Keysight Technologies President and CEO Ron Nersesian will be retiring from his role as of May 1, and current COO Satish Dhanasekaran has been selected to step into the CEO position.
Nersesian has served as Keysight’s CEO since the company was spun out of Agilent Technologies in 2014, and before that, spent more than 30 years with Keysight’s various predecessor companies. He has overseen a period of rapid growth—the company’s revenues have seen a 10% compound annual growth rate during his tenure as CEO—and a number of significant acquisitions, including those of Anite, Prisma, and Ixia, and an overall shift toward a more software-centric strategy for a company long associated with its testing hardware.
Ron Nersesian
Nersesian will continue to serve as executive chairman of the board of directors of Keysight.
“I am incredibly proud of the exceptional results that the Keysight team has achieved for customers and shareholders,” said Nersesian in a statement. “Looking ahead, I am even more confident in Keysight’s future prospects and ability to drive further value creation given the strength of the company’s differentiated solutions, R&D investments, sales and marketing engines, leadership team, balance sheet, and culture.”
Keysight’s current COO, Satish Dhanasekaran, has been chosen to be Nersesian’s successor. He has been with the company since 2006 and has held the COO position since 2020; previous to the COO role, Dhanasekaran headed up Keysight’s Communications Solutions Group, which is its largest business segment and includes the company’s products and solutions for wireless, wireline, government and aerospace/defense customers. As head of CSG, Dhanasekaran oversaw its growth and an increase in its mix of software solutions. During his time as COO, he has focused on Keysight’s growth initiatives, including oversight of its market and technology research, new technology development, products and solutions and sales.
“Our view of 5G transcends the technology-centric view,” he told RCR Wireless News in a 2020 interview. “Even though technology is at the center of what we do, we have a broader vision – that 5G will enable the connectivity fabric of the new digital economy.”
In a statement on the executive leadership change, Dhanasekaran said, “I am honored that the Board has selected me to succeed Ron as Keysight’s President and CEO. Keysight’s purpose of accelerating innovation to connect and secure the world enables us to capture opportunities across our diverse set of end markets and extend our track record of strong financial performance. Keysight has a very bright future ahead, and I look forward to working with the team to execute our software-centric solutions strategy and apply the Keysight Leadership Model to deliver greater value for our customers, shareholders and employees.”
“I love Keysight deeply and I feel confident in its future with Satish as CEO and the exceptional leadership team and employees in place,” said Nersesian. “Through the Board’s succession planning process, Satish’s market expertise, strategic insight, and high-performance track record made him the clear choice to lead Keysight. I look forward to continuing with Keysight as Executive Chairman and working with Satish and the Board to build on Keysight’s strong momentum to create further value for all stakeholders.”
