Manufacturing 2024: KAI FRIEDRICH
Friedrich joined Liebherr’s U.S. operations in 2021 as its managing director and director of the global company’s earthmoving and material- handling technology. He also serves as a divisional director for construction equipment. Friedrich has worked for the Swiss equipment manufacturer for two decades, previously serving in [...]
Manufacturing 2024: ANDY GIRVIN
Girvin manages the largest factory for chemical manufacturer AdvanSix, which boasts approximately 750 workers. In 1994, he joined Honeywell as a project engineer, working as global asset manager for its resin and chemicals division, which was spun off into AdvanSix in 2016. In spring 2023, Girvin faced challenges, including near[...]
Manufacturing 2024: THOMAS E. ‘TEDDY’ GOTTWALD
Gottwald joined NewMarket, parent company of Afton Chemical and Ethyl, in 1984 and worked in its petroleum additives and former plastics businesses before succeeding his father, Bruce, as chairman of the board two decades later. NewMarket traces its roots to Ethyl Gasoline Corp., a company acquired in 1962 by Albemarle Paper Man[...]
Manufacturing 2024: KOEN KNIPPENBERG
In June, Knippenberg began his new role as Volvo’s senior vice president in North America for Group Truck Operations (GTO), a position in which he oversees four vehicle assembly plants: Volvo’s New River Valley plant in Dublin; two Mack Trucks factories in Roanoke County and Pennsylvania; and a heavy-duty truck plant under c[...]
Banking | Finance 2024: VIKRAM ‘VIK’ ATAL
PRA Group, a global business that acquires and collects on nonperforming loans, reported a net loss of $83.5 million in fiscal 2023, after reporting a net income of $117.1 million in 2022. In a letter to shareholders about 2023 numbers, Atal, explained that when he was named CEO in March 2023, his goal was to […]
Professional Services 2024: JEREMY BLANK
With nearly three decades under his belt at Deloitte, Blank was promoted in January from head of the Big Four global accounting firm’s Greater Washington market to a national role as U.S. tax chief strategy officer. In his new job, Blank oversees services for national and global tax clients, including specializations such as t[...]
Telecommunications 2024: MATTHEW J. DESCH
Desch joined Iridium as CEO in 2006, took the company public in 2009 and subsequently replaced its first-generation network with new satellites that are expected to last into the mid-to-late 2030s. Iridium has been inventing new services and finding new partners since. In April, the global satellite communications company acquir[...]
Retail 2024: MICHAEL SEVER
Sever, a longtime Hershey employee, was named plant manager of the candymaker’s Stuarts Draft manufacturing facility in 2022. He had previously been site operations leader at the facility, which produces nut-based candies like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Almond Joy. The plant, which opened in 1982, is the second largest o[...]
Transportation 2024: WILLIAM E. ‘BILL’ WOODHOUR
A University of Delaware alumnus, Woodhour has devoted 32 years to Maersk Line, rising to president and CEO in 2016. Headquartered in Virginia with offices in Norfolk and Dulles, Maersk is the U.S. arm of Danish shipping giant A.P. Møller-Mærsk and has the largest U.S. flag fleet in commercial service. The company was in the [[...]
Manufacturing 2024: JON MOORE
Since 2019, Moore has served as president and CEO of tobacco products manufacturer Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro cigarettes. He has worked under parent company Altria Group since 2003, serving as vice president of its heated tobacco products division and director of marketing for NuMark, Altria’s early e-vapor subsidiar[...]
Manufacturing 2024: JOHN M. STEITZ
In 2019, Steitz was named president and CEO of plastic films and aluminum extrusions manufacturer Tredegar, a 1989 spinoff of Richmond fuel additives company Ethyl. Steitz had served on Tredegar’s board of directors since 2017 while also serving as CEO of polymer additives supplier Addivant, which merged with SI Group in 2018.[...]
Manufacturing 2024: GREGORY H. TREPP
Trepp had served as president and CEO at Hamilton Beach Brands since 2017. In February, he became CEO alone, as R. Scott Tidey was appointed company president, part of the appliance manufacturer’s succession plan. Tidey previously was senior vice president of global sales at subsidiary Hamilton Beach Brands Inc. Trepp joined H[...]