Skyjack president to retire
By Adam Freill
Construction EquipmentTransition plan in place for Ken McDougall to hand over the reins to Charlie Patterson at the end of the year.
Ken McDougall (Photo courtesy of Skyjack Inc.)
Ken McDougall, president of Linamar Corporation’s Skyjack division, is set to retire at the end of the year, at which time Charlie Patterson will become the new president of the division. The two will be working together over the next several months to ensure a seamless transition for the organization.
McDougall started his career at Skyjack parent company Linamar in 1987 as a tool designer, moving up into various key roles including global sales and estimating manager, and vice-president of operations. Two-time Skyjack president McDougall’s tenure also saw the acquisition of two telehander lines from Carelift/Zoom Boom and Volvo, a crucial foundation for the company’s existing telehandler line up. More recently, McDougall led Skyjack’s global capacity increases. Taking the number of manufacturing plants from two in Canada to five globally, Skyjack’s potential global unit capacity is expected to increase 235 per cent compared to 2022.
“It has been an honour 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,” shared McDougall. “It has been an honour 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.”
Charlie Patterson (Photo courtesy of Skyjack Inc.)
Current vice-president of international operations, Patterson started with Skyjack in 2000 as U.K. sales manager before going on to head U.K. and European operations for the organization, overseeing the opening of Skyjack offices in the U.K., Germany, France, Sweden and Australia.
“I am thrilled and honoured to take on the role as Skyjack president,” stated 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.”
Patterson’s title as Skyjack president will be effective January 1 as he and McDougall work together for the remainder of 2023 to facilitate a smooth transition.
