WAUKEGAN, Ill. (April 15, 2016) -- Yaskawa America Inc. (YAI) has announced the promotion of Mike Knapek, president and COO of the Drives & Motion Division, to the position of CEO.

Knapek takes over for Masahiro Ogawa, who has led Yaskawa’s Drives, Motion and Robotics business in the Americas for the past 5-1/2 years. Ogawa will return to Kurosaki, Japan, to take on the role of corporate vice president and general manager of Yaskawa’s global robotics business.