O'Connor Topcon's Managing Executive Officer

"In the difficult global financial environment of the past several years, Ray has proven that sound business management combined with strategically aggressive initiatives will deliver positive results even in one of the hardest hit industries - construction," said Takashi Yokokura, president of Topcon Corporation.

"Under his leadership, our positioning business in the Americas, Australia and Europe has dramatically exceeded our financial expectations."

In addition to leading Topcon's efforts in its core markets of construction, surveying and civil engineering, O'Connor has also provided the guidance for Topcon's entry into the global precision agricultural industry, mobile mapping, telematics, high-speed precision earthmoving, and OEM expansion. O'Connor has been instrumental in the successful consolidation of Topcon and Sokkia in the survey market.

"It is an honor to receive this recognition," O'Connor said, "but I take the most pride in how our team worked cohesively and aggressively to assure every opportunity for growth during the recession while increasing our technology and market foundation for the future."

O'Connor joined Topcon in 1993 as the North America sales manager for construction lasers. By 1995, he had guided the company through the acquisition of Advance Grade Technologies and formed a separate division, Topcon Laser Systems. In 2000, he led Topcon's acquisition of JPS to bring Topcon the basis of its world-leading GPS technologies. Then in 2001, he managed the formations of Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) that consolidated all of Topcon's construction and survey business in the Americas.

In 2002 he was promoted to president of TPS, and was appointed chairman of the board of Topcon Europe Positioning in 2005. He was a Toshiba Corporation businessperson of the year in 2005, the first person of non-Japanese descent to receive the honour.

Currently, under O'Connor's direction, TPS has more than 850 employees on five continents.