Bob Pragada, a 16-year veteran of Jacobs (NYSE: J), has assumed the CEO role at the company in accordance with the leadership succession plan announced in September.
He will join the board of directors and help implement the company’s strategy to build up its portfolio offerings in electric vehicles, energy transition, life sciences, water infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing, Jacobs said Tuesday.
The former president and chief operating officer replaces Steve Demetriou, who held the chief executive role for more than seven years beginning in August 2015 and continues to lead the board of directors as chairman.
Pragada initially joined Jacobs in 2006 and held senior management positions for nine years before he left to join industrial services provider Brock Group, which he led as president and CEO.
In 2016, he returned to Jacobs as president of the company’s global industrial and buildings and infrastructure lines of business and was named president and COO in 2019.
The retired U.S. Navy lieutenant commander sits on the board of Eaton (NYSE: ETN) and serves as a member of the board advisory council of Brightstar Capital, the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation and the Dallas Mavericks Foundation.
