Danfoss Drives has announced Hannes Leichtfried has been appointed head of sales and marketing for the drives business segment in North America. With nearly 30 years of experience at Danfoss in Austria and Germany, Leichtfried (an Austrian native), reportedly is excited to continue to build the North America Drives business.

“I am thrilled about my new role in a vital market for our Drives business,” Leichtfried says. “There are significant opportunities to capture market share and enhance the Danfoss brand, both in our core business and in emerging segments like Electrification. With our skilled team in North America, we aim to create a compelling value proposition for our customers, offering application leadership and support to facilitate their decarbonization efforts.”

Leichtfried began his career at Danfoss in 1994 as a technical support engineer, then moved into sales and marketing roles. He was most recently the head of sales and marketing for Danfoss Drives in the Central European region. He will be based at the Danfoss Drives’ Loves Park, IL, office in his new role.

“Our region has a strong trend of growth for Danfoss Drives,” says Rick Sporrer, president of Danfoss North America. “With high-quality products, and our experienced and competent team on the ground, we have the foundation to take a leading position in the North America region. Hannes brings a wealth of experience and a strong track record, and I look forward to working with him to increase our market share in North America.”

Leichtfried has an undergraduate engineering degree from Federal Higher Technical Institute (Austria) as well as additional training in sales, marketing, and strategic management.