Garmin Ltd.
Leadership History
3 leaders · 1989 to present
Clifton A. (Cliff) Pemble is the CEO of Garmin, in the role since 2013. The first chief executive was Min H. Kao, from 1989.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clifton A. (Cliff) Pemble | President and Chief Executive Officer | 2013 | Present | 13 |
| Min H. Kao | Co-founder; former CEO; Executive Chairman | 1989 | 2012 | 23 |
| Gary Burrell | Co-founder; former co-CEO | 1989 | 2002 | 13 |
Garmin made its name with handheld and dashboard GPS units in the 1990s and 2000s. When smartphones made standalone car navigation largely obsolete, it moved into fitness and outdoor wearables, avionics and marine electronics. Today Fitness and Outdoor together make up more than 60% of revenue, while certified avionics and marine systems provide steady, high-barrier sales. The company is headquartered in Olathe, Kansas (Domiciled in Schaffhausen, Switzerland). The highly resilient American technology company was founded in Kansas in 1989, originally building massive GPS units for boats and airplanes before brilliantly pivoting to dominate the global high-end fitness smartwatch market.
Garmin designs, makes and sells hardware through five reporting segments, and most of its production happens in its own factories. In fiscal 2025 Fitness (running watches, cycling computers, smart trainers, health wearables) brought in $2.36 billion. Outdoor (fēnix and Instinct adventure watches, handhelds, inReach satellite communicators) brought in $2.05 billion. Marine (chartplotters, sonar, audio) added $1.18 billion and Aviation (OEM flight decks, aftermarket avionics) $987 million. Auto OEM, which sells domain controllers and infotainment to carmakers, made up the rest, roughly $670 million, and still runs at a loss. Hardware sales do most of the work, but subscriptions such as inReach plans, aviation databases, Navionics charts and Garmin Connect+ add recurring revenue.
President and Chief Executive Officer
2013 – Present
13 years (current)
Pemble joined Garmin in 1989 as an early engineer and served as COO before becoming CEO in January 2013. He moved investment away from shrinking car navigation and into wearables, outdoor, aviation and marine products.
Under Pemble, revenue rose to a record $7.25 billion in 2025, with all five segments at record highs and no long-term debt.
Co-founder; former CEO; Executive Chairman
1989 – 2012
23 years
Kao pushed Garmin to aggressively diversify into specialized wearables for aviation, marine, and fitness, saving the company from the collapse of the automotive GPS market.
As co-founder and long-time CEO, he built Garmin into a highly vertically integrated manufacturing powerhouse, refusing to outsource critical engineering to third parties.
Co-founder; former co-CEO
1989 – 2002
13 years
Burrell drove the early commercialization of GPS technology for civilian aviation, successfully shrinking bulky military systems into affordable cockpit units.
As co-founder, he established Garmin's engineering-first culture and successfully navigated the company's massive IPO in 2000 before retiring as Co-CEO in 2002.
Garmin faces four main challenges. Apple, Samsung and lower-priced specialists keep improving battery life and training features, which puts pressure on premium watch prices. Tariffs and trade policy affect a company that makes most of its products in Taiwan and sells about half its revenue in the Americas. Auto OEM is still loss-making while big programs ramp up. And with more devices, software features and subscriptions, keeping quality high and avoiding pushback on paid features in Garmin Connect+ gets harder.
Cliff Pemble was appointed President and CEO of Garmin Ltd. on January 1, 2013. Pemble joined Garmin in 1989 as its sixth employee and one of its founding software engineers, previously serving as President and Chief Operating Officer from 2007 to 2012.
When smartphones integrated free GPS mapping in the early 2010s, decimating Garmin's legacy automotive dashboard GPS navigation business, CEO Cliff Pemble engineered a notable corporate pivot, shifting engineering and capital into high-margin fitness wearables, outdoor multisport watches, aviation cockpits, and marine electronics.
As Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, co-founder Dr. Min Kao provides strategic guidance, oversees long-term R&D technology investments, maintains close relationships with manufacturing teams in Taiwan, and safeguards Garmin's engineering culture.
Since Pemble became CEO in 2013, Garmin has shifted from car navigation to wearables, outdoor, aviation and marine products. Revenue reached a record $7.25 billion in 2025, and every segment set a record.
Clifton Pemble serves as CEO. He was actually one of the very first engineers hired by the founders in 1989. Taking over as CEO in 2013, he brilliantly executed the massive strategic pivot away from dying automotive GPS systems and fully committed the company to dominating the high-end smartwatch and aviation markets.
Compare executive leadership tenures and strategic transitions
Explore Garmin
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.