Eric J. van Gemeren

Eric has been developing and leading high-performance teams in high-tech organizations for more than 30 years.   With a diverse background ranging from military service, to management consulting, to running a multi-national profit center, Eric has developed a passion for exploiting product and service innovation to drive growth in revenues and profitability.  Drawing on extensive experience in project management, operations, product lifecycle management, research & development, supply-chain management, and enterprise performance measurement, Eric has contributed to the successful transformation of numerous old-economy business models in the defense, automotive, and oil & gas industries.

Eric is the former Chief Technology Officer for Honeywell after retiring from the Flowserve Corporation, where –  in close collaboration with the CEO and fellow executives across the company – he is responsible for leading the effort to transform the company into a market-led, customer-centric, lean enterprise with the goal of delivering a step-change in both organic growth and profitability. Including both functional and operational changes, Flowserve’s transformation efforts cross all disciplines, business units, and geographies.  Providing the industry’s broadest portfolio of configure-to-order and engineered-to-order products, Flowserve is the world’s largest provider of industrial pumps, valves, and seals to companies in the oil & gas, petrochemical, water, and fine chemical markets.

Eric began his career as a Marine Systems Engineer in the Navy, and served many years in numerous warships deployed all over the globe.  After reaching senior officer rank, Eric left public service to become a Management Consultant to Fortune-100 companies that were struggling with the commercialization of technology-based products and services.

Eric is a registered Professional Engineer with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, a Master’s degree in Systems Engineering, and an MBA.  Eric also obtained professional certifications from the Project Management Institute and Product Development Management Association.  A member of Mensa, Eric has also been the recipient of numerous industry-sponsored awards, including outstanding career achievement and leadership.

Why I give…

“I’m a proud supporter of the FIRST program. I give because I really care about creating a future generation of leaders in our business, scientific, and local communities that can be more effective members of our society to help us move forward together.”