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Ricardo Buranello becomes Teletrac Navman CEO after US$220m Respida deal

Teletrac Navman has named Ricardo Buranello as CEO three months after private equity firm Respida Capital bought a majority stake from Vontier in a deal valuing the business at US$220 million. He succeeds Alain Samaha, who stays on the board, as the company says it will keep building its cloud-based, AI-powered platform and expand into new industries and regions.

Signal & Sensor News · 2 min read

Teletrac Navman has appointed Ricardo Buranello as chief executive, according to Global Fleet. He took up the role on 1 October 2026, three months after Respida Capital acquired a majority stake in the business. He succeeds Alain Samaha, who remains on the board of directors.

The deal

Respida Capital bought its majority stake from Vontier Corporation in a transaction completed on 30 June that valued Teletrac Navman at US$220 million, Global Fleet reports. Vontier later disclosed that it received US$85 million in cash, seller's notes and a retained minority equity stake. In its August filing, Vontier reported a preliminary accounting loss of US$86.2 million on the sale.

The new CEO

Buranello had been the company's chief financial and operating officer since June 2024. Before that he spent 16 years at Telit Cinterion, moving from Latin American operations to lead its global software and platforms business. He also held leadership roles at Siemens and Brazilian software company Totvs.

Chairman Jonathan Olefson said Buranello's financial and operational experience positioned him to lead the company under its new ownership. "Ricardo is a proven, mission-oriented leader who understands our business from the inside out," Olefson said. Samaha endorsed the appointment too.

In a LinkedIn post after the acquisition, Buranello said the company employs more than 600 people worldwide. He reported improvements in growth, profitability and cash flow following operational and technology changes, but gave no financial figures.

Scale and product

Teletrac Navman says it manages more than 750,000 vehicles and assets worldwide, up from more than 550,000 when Samaha joined as president in 2021. Under Samaha the company introduced TN360 Transport and expanded its AI-powered video safety technology in 2023. In July it launched Energy Hub inside its TN360 platform, which combines fuel consumption and EV charging data so mixed-energy fleets can track energy use and cost across power sources.

Buranello's stated priorities are continued development of the cloud-based, AI-powered connected mobility platform, plus product innovation and expansion into new industries and geographic markets.

Regional position

Berg Insight lists Teletrac Navman among the leading fleet management providers in Australia and New Zealand, alongside Geotab and EROAD. It estimates about 1.5 million fleet management systems were in use across the two countries in 2024, rising to 2.6 million by 2029. Berg Insight names Geotab as the largest regional provider after its October 2025 acquisition of Verizon Connect's Australian commercial operations.

Teletrac Navman's regional business includes electronic work diaries approved by Australia's National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and electronic distance recording systems approved for New Zealand's road-user-charge scheme.

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