Emerson rebrands as Vertiv; Appoints Rob Johnson as CEO

Emerson Network Power today announced the appointment of Rob Johnson as CEO and officially commenced a campaign to rebrand the standalone company as Vertiv.

Vertiv is a global provider of mission-critical infrastructure technologies for vital applications in data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments. The company, which is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio has more than 20,000 employees and more than 25 manufacturing and assembly facilities worldwide.

Platinum Equity acquired the business today from Emerson in a transaction valued in excess of $4 billion and Emerson has also retained a minority interest in the company.

Johnson, most recently an operating partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, spent 10 years at American Power Conversion (APC), a leader in data center infrastructure.  He was president and CEO of APC when the company was sold to Schneider Electric for $6.1 billion in 2007.  While at APC he also served as general manager of the company’s Availability Enhancement Group.

Bryan Kelln, partner and president of portfolio operations at Platinum Equity, said Johnson’s leadership skills and technical expertise make him a perfect fit to lead Vertiv.

“This is a transformational opportunity for the company and we believe Rob is the right leader to grow the business as we establish a culture focused on speed, innovation and customer service,” said Bryan Kellen. 

In addition to his career at APC, Johnson has worked in executive positions at Consolidated Container Corporation, a provider of rigid plastic packaging solutions.

In 1989, Johnson founded Systems Enhancement Corporation (SEC), a company that created innovative software and hardware solutions for the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) industry. He sold the company to APC in 1997.

Rob Johnson said, "As an independent company, Vertiv will operate with great freedom to make business strategy and investment decisions, move more quickly like a startup, and focus on innovative solutions for our customers, including those in the growing cloud computing, mobile and IoT networks.”

Vertiv will build on the broad portfolio of product and service offerings for power, thermal and IT management capabilities it previously offered as Emerson Network Power, including its industry-leading flagship brands ASCO, Chloride, Liebert, NetSure and Trellis.