Yanmar Compact Equipment NA fills management roles

Tate Johnson

Yanmar Compact Equipment North America, encompassing the Yanmar Compact Equipment and ASV Holdings Inc. brands, announced a new leadership team, consisting of Tate Johnson as president, Lee Thole as director of aftermarket and David Gannon as director of channel development.

Johnson joined the organization as commercial director in September 2020, overseeing sales, national accounts, channel development and marketing. He brought extensive leadership experience with deep technical, channel development and business leadership expertise after previous positions at Polaris and BAE Systems. As president, he is tasked with leading and further developing the growth initiatives for the company as the two brands progress in a joint vision of Yanmar Compact Equipment North America.

Lee Thole

“We have assembled a strong team committed to the ASV and Yanmar brands and focused on serving all of our stakeholders,” Johnson said. “This group of leaders will continue to drive the business and achieve excellent results for our customers, dealers and employees.

“As we continue to grow, we will seek to provide even more resources and support to our dealers and in turn, the end user customers. The addition of Lee and David is the logical next step.”

David Gannon

Thole brings more than 20 years of experience, including four years at Polaris, with a background in parts, service, and overall business operations. Thole’s responsibilities as director of aftermarket will include strengthening several post-sales support functions as well as leading further development and implementation of the aftermarket strategy.

Gannon joins his role with 30 years of multi-industry experience, including stints at MacQueen Equipment Group, Polaris and Ag-Chem Equipment Co. His position as director of channel development will involve working closely with the dealer network, both by recruiting dealers and assisting existing dealers.