Tony Iarocci will step away from his position as president of Tigercat, effective Oct. 16.
Iarocci has held the president’s title since Tigercat’s creation in 1992, and is credited with steering the company through rapid growth both in terms of product development and geographic market expansion.
“I have immensely enjoyed my work at Tigercat. The initial research of potential business opportunities that was necessary to warrant the formulation of a new company, recruiting start-up staff, product development and all the sales, marketing and customer service functions that went along with my role,” Iarocci said.
“I wish to convey my deep appreciation to Ken MacDonald for having provided me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I also want to thank everyone at Tigercat and all the Tigercat stakeholders for their much-appreciated assistance, dedication and cooperation.”
Iarocci will pass his day-to-day responsibilities to Grant Somerville, who started in the forestry industry in 1978 as a harvester operator. He is a long-serving executive at Tigercat who worked with Iarocci at Koehring Waterous in the early 80s on several development projects, including the design of the company’s first purpose-built track feller buncher.
Somerville has led numerous design initiatives since joining the team in 1992 and has held several positions with increasing degrees of responsibility, including product manager for track machines, advanced engineering and most recently vice president of engineering.
“Opportunities to work with and learn from individuals like Tony and Ken are rare,” Somerville said.
“I feel very fortunate to have been included in the creation and growth of Tigercat over the past 25 years, and to now assume more leadership responsibility. This year marks my 40th year working within forestry and machinery manufacturing. I see a promising future for our industry and look forward to continuing Tigercat’s role as a leader in innovation.”
Tigercat CEO Ken MacDonald said Iarocci is in great health, and has agreed to join the company’s board of directors and will “continue to contribute to the company’s growth, focusing on the recruitment and development of design talent and working with fellow team members and suppliers on both product and component improvement.”
Iarocci will also consult on special projects and new product development.
