Danfoss is pleased to announce that Sheila Lenss has joined as vice president, head of its Americas Drives business. Lenss, who began her new role on Sept. 12, replaces Ian Barrie, who is retiring after 28 years at Danfoss. She brings more than 20 years of executive business leadership to the role.

"Danfoss Drives is a significant player in the market, and I appreciate all that our Americas team has done to get us to this point," Barrie. "We are able to offer the full value chain – manufacturing, research & development and sales and service operations – which allows us to be more responsive and efficient with our customers, and Sheila is the ideal leader to continue our growth trajectory."

Lenss joins Danfoss from Carrier, where she was leading their industrial fire (Oil & Gas) vertical business. Prior to working at Carrier, Lenss held various marketing, sales and operations leadership roles with Honeywell both domestically and globally. She has also worked with start-up and mid-size B2B companies in industrial and commercial markets.

"I am excited to join Danfoss Drives and continue to strengthen our performance in North and Latin America," Lenss said. "North America in particular offers significant growth for Danfoss as the world recovers from the pandemic and we will continue to invest in our core markets and new opportunities."

"Ian has put a strong foundation in place for Danfoss Drives in the region," said Rick Sporrer, president of Danfoss North America. "I am grateful to him for his leadership and look forward to continued success under Sheila's direction."

Lenss has a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of St. Thomas and has completed executive education programs at Harvard University and Boston University. She is Six Sigma certified.