Robert J. Heideman, PhD
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Bob Heideman was named senior vice president and chief technology officer at A. O. Smith in December 2010. He oversees the company’s research and engineering.
Previously, he served as vice president of the company’s Corporate Technology Center, its Milwaukee-based research and engineering facility from 2008 to late 2010. The Corporate Technology Center consists of technology platforms that concentrate on advanced concepts and emerging technologies supporting the long-term product development strategies of the company’s electric motor and water heating operating units.
Bob joined the company in 1994 as a project engineer at the Corporate Technology Center. In that role, he worked on a wide range of projects for several of the company’s operating units. After two years with Tower Automotive, he returned to A. O. Smith in 2002 as a section manager, responsible for the Metallurgy and Prototyping Group. In 2005, he was promoted to director of materials and processes at the Corporate Technology Center.
Bob holds a Bachelor of Science in metallurgical engineering and a Doctor of Philosophy in materials engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also earned a Master of Science in metallurgical engineering from Purdue University.