DESIREE CASTILLEJOS

Desiree Castillejos is a global strategy and business development executive who collaborates with the C-suite to acquire companies and expand channels that drive revenue growth in the industrial and technology sectors. With expertise in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and strategic partnerships, she has completed more than twenty-two transactions and created multimillion-dollar businesses in Industrial Equipment, Industry 4.0, SaaS, Machine Learning, Cybersecurity, Cloud, Automation, Business Services, and other domains.

Desiree serves in the Board of Hunter Industries, a global manufacturer of irrigation and outdoor lighting equipment for the landscaping, residential, commercial, agricultural, and golf course industries. She is a member of the Compensation and the Nominating & Governance Committees. She also serves in the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA)’ Diversity Finance Advisory Board (DFAB) which works to increase access to institutional capital for women- and minority-owned startups.

Currently, Desiree is the Chief Strategy Officer, Head of M&A and Business Partnerships, North America for Scutum Group, a privately owned Safety and Security Services European leader. Desiree is driving the company’s North American aggressive growth through
acquisitions. Desiree was most recently the Vice President, Business Development and Strategy for Europe Middle East & Africa and Latin America at Johnson Controls, the publicly listed (NYSE:JCI), $26B international producer of fire, HVAC, security systems, and related digital solutions for buildings, spearheading the mergers and acquisition program for that region. She worked in a series of M&A programs that supported Johnson Controls' strategic portfolio enhancement. Previously, she was Chief Strategy Officer and Vice President of Corporate Development at Kimball Electronics, the publicly listed (NASDAQ: KE), $1.5B in revenue provider of global electronics, plastics, and automation contract solutions for the automotive, industrial, medical, and public safety industries. In this role, she analyzed Kimball’s market position and capabilities; designed its commercial, operations, and diversification strategies working closely with its Board of Directors. She also made significant contributions to the growth and profitability of the company by leading all enterprise-wide growth initiatives and executing numerous mergers and acquisitions projects. Desiree brings over 20 years of experience in senior roles with other large corporations such as Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent and high growth enterprises such as Persistent Systems.

Desiree is passionate about encouraging students, especially those in under-represented populations, to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields of study. She also provides support and advocacy for initiatives to attract more women to engineering fields. She was a member of the board of the Wharton Club of New Jersey and the Young Science Achievers Program, a nonprofit that promotes STEM among minorities.

Desiree earned her Master of Business Administration in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and earned both her Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Computer Engineering, Networks and Communications, from the Universite de Technologie de Compiègne, France. She currently is pursuing a Directorship Certification from the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Desiree received from the Latino Corporate Directors Association her Board Ready Institute Certificate to serve on boards.

Desiree is a proud Mexican American. She fluently speaks English, Spanish and French. She and her family live in New Jersey.