Top Otis appointment joined by Alimak, Apex hires.

Marks Named Otis President; First Woman to Head UTC Subsidiary

Judy Marks has been named president of Otis, making her the first woman to lead a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (UTC). Marks joins UTC from Siemens, where she served as CEO of Siemens USA and its subsidiary, Dresser-Rand, which serves the oil and gas industry globally. For Siemens, she led operations and services in the U.S. in the areas of electrification, automation and digitization. Before joining Siemens, Marks held leadership positions at Lockheed Martin and IBM, where she “built a distinguished career serving customers and creating solutions for global businesses and national government entities.” Marks holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She succeeds Philippe Delpech, who resigned in July to take a position with another company (ELEVATOR WORLD, October 2017).

Brogren Appointed CTO at Alimak Group

Charlotte Brogren has been appointed chief technology officer (CTO) at Alimak Group. She most recently served as director general at VINNOVA, the Swedish government agency for innovation systems. Prior to that, she worked for 15 years in various R&D management positions for ABB, most recently as technology manager for the robotics division. Brogren has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Lund and holds several board positions with the Royal Academy of Engineering Sciences. As part of Alimak’s management team, Brogren is responsible for technology, innovation and product management. She succeeds Frank Klessens, who continues to serve as head of Product Management for the Alimak Hek brand.

Apex Hires Service Contract Manager

Kent, U.K.-based Apex Lifts has added Paul Jarvis as service contract manager. Apex said Jarvis “will be responsible for the smooth delivery of individual service contracts across the company’s portfolio, including larger local authority and housing contracts.” The role includes day-to-day operations, contract management, monitoring and reporting. He will also be carrying out tailored lift and site surveys, and regular audits for best practice, quality compliance and customer satisfaction.

With more than 30 years’ experience in the industry in both repairs and sales, Jarvis has been an engineer’s mate, repair engineer, supervisor and repairs manager, and quoted mechanical repairs and roping works for an industrial equipment supplier. Warren Jenchner, Apex managing director, said of Jarvis, “His previous experience, paired with his enthusiasm and desire for the position, was very clear from our first meeting. We look forward to working with him and wish him the best in the company.”

Mixed-Use, Upscale Triplex Planned in Nairobi

Investment group Cytonn is planning a trio of mixed-use towers, the tallest of which will be 35 stories and 150 m, in the Kilimani area of Nairobi, Kenya, Business Daily reported. The tallest building of Cytonn Towers will have 174,139 sq. ft. of office space over 30 floors, 180 hotel rooms and 160 serviced apartments, along with a few duplex apartments and penthouse suites. It will also have Kenya’s highest restaurant and largest infinity pool. Finnish private equity firm Taaleri Plc is the main investor in the building. Describing the development as catering to the “luxury housing” and “premier office space” markets, Cytonn planned to break ground in November and finish the project by the end of 2022.