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Willow Announces Executive Transitions: CEO Joshua Ridley Transitions to Founder and Chief Growth Officer and COO Bert Van Hoof Becomes CEO

The transitions support Willow’s next wave of growth and its vision to change the way the world manages buildings for a more sustainable future

Willow Announces Executive Transitions: CEO Joshua Ridley Transitions to Founder and Chief Growth Officer and COO Bert Van Hoof Becomes CEO

Gagan Aujla
gagan@bospar.com
(916) 801-4167

Willow Technology Corporation Ltd. (“Willow”), an AI-driven digital twin platform revolutionizing building and infrastructure management, today announced two executive transitions: Bert Van Hoof, who joined Willow in 2022 as president and COO, has transitioned to CEO and succeeds Joshua Ridley, who co-founded Willow in 2017 and was CEO. Ridley has transitioned to a new role as Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer. The transitions support Willow’s accelerated growth and its vision to change the way the world manages buildings for a more sustainable future.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250122068520/en/

Joshua Ridley (Photo: Business Wire)

Joshua Ridley (Photo: Business Wire)

“The executive transitions reflect the natural evolution of a company on the rise, poised to take on its next wave of growth. With Joshua’s continued hands-on involvement and Bert’s leadership, we’re uniquely positioned to unlock even greater opportunities for Willow, our customers and partners,” said Nicholas Moore, chairman, Willow Technology Corporation Ltd.

Under Ridley’s and Van Hoof’s leadership, Willow has saved $2.8 million annual avoidable costs and 20 gigawatt hours annual avoidable energy across leading organizations in higher education, healthcare, retail, entertainment and transportation including Dallas Fort-Worth Airport, Northern Arizona University, SoFi Stadium, Walmart and Brookfield Properties. Willow hosts the world's largest and most complete ontology for the built world with 1.61 million digital twins covering 26.9 million square feet and 104.8 billion ingested telemetry points.

Willow’s total addressable market includes all buildings and facilities worldwide. Its AI-driven digital twin platform enables organizations to cut costs, save energy, drive sustainability and increase operational efficiency; and it enables buildings to respond to the people, purpose and environments they serve, effectively anticipating and adapting in real-time to dynamic operational and environmental conditions. Willow provides:

  • Oversight over all systems, spaces and activities within and across shared infrastructure in a single platform.
  • Insight into pressing problems, cause and effect and broader impact.
  • Foresight for predictive maintenance, changing weather and grid conditions and the achievement of long-term targets for cost and energy savings, sustainability and building performance.

Ridley’s visionary leadership and dedication have guided Willow from its inception to becoming the world’s leading AI-powered digital twin platform for the built world. His passion for Willow, innovation and customer success remain unwavering. In his new role, he will remain deeply involved in day-to-day strategy, advancing innovation, accelerating global growth and strengthening relationships with key stakeholders. This will ensure continuity in execution and alignment with Willow’s long-term goals. Ridley will also continue to serve on the Board of the Dallas Regional Chamber of Commerce and as Co-Chair of its Innovation Task Force.

“After many incredible years as Co-Founder and CEO it is with great enthusiasm and confidence that I pass the CEO torch to my esteemed colleague, Bert Van Hoof. I look forward to continuing to serve our customers and partners, accelerating growth and taking Willow to even greater heights through this transition. Together, we will successfully move into this next chapter and ensure that Willow, our customers and partners continue to thrive,” said Ridley.

Van Hoof has spent decades at the forefront of advancing technology, smart buildings and energy modernization. Before joining Willow, Van Hoof held key leadership roles at Microsoft, where he created Azure Digital Twins and Smart Places, cementing Azure IoT’s leadership in smart cities and energy grid modernization. A recognized industry leader with 44 patent applications, Van Hoof also serves as a board member of the Alliance to Save Energy and chairs its Active Efficiency Collaborative. Since joining Willow in 2022, Van Hoof has evolved Willow into an active management system, driving transformative outcomes for customers.

“I am truly honored to step into the role of CEO and lead this incredible company as we embark on the next big and critical chapter of our journey. I am very grateful to Joshua Ridley, whose vision, dedication, leadership and charisma have brought us to where we are today, and to the Willow Board of Directors for their support. I am excited to have the opportunity to continue to work with Joshua, our customers, partners and employees, to further unpack and advance our mission to create a world where every building on the planet responds to the people, purpose and environments they serve,” said Van Hoof.

About Willow

Willow is the leading AI-driven platform revolutionizing the built world. Leveraging cutting-edge digital twin technology, Willow empowers organizations to reduce operational costs of buildings, improve sustainability outcomes and dynamically optimize asset performance at scale. Willow is changing the way the world manages buildings for a more sustainable future by enabling every building to respond to the people, purpose and environments they serve. Trusted by global leaders in education, healthcare, retail, transportation and commercial real estate, Willow is redefining how the world manages and interacts with the built environment. Visit www.willowinc.com to learn more.