Pictured from left to right: Nick Darrall with Leandro Gasparini (both iconsys)iconsys, one of the UK’s fastest-growing control and automation specialists, has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of a new director of services. Leandro Gasparini will be responsible for delivering a world-class customer experience and scaling-up the firm’s lifecycle services business, building upon its well-established service portfolio and capabilities.
From humble beginnings as an electronics engineering graduate, he has gained more than 20 years’ experience in industrial automation and will now manage a team of engineering specialists and field engineers. He will also lead on the expansion of the Telford firm’s value-add consultancy services, which will support customers in critical areas of safety, cybersecurity, sustainability and energy management, as well as digital.
Mr Gasparini, who has previously held senior roles with Invensys, Schneider Electric and Spirax Sarco, will enhance the existing business model and complement the company’s significant project-based work and its proven track record in technology integration, completing the full lifecycle of support that delivers improved productivity, operational efficiency, safety, and profitability.
He said: “This is an ideal time to be joining iconsys, as it looks to extend its ability to support hundreds of existing customers and new ones keen to get specialist support in these critical areas. Being ‘technology independent’ is a fantastic differentiator for us and means we can always develop and deliver optimal automation solutions to our customers, whether they are involved in maritime, metals, pulp and paper, construction materials, transport infrastructure, energy transition and those looking to accelerate their decarbonisation and digital transformation journeys.”
Mr Gasparini continued: “As director of services, it is very important we define a clear roadmap for accessing our lifecycle and consultancy services; this will initially be looking to provide consultative expertise in safety, cybersecurity, sustainability and energy management and digital services.”
Born in Argentina, he has extensive experience in commercialising process automation and digital services, and leading cross-functioning teams to secure double-digit growth. Mr Gasparini is an expert in market research and in identifying lucrative business opportunities across multiple sectors, attributes that he will put to effective use as he looks to increase the size of his dedicated services team over the next 12 months.
Short-term goals include defining processes and procedures, providing a clear services portfolio of offers and creating a pipeline of consultancy opportunities. Mr Gasparini, who will be based out of the firm’s recently opened Daresbury office, continued: “I am going back to my roots with iconsys and my big passion for delivering industrial automation solutions that add real value. There is so much more we can do on a services and consultancy stage. I want it to be a significant revenue generator for the company within two years and, importantly, a potential gateway to starting work with us.”
Nick Darrall, managing director of iconsys, added: “We have had a really promising start to 2025, so now is the perfect time to look at the untapped potential we believe exists in lifecycle and consultative services. It is the final piece of the jigsaw for us and hiring someone of the industrial standing and knowledge of Leandro is a major coup. He has all the skills and expertise required to make an immediate impact as our director of services.
“What this means to existing and new customers is that we will be able to enhance our full lifecycle of support offering, from initial consultation to identifying and delivering seamless technology integration and ongoing long-term support.”
He concluded: “In addition, functional safety, cybersecurity, sustainability/energy management and digital are the four main areas of expertise we want to initially push as part of our consultative, high value-add services, but will undoubtedly add to these as new opportunities arise.”