Zebra Technologies Names Bill Burns as Next CEO

Zebra Technologies announced Bill Burns, Zebra’s chief product & solutions officer, will become the company’s next CEO and a member of the Zebra Board of Directors. Anders Gustafsson will transition from his role as CEO to become executive chair of the Zebra Board of Directors.  

“This leadership transition is the successful culmination of the Board of Directors’ multi-year succession planning process,” said Michael Smith, Zebra’s Board chair. As part of these leadership changes which will all be effective on March 1, 2023, Smith will become Zebra’s lead independent director.

Burns has more than 30 years of experience in the technology sector and has served as CEO at two other companies prior to joining Zebra. Throughout his career, he has maintained a strong focus on culture, talent, and innovation. Burns has been an integral part of Zebra’s Executive Leadership Team for the past seven years and has served in his current role for nearly five years.

During this time, Burns has extended Zebra’s market share leadership and profitability across its core businesses while entering adjacent and expansion markets, delivered on the company’s Enterprise Asset Intelligence vision, and strengthened Zebra’s strategic relationships with its customers and partners.

“The need to digitize operations remains a strategic focus for our customers globally. Now more than ever, our customers need our solutions to improve workflows across their broader supply chains,” said Gustafsson. “Bill is the right leader to continue to advance our vision and further elevate Zebra as a trusted advisor to our customers and partners in our vibrant core as well as our high-growth adjacent and expansion markets.”

After a remarkable 15 years as Zebra’s CEO, Gustafsson has been appointed to lead the Zebra Board of Directors as executive chair. Gustafsson is only the second Zebra CEO in its more than 50-year history. He has transformed Zebra into the global leader in its core markets while positioning the company in attractive adjacent and expansion markets. He has developed a strong bench of talent who will continue to advance the company’s vision of Enterprise Asset Intelligence, helping ensure every front-line worker and asset at the edge is visible, connected and fully optimized.

“Anders has created a strong, inclusive culture based on our company values. I am committed to building on this momentum to attract, develop and retain the best talent globally,” said Burns. “I look forward to driving Zebra’s continued growth and further advancing our strategic vision. I’m excited about the future and the opportunities to continue to support our customers as they digitize and automate their environments.”

Prior to joining Zebra, Burns served as CEO of Embrane, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital backed start-up which was acquired by Cisco. Previously, he served as CEO of Spirent Communications, a global leader in test and measurement solutions publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange. Burns has also held various executive and sales leadership roles at Tellabs, Inc.