Blackline Safety has appointed Jon Baldwin as chief executive officer, succeeding Cody Slater after more than 15 years at the helm.
Slater will remain with the connected worker safety company as Board Chair and Chief Architect, continuing to help shape its product and technology vision.
The leadership transition follows Blackline’s April announcement of an agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of Francisco Partners in a deal valued at up to $850 million.
Baldwin brings more than two decades of leadership experience across connected technology, sensing and hardware businesses. Most recently, he led Verra Mobility’s Government Solutions business, which provides connected traffic safety technology. He previously served as president of Fortive’s Gems Sensors & Controls business and held senior roles at Tektronix, Texas Instruments, National Semiconductor and Analog Devices.
“Cody and the Blackline team have built an exceptional foundation, and I look forward to building on that success and bringing Blackline’s technology to even more workers around the world,” Baldwin said.
Under Slater’s leadership, Blackline’s annual revenue grew from C$2 million in fiscal 2011 to more than C$150 million in fiscal 2025, according to the company. Its technology expanded from lone-worker protection into gas detection, area monitoring, communications, cloud software and data analytics.
That evolution continues with Blackline’s G8 connected safety wearable, which Calgary.tech recently reported is gaining global traction. The device combines gas detection, lone-worker protection, push-to-talk communications and live field data in one unit.
“Everything we’ve built at Blackline starts with protecting workers and using technology to help bring people home safe,” Slater said.
Francisco Partners Principal Mac Fountain said Baldwin’s experience would help bring Blackline’s products to more customers and markets, while Partner Christine Wang welcomed Slater’s continued involvement in the company’s future.
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