Interview: Topcon boss talks culture and customer impact

Topcon’s MC Max Dozer system uses GNSS receivers and blade sensors to aid accurate grading

Appointed President and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems in late 2024, Ivan Di Federico is bringing renewed direction to a sector often clouded by fragmented technologies and overstated promises.

In an interview with Construction Europe, Di Federico outlined his strategic vision for the company, discussed the biggest challenges facing construction and geospatial markets, and explained how Topcon aims to deliver long-term, integrated value for its users.

A vision defined by simplicity and value

Topcon President and CEO Ivan Di Federico

At the heart of Di Federico’s leadership strategy is a straightforward but firm commitment: delivering genuine value to users through targeted innovation.

“Well, we have a very clear and consistent vision: to make our customers’ lives simpler,” he said when asked about his strategic vision. “Everything we do – from developing innovative products to advancing technology – is focused on creating value for the people who use our solutions.”

This clarity is, in part, a response to what Di Federico sees as a proliferation of superficial solutions in the marketplace – technologies launched because they can be, rather than because they should be. “When you sharply define what you want to do, that also defines what you’re not going to do,” he said.

“The entrance of new companies… often just mimicking products that already exist and introducing them at different price levels may seem like a threat if you enter into panic mode. But, if you are focused and know exactly what needs to be done, you understand that just the introduction of a new product is not necessarily creating value.”

Instead, Di Federico insists that Topcon will stay the course, not just in product development but in its approach to customer support. “It’s also about the service, also about being close to them when there is a moment of need,” he said. “Be clever in deciding what to propose. What is the right software? What is the right level of service? But do not exaggerate what needs to be given.”

Innovation begins with culture

When it comes to fostering innovation, Di Federico does not believe in quick fixes or boardroom declarations. “You can’t buy innovation,” he said. “Innovation is in two places: it’s in the minds and in the hearts of our employees.”

The key, he says, is empowering teams and creating a culture that enables risk-taking without fear of failure. “It’s also about the leaders. Innovative companies have great leaders,” he said. “We’ve gone through a restructuring of our organisation to reduce long processes in the decision making and [to increase] the budget for new endeavours in product and innovation.”

Capturing tunnel data with Topcon’s GLS 2200 laser scanner

His belief is that innovation must come not only from R&D departments, but from

across the business. “We are extremely supportive of employees who propose things,” he said. “You have to have a few pioneers whom you follow and empower and support along the way. Then the others will use that as an example internally to be reassured that that is the good thing to do.”

Solving fragmentation

One of the most pressing challenges in the construction industry today, according to Di Federico, is the disjointed nature of digital transformation. “The complexity of the problem of streamlining and improving efficiency on a construction job site has pushed many companies to bring their own solutions to market, each aiming to capture a piece of the growing demand,” he said.

While these piecemeal solutions can offer benefits in isolated cases, they often introduce inefficiencies elsewhere. “If I am on the customer side, I am confused because all these solutions normally do not talk to each other. Even if they increase efficiency in this segment, they will generate even more work in the back office,” he said.

Di Federico believes this fragmentation is a barrier to the industry’s ability to meet global demands for infrastructure and housing. “We are in a trap, which limits the ability of construction to grow and fulfil this dream of having homes and infrastructure for everybody,” he said.

In response, Topcon is pursuing an end-to-end approach that avoids unnecessary integrations or added complexity. “We are concentrating… on our philosophy of hardware, software and services – the three components of a product – and limiting, if not eliminating, any necessity of interest [from external systems].”

A seamless leadership transition

Topcon’s Smoothride system - scanning technology for milling and paving on road projects

Following the retirement of long-time CEO Ray O’Connor, who led Topcon for more than three decades, Di Federico describes the transition as less of a break and more of a continuum.

“I’ve been with Ray for more than 20 years,” he said. “So, I understand it is a transition, but it is a transition mostly seen from the outside. I feel it is less of a transition but more of a continuity in leadership.”

Di Federico emphasised that the cultural DNA of the company – empathetic, democratic, and people-first – remains unchanged.

This people-centred ethos also extends to how Topcon approaches its broader responsibilities, including sustainability.

Topcon’s approach to sustainability spans its internal operations and its product portfolio, with an emphasis on measurable impact. “We have a sustainability team and projects that cover how we deliver energy to our facilities, which materials and components we choose for our products, and, most importantly, the positive impact that our products have on improving workflows for our customers,” said Di Federico.

“That plays a big role on a global scale in creating sustainable outcomes,” he added. “Our core focus is around the three pillars of People, Planet and Profit, and with this focus there are many opportunities for us to enable positive and sustainable change with our partners in all of these areas.”

Growth markets and key events

While macroeconomic conditions remain volatile, Di Federico maintains that Topcon is well-positioned to grow in both its construction and geospatial businesses.

Topcon’s stand at Bauma 2025

“We see the construction area and the geomatics area as big opportunities for us,” he said. “This year, we have three essential trade shows where we’ll be continuing to innovate.” These include Bauma, which was in April 2025, Intergeo, and CONEXPO, where the company will unveil new technologies in machine control, geomatics, and precision sensing.

Perhaps the most transformational technology on Topcon’s radar is artificial intelligence. “All of our new GNSS rovers will be AI-enabled, and we are in a build-up of a new initiative which is essentially a single data lake for all the data generated by our instruments,” Di Federico revealed.

This will allow instruments to learn from user behaviour and adapt accordingly. “We will transition to instruments that will essentially learn from the operator and other instruments, and recast themselves out of that learning automatically,” he explained. “You will interact with a living body that learns as it goes. That will be a significantly different experience for the workflow in construction, geomatics and agriculture.”

Advice for the next generation

Upon being asked what guidance he would offer to aspiring leaders in technology and engineering, Di Federico responded with a challenge to think critically and empathetically.

“In this moment, the limitation is not the technology,” he said. “Limitation is deeper than that. It is about what makes sense to do. My advice for the benefit of the entire industry is to not limit yourself to doing things again because we can do them but rather go deeper into the understanding of what makes the industry grow and what is essential to the customers.”

In an industry often dazzled by the promise of new technology, Ivan Di Federico is steering Topcon with grounded pragmatism and clarity. In his view, success lies not in doing more, but in doing what truly matters.