Qualisys appoints Fredrik Müller as Acting CEO

Former CEO and long-standing executive director Müller to steer Qualisys through the next phase of its development

Gothenburg, 7 November 2018 -- Qualisys, the leading provider of precision motion capture technology, today announced Fredrik Müller as Acting CEO. It is an ongoing appointment without any predetermined timelines as the company looks to develop its market presence in its core business of human biomechanics and also make inroads in new areas like entertainment and the industrial sector.

Müller previously held the position of Qualisys CEO for a decade up until 2013 and has worked at the company in a strategic capacity since then. He first joined Qualisys in 1995 as a developer, and was appointed CTO in the late 1990s.

Müller’s latest role is to head up the management team as Qualisys looks to the future. The company was privately held until 2016 when it was bought by Gothenburg investment firm Vätterledens Invest AB, a move which has led to increased turnover and headcount - as well as a healthy dose of ambition.

Qualisys are best known for their motion capture (mocap) solutions - primarily in the fields of sports science, clinical research and gait analysis. Research organizations use Qualisys products for monitoring the movement and performance of elite athletes, while the medical profession is always looking to understand more about how the human body moves.

Müller believes that to keep Qualisys on its ongoing growth trajectory requires a subtle shift in strategy rather than any wholesale product overhauls.

“At the very top level, our products are simply measurement devices - albeit sophisticated 3D measurement devices,” he said. “But if you sit and think for five minutes, the types of application that can benefit from them are almost limitless. Our products already have the potential to help a huge number of businesses from diverse industries, regardless of whether they need to work in small or large areas with extreme accuracy.”

Breaking new ground

In the past, Qualisys has worked with a large number of organizations in the industrial sector without necessarily seeking them out. Müller says that he would like to see Qualisys get involved in industrial projects more actively in the future.

“We already produce nice, niche applications that are perfect for industrial use. We have solutions that allow for precise measurements in harsh environments like the projects we have designed with ABB, and we are also working with companies requiring large measurement volumes, like Trimble in the US and Catapult in the UK.”

Then there is the entertainment sector - ironically the area most people think of when they hear the term “mocap” technology. Müller can envisage Qualisys seeking out new client relationships in the entertainment sector as it continues to diversify and new opportunities that have previously been out of reach begin to present themselves.

“Historically, we’ve not been in the entertainment sector at all,” he said. The market is huge and changing rapidly with needs that suit us well. We have a strong background in biomechanics where it is all about accuracy and reliability that we will leverage in the entertainment application area. We’ve made great developments to the visualization aspect of our products that are a good fit for our existing clients, but also open up new business opportunities both in location-based VR and AR applications, as well as in the traditional movie and game industry.”

Overall, Müller is looking forward to the challenges of the future.

“We are in a great position with so many good ideas and talented people. We are an agile business providing bespoke solutions and I feel the time is right to move up to the next level,” he concluded.