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JERICHO, N.Y., March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global consulting firm J.S. Held announces that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jonathon (Jon) Held intends to step down as Chief Executive Officer. J.S. Held President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lee Spirer will succeed Jon Held as President and CEO. Jon Held will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. As part of a planned succession, the leadership transition will take effect at the start of the second quarter of 2025.
In his new role as Executive Chairman, Jon Held will continue to provide strategic guidance, ensuring the company optimizes value creation for continued growth. In addition, Jon will increase his client-facing role, providing strategic advisory and dispute resolution consulting, largely focused within the insurance industry.
Since assuming the role of Chief Executive in 1985, Jon has overseen the growth of J.S. Held, from a small regional firm to an internationally recognized global consulting company with more than 1500 professionals operating on six continents. Steve Dutton, Partner at Kelso & Company, J.S. Held's private equity partner, commenting on the executive transition, shares, "Working collaboratively with Jon and the executive team, Lee Spirer was recruited to make Jon's decision to transition to the Executive Chairman role seamlessly come to fruition."
"Lee Spirer's extensive experience and proven ability to drive strategy focused on financial results and operational excellence positions Lee as the ideal chief executive to lead our team through our next phase of growth," observed Jon Held. "As we enter our sixth decade of service to our clients, I am excited about this new period of growth for J.S. Held and I look forward to partnering with Lee to advance our mission and vision for the company in support of all J.S. Held stakeholders – our team members, clients, and investors."
Lee Spirer is a transformational leader with extensive experience creating value for investors in human capital-intensive businesses by focusing on developing innovative, high-impact services for clients and building platforms that attract world-class professionals to maximize their career success. Over his 30-year career, Lee Spirer has been known for keen strategic insight tightly tied to successful plan execution, developing teams, tapping into innovation, and leveraging technology. His teams have balanced organic and acquisition-based growth strategies while driving operational performance. He has operated in public and private companies, acquired and sold businesses, guided a company through an IPO, and interacted with a wide range of investors and boards.
"J.S. Held's mission for the last 50 years has been to serve as trusted, expert advisors to organizations around the world and to support the continued professional growth of our people," said Jonathon Held, who added, "Today, we reaffirm that commitment at the highest level of our organization for the benefit of clients and our more than 1500 scientific, technical, financial, and risk experts around the world."
Lee Spirer, commenting on his transition to President and CEO, shares, "Jon has led this company to an enviable position in its core markets. He has been a tremendous partner and has opted to apply his time to the highest value activity -- focusing on his unique abilities in advising our insurance clients. I consider myself fortunate and seek to build on this platform, evolving J.S. Held for the future, leading a talented team."
About J.S. Held
J.S. Held is a global consulting firm that combines technical, scientific, financial, and strategic expertise to advise clients seeking to realize value and mitigate risk. Our professionals serve as trusted advisors to organizations facing high stakes matters demanding urgent attention, staunch integrity, proven experience, clear-cut analysis, and an understanding of both tangible and intangible assets. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services, products, and data that enable clients to navigate complex, contentious, and often catastrophic situations.
More than 1,500 professionals serve organizations across six continents, including 81% of the Global 200 Law Firms, 70% of the Forbes Top 20 Insurance Companies (85% of the NAIC top 50 Property & Casualty Insurers), and 65% of the Fortune 100 Companies.
J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not certified public accounting firm(s) and do not provide audit, attest, or any other public accounting services. J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not law firms and do not provide legal advice. Securities offered through PM Securities, LLC, d/b/a Phoenix IB, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/ SIPC or Ocean Tomo Investment Group, LLC, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/ SIPC. All rights reserved.
Contact
Kristi L. Stathis | Global Public Relations | +1 786 833 4864 | Kristi.Stathis@jsheld.com
Find Your Expert.®
JERICHO, N.Y., March 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global consulting firm J.S. Held announces that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jonathon (Jon) Held intends to step down as Chief Executive Officer. J.S. Held President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lee Spirer will succeed Jon Held as President and CEO. Jon Held will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. As part of a planned succession, the leadership transition will take effect at the start of the second quarter of 2025.
In his new role as Executive Chairman, Jon Held will continue to provide strategic guidance, ensuring the company optimizes value creation for continued growth. In addition, Jon will increase his client-facing role, providing strategic advisory and dispute resolution consulting, largely focused within the insurance industry.
Since assuming the role of Chief Executive in 1985, Jon has overseen the growth of J.S. Held, from a small regional firm to an internationally recognized global consulting company with more than 1500 professionals operating on six continents. Steve Dutton, Partner at Kelso & Company, J.S. Held's private equity partner, commenting on the executive transition, shares, "Working collaboratively with Jon and the executive team, Lee Spirer was recruited to make Jon's decision to transition to the Executive Chairman role seamlessly come to fruition."
"Lee Spirer's extensive experience and proven ability to drive strategy focused on financial results and operational excellence positions Lee as the ideal chief executive to lead our team through our next phase of growth," observed Jon Held. "As we enter our sixth decade of service to our clients, I am excited about this new period of growth for J.S. Held and I look forward to partnering with Lee to advance our mission and vision for the company in support of all J.S. Held stakeholders – our team members, clients, and investors."
Lee Spirer is a transformational leader with extensive experience creating value for investors in human capital-intensive businesses by focusing on developing innovative, high-impact services for clients and building platforms that attract world-class professionals to maximize their career success. Over his 30-year career, Lee Spirer has been known for keen strategic insight tightly tied to successful plan execution, developing teams, tapping into innovation, and leveraging technology. His teams have balanced organic and acquisition-based growth strategies while driving operational performance. He has operated in public and private companies, acquired and sold businesses, guided a company through an IPO, and interacted with a wide range of investors and boards.
"J.S. Held's mission for the last 50 years has been to serve as trusted, expert advisors to organizations around the world and to support the continued professional growth of our people," said Jonathon Held, who added, "Today, we reaffirm that commitment at the highest level of our organization for the benefit of clients and our more than 1500 scientific, technical, financial, and risk experts around the world."
Lee Spirer, commenting on his transition to President and CEO, shares, "Jon has led this company to an enviable position in its core markets. He has been a tremendous partner and has opted to apply his time to the highest value activity -- focusing on his unique abilities in advising our insurance clients. I consider myself fortunate and seek to build on this platform, evolving J.S. Held for the future, leading a talented team."
About J.S. Held
J.S. Held is a global consulting firm that combines technical, scientific, financial, and strategic expertise to advise clients seeking to realize value and mitigate risk. Our professionals serve as trusted advisors to organizations facing high stakes matters demanding urgent attention, staunch integrity, proven experience, clear-cut analysis, and an understanding of both tangible and intangible assets. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services, products, and data that enable clients to navigate complex, contentious, and often catastrophic situations.
More than 1,500 professionals serve organizations across six continents, including 81% of the Global 200 Law Firms, 70% of the Forbes Top 20 Insurance Companies (85% of the NAIC top 50 Property & Casualty Insurers), and 65% of the Fortune 100 Companies.
J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not certified public accounting firm(s) and do not provide audit, attest, or any other public accounting services. J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not law firms and do not provide legal advice. Securities offered through PM Securities, LLC, d/b/a Phoenix IB, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/ SIPC or Ocean Tomo Investment Group, LLC, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/ SIPC. All rights reserved.
Contact
Kristi L. Stathis | Global Public Relations | +1 786 833 4864 | Kristi.Stathis@jsheld.com
Find Your Expert.®
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Global Consulting Company J.S. Held Announces CEO Succession
SHANGHAI, April 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- DFRobot, a global leader in open-source hardware, recently participated in the Robot Hokoten @ Akihabara event in Tokyo, appearing at the DigiKey booth. The company presented two AI-driven projects based on open-source hardware—an "Electronic Nose" gas recognition system and an AI-powered cell recognition teaching system—demonstrating how AI and open hardware can be effectively applied in STEAM education and maker scenarios.
Electronic Nose: Integrating TinyML with On-Device AI
The "Electronic Nose" project combines edge AI with embedded hardware. It uses four MEMS gas sensors connected to an ESP32 running a TinyML model for real-time odor analysis.
During the demonstration, the sensor probe was placed above a glass of beer. Within 20 to 30 seconds, the system completed odor sampling and analysis. The results were then transmitted to the LattePanda Sigma, a compact x86 computing module, which generated descriptive content or tasting notes using a locally deployed language model. The entire process was executed on-device, without relying on network connectivity.
Xia Qing, Senior Engineer at DFRobot, commented: "This demonstration shows how makers can combine TinyML-based sensing with local AI models to transform sensor data into intuitive insights. Potential applications include coffee flavor analysis, fermentation monitoring, and food freshness detection."
AI Cell Recognition: Bringing AI into the STEAM Classroom
Another featured project focused on educational applications. DFRobot presented an AI-powered cell recognition teaching system designed to integrate artificial intelligence into middle school biology education. The system is built using the HUSKYLENS 2 AI vision sensor and the UNIHIKER K10 development board.
Powered by the K230 processor with up to 6 TOPS of AI computing performance, HUSKYLENS 2 can efficiently run both pre-trained and user-trained models with low latency. In the demonstration, the system performed real-time identification and classification of cells under a microscope, making abstract AI and machine learning concepts tangible through hands-on interaction.
The project showcases the complete AI workflow—from data collection and model training to edge inference—highlighting its practical applicability in educational settings.
Partnering with DigiKey to Expand the Open-Source Hardware Ecosystem
DFRobot and DigiKey jointly showcased at Robot Hokoten to promote open-source hardware and AI education. The two parties will continue collaborating on technical content, global marketing, and educational solutions, lowering the barrier to AI and open hardware adoption, and accelerating the transition from maker projects to real STEAM classroom applications.
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DFRobot Showcases AI Maker Projects at Robot Hokoten in Akihabara
