Longtime Senior Executive Succeeds Tom Clay, Who Drove Remarkable Growth in 3D Printing and Scanning Business
Z Corporation, the leading provider of 3D color printers and 3D scanning solutions, today named John M. Kawola as CEO. Previously executive vice president of sales, marketing and business development, Kawola has served as a vital member of the senior management team since the company’s first commercial launch 10 years ago. He succeeds Tom Clay, CEO since 2005, who is leaving the company to pursue new opportunities.
Kawola has been integral to Z Corporation’s success in virtually every operations area during his decade-long tenure. The company’s first salesperson, Kawola led the globalization of the company’s sales, marketing and support organization, which includes 180 dealers in 40 countries. He has led all new product definition efforts, covering eight new hardware platforms and multiple material sets. He built and led business development, establishing new markets for 3D printing and 3D scanning in education, architecture, geographic information systems and entertainment. Due in large part to Kawola’s marketing vision, Z Corporation has become a market-leading brand signifying speed, color, and affordability.
About Z Corporation Z Corporation makes products that enable users to capture, edit, and print 3D data with unprecedented speed, ease, versatility and affordability. These products include the world’s fastest high-definition 3D printers — machines that produce physical 3D models from digital data in full color – and uniquely portable 3D scanners – handheld machines that digitize 3D surfaces in real time. Z Corp. technology is enabling a wide range of applications in manufacturing, architecture, civil engineering, reverse engineering, geographic information systems (GIS), medicine and entertainment.
“I am grateful for our success to date and honored to pick up where Tom left off,” Kawola said. “The company is in a remarkably strong position in a growing number of industries, and our team is determined to bring Z Corporation to new heights in the years to come.”
The transition marks a decade of Z Corporation success and increasing industry momentum. In the last year alone, for example, Z Corporation:
- Released the ZPrinter® 450, the first automated color 3D printer, named a “revolutionary invention” by Entrepreneur.com and “Best New 3D Printer” by Design News magazine;
- Shipped the ZScanner™ 800 for demanding 3D scanning applications, with five times the resolution and twice the accuracy of the previous products; and
- Released zp®140, the world’s easiest, safest and greenest material for inkjet-printing 3D models.
Kawola will report to Svenn Poulsen, CEO of the Contex Group, which is Z Corporation’s parent company. “John Kawola has been an integral part of the management team during Z Corporation’s remarkable growth,” Poulsen said. “His leadership, talent and results make him the obvious choice to lead the company going forward.”
Prior to joining Z Corporation, Kawola held technical and sales positions with General Electric and Albany International Corporation.
