Ray O'Connor

President & CEO / Topcon Positioning Group / 1962 / Inducted 2013

Ray O'Connor joined Topcon in 1993 as the only employee dedicated to laser products. O'Connor had one goal: automate the construction industry. Today, with the joining of imaging, GNSS, scanning, and software technology, there are few construction sites or farms that do not use automated positioning. To meet the global requirement of positioning automation, he developed a ring of technology centers where the brightest geospatial engineers in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia create the next generation of products.

O'Connor mandates that every product for every market segment supports the theme of "time": saving it by increasing productivity, minimizing the disruptive footprint of a project and reducing use of renewable and non-renewable resources.

Recognizing the importance of educating future generations of end users, O'Connor helped implement the Topcon Educational Partnership Program, which provides a full range of educational tools to more than 500 universities and associations worldwide.

O'Connor is the 2006 recipient of Toshiba Corporation's Business Performance Award (the first recipient of non-Japanese descent) for "his superior leadership and performance." In 2012, Pompeii, Italy honored him for supporting "preservation and renovation" of the landmark city; the University of Naples awarded him an honorary doctorate degree for his efforts. O'Connor also received an honorary doctorate from The Dublin Institute of Technology for his "global leadership in precision measurement technology." Geospatial World magazine named him Business Leader of the Year in 2013.