Milestone Systems, the leading open platform company in video management software (VMS), announced today that Bj?rn Skou Eilertsen, former Vice President Business Unit Corporate Products, will take on a new role as Milestone?s Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

At the MIPS 2016 partner conference, Milestone announced it will transition towards a community-focused business. As CTO, Eilertsen will drive technology strategy with focus on further tuning products and service offerings to meet the future needs of the Milestone community.

?Bj?rn is the perfect fit to lead our technology and product groups though this transition. At heart, he is a true technologist and also a proven strategist and general manager with extraordinary vision and operational expertise. His unique experience and proven ability to effectively collaborate across the company and the fast growing Milestone community will serve us well,? said Lars Thinggaard, President & CEO, Milestone Systems.

“I am thrilled to take the lead with the Product Group in working across boundaries between the company and the community. My goal is to accelerate innovation on the Milestone technology platform in collaboration with partners,? commented Eilertsen.

Eilertsen joined Milestone in 2013 as Vice President for the Corporate Business Unit. He has been a determined leader in building Milestone?s advanced solutions into strong products with compelling advantages for our customers. He holds a Master of Science in Business Administration and Computer Science from Copenhagen Business School and assumes his new role on October 3rd, 2016.

Eilertsen takes over from Milestone?s previous co-founder and Chief Product Officer (CPO), John Blem, who decided to leave Milestone. Blem is the visionary architect and father of Milestone?s open technology platform. He has guided the company from its first product, Milestone Surveillance PRO, to the latest Network Video Recorder (NVR), Milestone Husky M550A.

Through his work with Milestone, Blem created the first true open platform IP video management software for the physical security industry. Today, over one hundred thousand customers have put their trust in his technology platform for their migration from legacy CCTV systems to high-definition IP network technology.

?I have worked closely with John for almost two decades and I have incredible respect for him both as a technologist and as a business leader. He has been an inspirational sparring partner for me in setting the course for Milestone,? said Thinggaard.

Blem will not depart completely. He will continue guiding Milestone as a member of the Board of Directors.