Mike Watts, founder and executive chairman of Sunstate Equipment announced that long-time CEO Benno Jurgemeyer, has retired from Sunstate, effective Dec. 31. Chris Watts, who had been president and chief operating officer, has taken over as president and CEO.
Jurgemeyer joined Sunstate Equipment in December 1991 and has played a major role in the growth of the company. Succession planning has been in place since May when he announced his intention to retire at the end of the year.
Chris Watts, son of founder Mike Watts, began working for the company as a high school student, and continued to work for the company throughout his college years. After obtaining an MBA, he worked for an environmental consulting firm for a number of years before returning to Sunstate fulltime in the mid-1990s. Watts has worked for Sunstate in a variety of capacities.
Jurgemeyer told RER he will continue to provide some consulting services to Sunstate.
Based in Phoenix, Sunstate Equipment is No. 9 on the RER 100.
