Published 6/20/2018

People on the Move: June 2018

CW’s monthly roundup of people on the move in the composites industry.

Edited by: Scott Francis

Editor-In-Chief, Gardner Business Media

Oliver Kassam, CEO of Airborne Oil & Gas.

Source | Airborne Oil & Gas

Tobias Hahn, CEO Diab Group

Source | Diab Group

Amolak Badesha, chief operating officer, Orbital Composites

Mickey Fennell joins HORN’s Industrial Division Sales Team.

Source | HORN

Airborne Oil & Gas

Airborne Oil & Gas (AOG, IJmuiden, The Netherlands) announced June 21 the appointment of Oliver Kassam as CEO. Kassam was most recently at SBM Offshore N.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) as president and managing director in charge of the company’s activities in Brazil. He has over 20 years of experience in the global offshore services industry holding various senior executive roles.

Tim van Delden, chairman of AOG’s Supervisory Board says, “We are very happy to welcome Oliver Kassam to Airborne Oil & Gas. Oliver shares our vision that AOG’s Thermoplastic Composite Pipe (TCP) will become a significant component of the subsea pipeline infrastructure, in line with the industry’s continued drive for reduction of total installed cost and life cycle cost.”

Kassam states, “In its short history, Airborne Oil & Gas has gotten the attention of our industry, developing the leading technology in TCP, as a lighter, corrosion-resistant alternative to metal pipe. I am impressed with how they have progressively built a track record in the oilfield sector, working with several major oil and gas companies around the world. It is clear to me that they have achieved this with the passion and dedication of the employees and support from its substantial and impressive shareholder base, sharing a common vision. I believe that AOG has a strong future in the oil and gas industry and I am excited to work with the rest of the Management Team to ensure this.”

Kassam began his career in the oil and gas industry with KBR in 1996. He has since worked globally with experience in the North Sea, Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, Middle East, West Africa and Asia.

Kassam will start his new position on July 1 and be based in IJmuiden.

Diab Group

Diab (Laholm, Sweden) announced June 19 that Tobias Hahn has been chosen as new CEO for Diab. Hahn will join Diab in early September.

Hahn has 10 years of operative and international experience with the Atlas Copco Group (Nacka, Sweden) where he served as president for Industrial Assembly Solutions.

Hah will replace Lennart Hagelqvist as CEO who departed the company June 19. Mats Persson will take on the role as interim CEO alongside his current role as EVP EMEA&India.

Persson made the following statement:

"After my few months with Diab I acknowledge how well positioned we are. We are geographically where we need to be, our brand is well respected and we are acting in a growth market. During my visits to our different companies I have met with our people around the world and I am impressed with your abilities and spirit. The board of directors together with our owners has come to the conclusion that Diab need a different leadership going forward. And we believe Tobias is the right choice for Diab in the exciting future that is ahead".

Endurance Technologies

Endurance Technologies, Inc. (St. Paul, MN, US), manufacturers of thermoset resin systems which include the brands MAS Epoxies, Composite Polymer Design (CPD) and Bristol Finish, announced June 20 that Juan Juarez has joined the company as the new National Sales Manager. Juarez will be replacing Ann Jackson, CPD co-founder, who is retiring. Juarez comes to Endurance Technologies with an extensive background in the composites industry and wealth of knowledge of thermoset chemistry. Ann Jackson will remain on staff during the transition.

Horn

HORN (La Mirada, CA, US), distributor of specialty chemicals and raw materials, announced June 6 the addition of Mickey Fennell to HORN Industrial Division’s sales team. Joining the company as senior account manager with 34 years of industry expertise, Fennell will cover the Southwest territory for two business units within the division – HORN Coatings and Building Materials and HORN Advanced Materials.

Prior to joining HORN, Mickey helped established the Southwest territory for McCullough & Associates (Atlanta, GA, US) as regional sales manager. He was the president and owner of CNX Distribution prior to its sale to Maroon Group (Avon, OH, US) and was regional sales manager for Crozier-Nelson (Huston, TX, US) – now part of Brenntag (St Louis, IL, US) – for more than 20 years.

Based in Oklahoma, Fennell was past president of Oklahoma Paint and Coatings Association, is a member of Dallas Paint and Coatings Association (Dallas, TX, US) and is on the American Coatings Association (Washington, DC, US) Industry Suppliers Committee.

IDI Composites International

IDI Composites International (Noblesville, IN, US) announced June 25 the promotion of Chris Templin to Director of Manufacturing for the CI Noblesville Operation. Chris has served in various leadership and technical positions for IDI over the past 20 years, including the Noblesville plant expansion, SMC capacity investment and expansion, state-of-the-art tank farm, the 3i Composites Technology Center and most recently his leadership role overseeing the design and commissioning of IDI’s new SMC Operation in Mexico City, Mexico. In his new director role, Chris will plan, direct and coordinate the operations of the facility to pursue operational excellence with regards to safety, productivity and facility efficiency.

IDI also announced the appointment of Kevin Cahill to the position of Director of Technology and Application Engineering. As a leader in the global thermoset composites industry, IDI is designing innovative materials for customers seeking to go beyond the value limitations of conventional materials. Kevin has a strong background in design engineering leadership and conversion of traditional materials to advanced polymeric materials in structural applications. Kevin’s experience in working with global OEMs and his background in design and simulation will allow him to keep a clear focus on material performance and provide exceptional value and competitive advantages to IDI’s customers. He has more than 20 years of polymer composites experience in all aspects of product concept, design, validation, manufacturing, and support. He has focused expertise in the correlation of composite material characterization, simulation, and accelerated life testing to accurately predict product life in high performance automotive, defense, and specialty applications.

Orbital Composites

Startup company Orbital Composites (San Jose, CA, US) announced June 1 that Amolak Badesha will be joining the company as chief operating officer, reporting to CEO Cole Nielsen.

Badesha will have oversight of R&D, Sales and Operations at Orbital Composites, which works to advance speed, scale, materials and multifunctionality for large composite structures through its patented coaxial extrusion process. Badesha joins the company from Broadcom (San Jose, CA, US), where he served as sales director for Strategic Accounts. Prior to this role, he served various leadership positions in Marketing, Operations and R&D. He also spent 2 years pursuing M&A objectives at Avago Technologies and served in various business development and sales roles at Agilent Technologies.

Wabash National Corporation

Wabash National Corporation (Lafayette, IN, US), a diversified manufacturer and producer of semi-trailers and liquid transportation systems, today announced June 4 that Brent L. Yeagy, president and chief operating officer of the company, has assumed the role of president and chief executive officer, effective June 2. Mr. Yeagy follows Richard J. Giromini, who stepped down from his role as CEO on June 1 as part of a planned succession announced on December 15, 2017.

Yeagy has been with Wabash National for more than 15 years and has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility with the company. Prior to Wabash National, Yeagy held various human resources, environmental engineering and safety management positions for Delco Remy International, and served in various plant engineering roles at Rexnord Corporation. He served in the United States Navy from 1991 to 1994.

Mr. Giromini will remain with the company serving in the role of executive advisor.