~ MEET OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM ~
Philip Horner, President
Philip Horner studied electrical engineering at Purdue University and has an extended education in microprocessor and programming languages. As President of Horner APG, with 50 years of automation experience, he leads product strategy, marketing, and engineering, leveraging a proven ability to align cross-functional teams, sharpen go-to-market positioning, and translate technical depth into measurable business impact. Beyond Horner APG, Phil shows a commitment to building durable, founder-aligned organizations, being an Eagle Scout since 1969, part of the Old Northside Organization (Indianapolis), contributing to IEEE electronic communications associations, and being a founding member of AHTD.
Chris Miltenberger, COO
Chris Miltenberger is a results-driven executive leader with global experience guiding organizations through growth, operational transformation, and strategic change. Backed by MBA, BSMET and BSBA degrees, his leadership spans very diverse industry sectors. He possesses a proven ability to align cross-functional teams, optimize performance, and create measurable and positive business impacts. Combining strategic vision with people-centered leadership, Chris has also served on multiple nonprofit boards focused on economic and youth development as well as environmental stewardship.
Ken Jannotta, Manager – Global Engineering
Ken Jannotta Jr. is an experienced engineering and product development leader with more than 30 years of experience at Horner Automation. He holds degrees in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Purdue University and has applied that technical foundation across control systems, embedded software, industrial automation, and product strategy. Ken played a key role in the development of Horner’s OCS control system and Cscape programming software, and later led R&D efforts for Horner’s solid-state lighting division, including industrial and specialty inspection lighting solutions used by major automotive manufacturers and suppliers. In his current role leading global engineering, Ken combines deep technical expertise with practical product development experience to guide teams in creating reliable, innovative automation solutions.
Joy Hannan, Vice President of Operations
Joy Hannan serves as Vice President of Operations, where she leads operational strategy, process optimization, and organizational performance. With over 25 years of experience, she has a proven track record of driving efficiency, leading cross-functional teams, and supporting business growth.
Joy holds a Bachelor of Science from Purdue University and is a certified Black Belt professional. She is committed to delivering measurable results through continuous improvement, process excellence, strategic execution, and building scalable operations that support long-term success.
Varsha Chakraborty, Manager – India Operations
Varsha Chakraborty has been with Horner for over 20 years, joining in September 2005 with an Engineering degree in Electronics. Before coming to Horner Automation, she worked for General Electric (Bently Nevada division) and a couple of other Indian companies in the Industrial automation domain, as an embedded engineer. She began at Horner as the lead firmware engineer, to build the firmware team when Horner India first started up. She is responsible for setting up and building competency in Horner India for software, firmware, and testing for global delivery. She also added expertise in web services and set up the team for our OCS360 cloud platform.
Gord Besler, President of Horner Canada
Gord Besler started at Horner in 2009, with decades of leadership experience. As president of Horner Canada, Gord has a strong track record of driving growth by developing disciplined sales processes, strengthening customer relationships, and aligning teams around clear strategic goals. His leadership style focuses on accountability, mentorship, and creating systems that consistently deliver measurable results.
Gord continues his education by reading and completing courses on business, marketing, finance, and now AI implication and application.