June 11, 2023
Ken McDougall, left, and Charlie Patterson
Ken McDougall, president of Linamar Corp.’s Skyjack division, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, is retiring and will be replaced by Charlie Patterson, effective Jan. 1, 2024. The two will be working together over the next several months to ensure a seamless transition for the organization.
Patterson’s title as Skyjack president will be effective Jan. 1, 2024.
McDougall started his career at Skyjack parent company Linamar in 1987 as a tool designer, moving up into various key roles including global sales and estimating manager, and vice president of operations. Two-time Skyjack president McDougall’s tenure also saw the acquisition of two telehandler lines from Carelift/Zoom Boom and Volvo, a foundation for the company’s existing telehandler line up. More recently, McDougall led Skyjack’s global capacity increases. Taking the number of manufacturing plants from two in Canada to five globally, Skyjack’s potential global unit capacity is expected to increase 235 percent when compared to 2022, according to the company.
McDougall’s tenure also saw a number of Skyjack product launches including ELEVATE, updated boom and vertical mast lines.
“It has been an honour to serve as Skyjack president during this period of immense growth and transformation. 2023 marks my 36th anniversary with Linamar and Skyjack, and over those years I have had the great pleasure of working for and with countless talented and dedicated individuals,” McDougall said. “It has been an honour to lead the Skyjack team and I am confident that with his experience, knowledge and leadership skills Charlie Patterson will do an outstanding job in moving Skyjack forward.”
Current vice president of international operations, Patterson started with Skyjack in 2000 as UK sales manager and went on to head the UK and European operations for the organization. Patterson oversaw the opening of Skyjack offices in the UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Australia, and previously led sales in Asia-Pacific.
“I am thrilled and honoured to take on the role as Skyjack president,” Patterson said. “Ken has done an exceptional job moving Skyjack forward to date, and I look forward to continuing to build upon that momentum. As always, Skyjack will be dedicated to being easy to do business with, while developing simple and reliable solutions for rental companies worldwide.”
