John Batten

President and Chief Executive Officer Twin Disc

Last Reviewed: September 25, 2026

Executive Summary

John Batten is President and Chief Executive Officer of Twin Disc, Incorporated, the Racine, Wisconsin company, founded in 1918, that designs and builds marine and heavy-duty off-highway power transmission equipment — marine transmissions, azimuth and surface drives, propellers, power-shift transmissions, torque converters, industrial clutches and control systems. He is a career Twin Disc executive: he joined in 1996 as an application engineer, spent his early years in its marine propulsion business, became President and Chief Operating Officer in 2008 and chief executive in 2013. He has also sat on the company’s board since 2002 and is its largest disclosed individual shareholder.

Career Highlights

• President and Chief Executive Officer of Twin Disc (Nasdaq: TWIN); chief executive since 2013, with the title “Chief Executive Officer” alone from May 2019 and “President and Chief Executive Officer” again from October 2022.
• Joined Twin Disc in 1996 as an application engineer and was named Commercial Manager, Marine Propulsion in 1998.
• Vice President and General Manager, Marine and Propulsion from 2001; Executive Vice President from 2004, responsible for European operations and global marine strategy and product development.
• President and Chief Operating Officer from July 2008, responsible for manufacturing, marketing, engineering, human resources and global distribution.
• A director of Twin Disc since December 2002.
• Under his leadership Twin Disc acquired Kobelt Manufacturing of Surrey, British Columbia in February 2025, and reported fiscal 2026 net sales of $381.3 million, up 11.9% on the prior year.

Professional Journey

Batten studied history at Yale, graduating in 1988, and later took a second degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder in 1996 — the same year he joined Twin Disc as an application engineer. The engineering degree was the route into a company whose products are gearboxes, clutches and drivetrains for boats and heavy equipment.

His early career at Twin Disc was in the marine business. He became Commercial Manager for marine propulsion in 1998 and Vice President and General Manager of the marine and propulsion business in 2001. He joined the board in 2002. In 2004 he was made Executive Vice President with responsibility for European operations and global marine strategy and product development, the same year he completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

In May 2008 the board named him President and Chief Operating Officer from that July, filling a post that had been vacant since the previous COO retired in 2006. He reported to Michael E. Batten, the long-serving Chairman and Chief Executive, and took charge of all manufacturing, marketing, engineering, human resources and global distribution. In June 2013 the board elected him President and Chief Executive Officer, with Michael E. Batten staying on as non-executive chairman. Company filings give his title as Chief Executive Officer from May 2019, and he was renamed President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2022.

Twin Disc today makes products for pleasure craft, commercial and military marine markets as well as energy, natural resources, government and industrial customers. It has manufacturing in the United States, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland, and about 72% of fiscal 2026 sales were to customers outside the United States. Recent growth has come partly through acquisitions: Katsa, and Kobelt, a Canadian maker of marine controls, steering and braking systems, bought in February 2025. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026 the company reported net sales of $381.3 million, up from $340.7 million, and 1,087 employees.

He is the company’s largest disclosed individual shareholder, with voting power over roughly 13.5% of the common stock, including shares held as trustee of family trusts. His brother, Timothy Batten, is Executive Vice President of Twin Disc.

Education

Yale University

BA, History, 1988

University of Colorado Boulder

BS, Mechanical Engineering, 1996

He also completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program in 2004, a non-degree executive program.