Paul Ryan appointed President for Europe, Middle East and Africa effective January 1, 2026
Vertiv (NYSE: VRT), a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, announced that Karsten Winther will step down as President, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) effective December 31, 2025. Paul Ryan, currently Chief Procurement Officer, has been appointed as his successor, effective January 1, 2026.
“Karsten has made significant contributions to Vertiv during his tenure, strengthening our presence in the EMEA region in a complex market environment,” said Giordano Albertazzi, CEO of Vertiv. “His strong leadership, passion for growing business and people, along with deep market knowledge and ability to build lasting relationships with customers, have been critical to our success.”
Winther will continue in his current role until the end of 2025, supporting the regional handover. Over the course of his career at Vertiv, he has held positions of increasing responsibility, moving from leading regional sales to executive leadership, helping to shape business strategy, operational excellence and profitability across EMEA.
Paul Ryan has more than 20 years of industry experience, including more than eight years leading Vertiv's global procurement and supply chain function, where he led significant procurement transformation, strengthening supply chain resilience and continuity, improving service levels and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. For over ten years he also held leadership roles at Emerson Network Power (now Vertiv) as Vice President Operations for EMEA, Vice President and Managing Director for Asia Pacific, and Vice President Global Operations and Supply Chain for data center solutions.
“Paul's extensive experience in our industry and technologies, his commercial vision, proven ability to successfully lead regional and global teams, combined with his expertise in evolving supply chains and procurement processes, make him the ideal leader to build on the strong foundations built in our EMEA region,” added Albertazzi. "His appointment reflects his achievements and the strength of Vertiv's high-performance culture. I am confident he will further accelerate the region's success and drive future growth."
Ryan obtained a degree in Production Management from the University of Limerick and subsequently a master's degree in Mathematical Sciences from the same university. He also completed the Executive Development program at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Effective immediately, Patrick Grainey has been appointed interim Chief Procurement Officer, reporting directly to Albertazzi. Grainey will remain in this role as the company begins recruiting for a new Chief Procurement Officer.
