ANGLETON, TX -- Benchmark Electronics today announced Paul J. Tufano president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.

He replaces Gayla Delly who has resigned as both the top executive and as a member of the board to pursue other interests.

Tufano, who joined the board in February 2016, has 35 years' experience in the technology and telecommunications industries, most recently as chief financial officer of Alcatel-Lucent Group, from 2008 through 2013, where he also served as chief operating officer from 2012-2013. Previously, he was executive vice president and CFO of Solectron, where he also served as interim CEO. Prior to Solectron, Tufano was president and CEO of Maxtor. he also held management positions in finance and operations at IBM.

Tufano will remain on the board as a non-independent member. He has a bachelor's in economics from St. John's and a masters of business administration degree from Columbia.

The move comes with little warning. Delly had been with Benchmark since 1996 and was promoted to CEO in December 2011 by founder Cary Fu.

Chairman David Scheible said in a press release: "On behalf of the board of directors and the employees of Benchmark, I want to express my gratitude to Gayla Delly for over 20 years of hard work and dedication to the Company. She has helped lead the company and develop the processes that have moved it from a regional electronics company to the world-class, global public company that it is today. We wish her all the best in her new ventures.

"We are pleased to welcome Paul Tufano to his new role as he builds on the Company's past successes and leads it forward to even greater achievements. The depth and breadth of Paul's experience are impressive, and we look forward to his expanded influence beyond the boardroom," Scheible added.