors, Thordon’s polymer technologies are used across the aviation, oil and gas, and maritime industries.