SAN FRANCISCO — Grass Valley announced the appointment of Tim Thorsteinson as president and CEO, effective immediately. Thorsteinson returns after having run the business under Tektronix’s ownership in the late 1990s.
Alain Andreoli, who led the acquisition and carve out of Grass Valley from Technicolor two years ago, has stepped down and will leave the business at the end of January.
“We are pleased to have Tim Thorsteinson join Grass Valley at this pivotal point in the company’s transformation,” David Golob, partner at Francisco Partners and chairman of the board of Grass Valley, said in a statement. “Tim’s in-depth industry knowledge and his proven track record of value creation will ensure Grass Valley’s continued success as an independent leader in the rapidly evolving broadcast infrastructure market.”
After running Grass Valley the first time, Thorsteinson moved on to become president and CEO of Leitch, and then of the Harris Broadcast division, which was sold in December to an equity investor for $225 million. He was most recently president and CEO of Enablence Technologies, and he sat on the board of Miranda before that company was bought by Belden for C$345 million last year.
“Grass Valley is uniquely positioned to help lead the broadcast industry into the multi-platform era and I am excited to be joining the team,” Thorsteinson said. “I know first hand of the rich history of technical innovation that our customers around the world have come to expect from Grass Valley and I intend to continue that tradition through our powerful product portfolio and best in class solutions.”
