Former UR president Povlsen joins quantum technology leader – The Robot Report

The Robot Report
By Steve Crowe | May 14, 2025
Former Universal Robots president Kim Povlsen was named CEO of quantum technology leader Bluefors. | Credit: Universal Robots
Kim Povlsen, the former president of Universal Robots, yesterday was named the CEO of Bluefors. Based in Helsinki, Finland, Bluefors is a leading developer of cryogenic measurement systems, cryocoolers and other cryogenic product lines for quantum technology, fundamental physics research and other industries such as life sciences and clean energy.
Teradyne Robotics announced the leadership change last week, saying Povlsen left Universal Robots (UR) to pursue and external career opportunity. He joined UR, the world’s leading developer of collaborative robotic arms, in March 2021. Jean-Pierre Hathout, president of fellow Teradyne Robotics subsidiary Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) replaced Povlsen as president of UR.
Before UR, Povlsen has held several leadership positions at Schneider Electric, a global high-tech company, where he led business transformation and technology strategies in Europe, the US, and Asia.
Teradyne recently announced the financial results for its first quarter of 2025. Its robotics revenue was $69 million in Q1 2025, which is down from $98 million in Q4 2024. This also marked a 21% drop in sales in Q1 year over year. Teradyne Robotics laid off 10% of its global workforce in January 2025.
In his new role, Povlsen will lead Bluefors global team of 700+ employees to deliver cooling systems for quantum technology.
“I am excited to join Bluefors on its mission to accelerate the quantum technology breakthrough,” said Kim Povlsen. “Bluefors has a proven track record of successfully co-creating products with global technology corporations. As the market leader in their field of cooling solutions for Quantum Technology and Low Temperature Physics Research, they have achieved an undisputed role as the company who delivers transformational technology — making real-world, large-scale quantum computing accessible today. I see tremendous opportunities to further strengthen Bluefors as the benchmark for the industries that they serve.”
Jonas Geust, former CEO of Bluefors, stepped down at the end of 2024 for personal reasons. Bluefors founder Rob Blaauwgeers served as interim CEO.
“We greatly value Kim’s ability to combine strategic thinking, customer orientation and drive for operational excellence,” said chairperson of the Bluefors Board Kimmo Alkio. “He is the catalyst of effective decision making, a leader who motivates change by communicating openly. Customer-centricity is in his DNA and meets Bluefors’ philosophy perfectly: designing and producing products that customers need and want – together with the customers themselves – is one of the cornerstones of our operating model.”
UR this week introduced the UR15, its fastest cobot ever. The UR15 has a maximum TCP speed of 5 m/s to reduce cycle times, increase productivity, and reduce costs across applications and industries.
UR also announced this week that it surpassed 100,000 cobots sold over the lifetime of the company.
Steve Crowe is Executive Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media, and chair of the Robotics Summit & Expo and RoboBusiness. He is also co-host of The Robot Report Podcast, the top-rated podcast for the robotics industry. He joined WTWH Media in January 2018 after spending four-plus years as Managing Editor of Robotics Trends Media. He can be reached at scrowe@wtwhmedia.com

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