Composites One names Leon Garoufalis president and CEO

Composites One (Schaumburg, Ill., U.S.) has announced that it has named Leon Garoufalis the company’s president and CEO, effective immediately.  Former CEO Steve Dehmlow will continue as chairman of the Board.

Garoufalis has served as president and COO since Composites One was formed in 1999. A widely respected composites industry leader, Garoufalis has been with Composites One and GLS Composites Distribution (GLS, Schaumburg) since 1988. Over the course of his career at Composites One and GLS he has held several leadership roles in sales, marketing and operations.

While at Composites One, Garoufalis guided the initial, successful merger of three distribution companies and the integration of five subsequent acquisitions of composites materials distributors over an eight-year period. He also led Composites One through its first vertical acquisition in 2021 when the company acquired Aerovac Process Materials from Solvay (Alpharetta, Ga., U.S.). Additionally, Garoufalis provides industry leadership as a member of the Executive Committee of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA, Arlington, Va., U.S.) Board of Directors. In 2012, he received the ACMA President’s Award for his industry contributions. Garoufalis holds an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago.

“Composites One has seen tremendous growth over the last 23 years. With every challenge, the company has stayed true to its core values of acting with integrity, operating safely and taking care of our customers and each other,” says Garoufalis. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to lead all our team members at Composites One.”  

Along with Garoufalis’ appointment, Al Dobbeck has been named executive vice president (VP) and COO. Dobbeck most recently served as CFO and has been with Composites One since 2011. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a master of accountancy degree from the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.