Our history

Léon Mouttet, a Swiss precision mechanic and creative mastermind founded LEMO in 1946 in Morges, on the shores of Lake Geneva. It was in his first small workshop that he created innovative electric contacts and devices for the watchmaking industry.

He assembled them around the lounge table with his wife and daughter. As of 1954, the first LEMO connectors were produced for the electronics market.

Unsatisfied with the various types of connector latching systems, Léon Mouttet invented his own brilliant solution, easy-to-use and perfectly safe. The patent application for what would be known as the original Push-Pull latching system, was filed in 1957.

The revolutionary system soon became a new global standard across the electronics industry.

The robustness and reliability of Push-Pull connectors which are still “Made in Switzerland” has underpinned the continuously growing success for LEMO. Over the decades, the Group has introduced a multitude of innovations and extended its know-how to cables.

LEMO has become a global benchmark for high performance interconnect systems used in demanding applications and in harsh environments.

Léon Mouttet, LEMO’s founder was an engineering genius, an inventor with an inexhaustible treasure trove of ideas, as his colleagues used to say. Modest and generous, he knew how to share his ideas and give his instructions with a few pencil strokes. A creative mind, Léon Mouttet also managed to build his company upon strong foundations: he had the first factories built, launched the first subsidiaries, entered important markets (Germany, USA, Japan…). The founder stepped down from his CEO position in 1978, only two years before he passed away.

The successor appointed by Léon Mouttet was his son-in-law, Marcello Pesci. He was working as an engineer for the Italian television (RAI) when he met Josée Mouttet in Rome.

Immersed in the world of connectors, this born entrepreneur created COELVER (coaxial and fibre optic miniaturised solutions), before taking over LEMO’s management. A devoted and well-organised leader, he transformed the family enterprise into a group active worldwide. He developed sales structures and production capacity, consolidated processes.

An engineering mastermind, he also led R&D and initiated many new products. By the time he retired in 2000, worldwide staff had multiplied by four and the brand had become a leading reference in the most demanding sectors such as medical, aerospace, motorsport, and broadcast.

Son and grandson of the first two LEMO directors, 33-year-old Alexandre Pesci became the third CEO of the Group.

He was very well-prepared for the job: having obtained a master’s degree in commercial and industrial sciences from Geneva University (specialization in business management), he gained experience as the marketing director for LEMO HQ and LEMO USA. Alexandre Pesci followed in his father’s footsteps: he structured, further developed, and strengthened the Group’s footprint which underpinned its continued growth. As a visionary leader, he oriented his enterprise towards new emerging markets and sectors (renewable energies, high precision medical robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones…).

He anchored the brand into high-end and harsh environments. He has even tried and tested LEMO solutions in real extreme conditions by driving a car packed with LEMO connectors and making it successfully to the finish line of the Dakar Rally. He also broadened the business scope to complete interconnection solutions, namely through the acquisition of US cable manufacturer NORTHWIRE.