Gordon A. Ulsh President and Chief Executive Officer
Gordon A. Ulsh was appointed in April 2005 as President and CEO of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. He also is a member of the Company's Board of Directors.
Most recently, Mr. Ulsh was Chairman, President and CEO of Texas-based FleetPride Inc., the nation's largest independent aftermarket distributor of heavy-duty truck parts. Prior to joining FleetPride in 2001, Mr. Ulsh worked with Ripplewood Equity Partners, providing analysis of automotive industry segments for investment opportunities. Earlier, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Federal-Mogul Corporation in 1999 and as head of its Worldwide Aftermarket Division in 1998. Prior to Federal-Mogul, he held a number of leadership positions with Cooper Industries, including Executive Vice President of its automotive products segment. Mr. Ulsh joined Cooper's Wagner Lighting business unit in 1984 as Vice President of Operations, following 16 years in manufacturing and engineering management at Ford Motor Company.
Mr. Ulsh holds a bachelor's degree from Butler University.
Phillip A. Damaska Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Phillip A. Damaska is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions.
Mr. Damaska brings more than 30 years of experience to his role at Exide. He joined the Company in January 2005 as Vice President, Finance and was subsequently appointed Vice President and Corporate Controller in August of that same year. From March 2006 to March 2008, Mr. Damaska held the position of Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller and has overseen all of the Company's internal and external financial reporting, the preparation of annual operating plans and forecast updates as well as provided guidance in the Company's efforts to comply with requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
From 1996 through 2004, Mr. Damaska held a variety of positions at Freudenberg-NOK, the Americas joint venture partnership between Freudenberg and Company in Germany and NOK Corporation in Japan. During his tenure, he served as President of Corteco, an automotive and industrial seal supplier that is part of the Freudenberg-NOK global group of companies. He also held several finance related positions of increasing responsibility.
Mr. Damaska holds a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from Albion College and an MBA from the University of Detroit. He also is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Michigan.
Edward J. O'Leary Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Edward (EJ) O'Leary is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. Mr. O'Leary is responsible for four operating divisions of the Company: Transportation – Americas, Transportation – Europe, Industrial Energy – Americas, and Industrial Energy – Europe. He joined Exide in June 2005, serving the Company as President, Transportation – Americas.
Mr. O'Leary's career has spanned more than 30 years in the automotive industry. Prior to joining Exide, he was President – The Americas at Oetiker, Inc. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of iStarSystems from 2000 to 2002, and as Vice President, Sales and Distribution – The Americas at Federal-Mogul Corporation from 1998 to 1999. His career also includes senior management positions at Cooper Industries and Tenneco Automotive.
Mr. O'Leary holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. He also completed the International Advanced Management Program at the Harvard School of Business.
Barbara A. Hatcher Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Barbara A. Hatcher has more than 20 years experience in corporate legal practice, with more than ten years in the battery manufacturing and distribution industry.
Ms. Hatcher recently was appointed Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. From April 2004 to May 2006, she served as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at Exide, globally managing mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, business agreements, customer relations, advertising and product integrity matters. From September 2000 to April 2004, Ms. Hatcher served as Group Counsel to Exide's Transportation Business Group. She joined Exide Technologies in September, 2000, through its acquisition of GNB Technologies Inc., where she was Vice President and General Counsel.
Ms. Hatcher also was employed as Assistant General Counsel of Burlington Industries, Inc. and by the Washington D.C. law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. She is a 1980 graduate of Wake Forest University School of Law, and a 1977 graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Journalism.
George S. Jones, Jr. Executive Vice President
Human Resources and Communications
George S. Jones, Jr. joined Exide in July 2005 as Executive Vice President Human Resources and Communications. He leads the Company's global HR organization, a function that serves Exide employees across a broad range of groups from factories to finance to sales. Before coming to Exide, Mr. Jones had a highly successful career that spanned nearly 30 years with Cooper Industries Inc., serving as Vice President - Operations for Cooper Lighting, a $1.3 billion division headquartered in Peachtree City, Georgia. Mr. Jones also held a number of other executive positions with Cooper including Vice President - Human Resources for Cooper Lighting; Director - Human Resources for Wagner Lighting in Cooper's Automotive Group; and Director - Human Resources in Cooper's Petroleum Equipment Group.
Mr. Jones holds a bachelor's degree in industrial relations from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Mark W. Cummings Vice President – Global Environment, Health & Safety
Mark W. Cummings was appointed Vice President – Global Environment, Health & Safety at Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions, in July 2005. He is responsible for the company's employee safety and environmental protection program.
With 20 years of extensive engineering, legal and EHS experience, Mr. Cummings was most recently an independent consultant to the automotive industry. He has held a number of significant environmental and safety leadership positions with Wagner Lighting, Cooper Automotive and Federal-Mogul Corporation. Earlier in his career, he held positions with Parsons Corporation, an international engineering and construction company, and Texaco Inc.
Mr. Cummings holds a bachelor's degree in geological engineering from the University of Missouri–Rolla and a JD degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law. He is a member of the Missouri Bar.
Douglas Gillespie Vice President – Global Procurement
Douglas Gillespie is Vice President of the Global Procurement organization at Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. He is responsible for Exide's approximate $2.6 billion worldwide spend.
The Exide Global Procurement organization brings together all procurement activities into one centrally-led body while reducing spending, generating greater speed, and improving processes and relationships with key supplier partners in the Company's worldwide supply chain.
Mr. Gillespie joined Exide Technologies in 2003 as Director of Procurement Operations and in 2005, was named Vice President, Procurement - Americas.
Prior to Exide, he served as Director, Strategic Sourcing and Supplier Diversity with Waste Management Inc., and as Manager, Global Sourcing and Supply Chain with CNH, Inc.
Mr. Gillespie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Technology Engineering from Southern Illinois University.
Erach Balsara Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Dr. Erach S. Balsara is Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. He is responsible for the support of the Company's enterprise goals and business strategies through the implementation of strategic Information Technology, computing and communications systems as well as integrated applications.
Dr. Balsara, who joined Exide in February 2007, previously served as Vice President of HR Strategy and Development, where he oversaw implementation of the North American Human Resource Management System. In this role, he also managed other critical objectives for the Company, including Global Kronos System Implementation contracts, e-Procurement efforts, and Asia Pacific IT reorganization.
Prior to Exide, Dr. Balsara held several IT positions in automotive and pharmaceutical businesses. His most recent assignment was as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at FleetPride, Inc., the largest independent distributor of heavy-duty parts in the U.S. From 1997 to 2002, he served as Chief Technology Officer and Director of IT at Alpharma, Inc., a multinational pharmaceutical company with global leadership positions in human and animal pharmaceutical products. Prior to that role, Dr. Balsara spent seven years with Cooper Industries, Inc., as Manufacturing Systems Manager (Operations) and Manager of Network Systems (IT) for the Cooper Automotive division in St. Louis, Missouri. Earlier in his career, he also served as General Manager and Director, Network Consulting at Software Galeria, a systems integration company specializing in technical, engineering and applications networks for large commercial and government entities.
Dr. Balsara holds several advanced degrees in the scientific field and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Finance from University of Missouri.
Gary Reinert Vice President - Strategic Planning and Business Development
Gary Reinert is Vice President – Strategic Planning and Business Development for Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions.
Mr. Reinert is responsible for updating and completing strategic planning for Exide's growing business; leading the evaluation of product expansion; and identifying potential merger and acquisition opportunities – all leading to increased profitability.
He joined the Company in August of 2006, and served as Vice President, Internal Audit before being appointed to his new role in August of 2007. Prior to his time at Exide, he was Chief Financial Officer at the Hudson-Sharp Machine Company, a world leader in the design and manufacture of plastic bag making machinery, pouch making equipment and reclosable packaging solutions. Mr. Reinert also served as General Auditor / Vice President and Controller at Harnischfeger Industries, a global leader in the manufacture and service of mining and papermaking equipment. He started his career at KPMG, an international network of member firms offering audit, tax and advisory services. While there, he served in a number of positions of increasing responsibility, including his role as a Senior Manager.
Mr. Reinert holds a Bachelor's of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.
Paul Cheeseman Vice President, Global Engineering and Research
Paul Cheeseman, Ph.D., is Vice President, Global Engineering and Research of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. Dr. Cheeseman is responsible for leading the Company's Global Engineering and Research and Development (R&D) organization. Under his leadership, the newly consolidated function will allow Exide to utilize technology across applications, maximize efficiencies and accelerate the global growth of new products. Inclusive will be a greater engineering focus and product development in emerging renewable energy (solar and wind turbines) with large storage applications, as well as a potential business fit concerning hybrid vehicles.
A strategic thinker adept at working cross functionally, Dr. Cheeseman brings more than 25 years of technical experience in multiple battery systems to his new role at Exide. He served most recently as Senior Vice President, R&D and Quality, at Spectrum Brands, Inc., (formerly Rayovac), a global consumer products company. During his 10 years with the company, Dr. Cheeseman led four global research and development integration programs following acquisitions and oversaw the efforts of approximately 150 scientists and engineers.
Prior to his time at Spectrum Brands, Dr. Cheeseman spent 16 years at Duracell,
the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of high-performance alkaline batteries. He held a variety of roles at the company, including Director, Lithium Ion Technology and Director of Operations, New Products Division. Dr. Cheeseman was instrumental on a variety of business development initiatives at Duracell, and his contributions included the development of lithium-ion batteries; building strong technology relationships with multiple Japanese partners; establishing an operations infrastructure for the business that included engineering, quality, purchasing and prototyping.
Dr. Cheeseman holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Science with Joint Honors in Chemistry and Materials Science. He earned both degrees from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom.
Nicholas J. Iuanow Vice President and Corporate Treasurer
Nicholas J. Iuanow is Vice President and Corporate Treasurer of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions.
Prior to joining Exide in 2003, Mr. Iuanow was Vice President - Corporate Development and Corporate Treasurer at Evans and Sutherland. Earlier, he held a number of positions of increasing responsibility at Cordant Technologies, a former Fortune 500 aerospace company, and its predecessor company, Morton Thiokol, where he served as Vice President and Corporate Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Senior Financial Analyst and Treasury Analyst.
Mr. Iuanow holds a Bachelor's of Science from Boston College and an MBA from DePaul University.
Mitchell S. Bregman President – Industrial Energy Americas
Mitchell S. Bregman is President – Industrial Energy Americas for Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. Mr. Bregman is responsible for all commercial and operational aspects of the Company's Motive and Network businesses in the Americas.
Previously, Mr. Bregman served as Exide's President – Global Network Power. Prior to Exide's acquisition of GNB Technologies in September 2000, Mr. Bregman was President of GNB's Industrial Battery Division. With more than 28 years of industry experience, he also held a variety of other positions, including nine years with GNB's Transportation Division as Director of Sales, Plant Manager, Manufacturing Manager and Product Manager. Mr. Bregman also spent 14 years with GNB Industrial Power as Vice-President – Operations, Vice President and General Manager – Stationary Power and Vice President – General Manager. He joined GNB Technologies in July 1979.
Mr. Bregman received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from Cornell University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Bruce A. Cole is President of the Transportation Americas operating division of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions, and is responsible for the operation and profitability of the organization. Mr. Cole brings a broad range of industry experience to his role; he has served Exide in a variety of capacities, most recently as Vice President and General Manager of the Exide North American Recycling operation.
During his 18-year career at Exide, Mr. Cole has cultivated a broad range of experience, which has been demonstrated by his increasing level of responsibilities. Since joining Exide in 1989, Cole also has served the Company as Vice President, Marketing, Global Industrial Energy and Vice President, Manufacturing and Engineering in the Industrial Energy – Americas division.
From 1985 to 1989, prior to joining Exide, he worked at Delco-Remy (formerly a Division of GMC) within the Delco Battery business unit in product development and engineering sectors.
Mr. Cole holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University as well as an Executive MBA from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Franz Josef Dette President - Industrial Energy Europe
Franz-Josef Dette is President – Industrial Energy Europe for Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. Mr. Dette is responsible for all commercial and operational aspects of Exide's European Motive and Network Power businesses.
Mr. Dette brings a wealth of experience to his new position at Exide. Since 2007, he has served as Vice President of Operations for Exide Industrial Energy Europe, based in Büdingen, Germany. From 2006 to 2007, he also served the division as Director of Operations. In these capacities, he was responsible for production; logistics; operation rationalization; cost and inventory reductions; the implementation of Take Charge! and other lean manufacturing initiatives; and Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) compliance.
In 2003, he was appointed as Director of Logistics for Exide Industrial Energy Europe. Based in Manchester, UK, Mr. Dette managed a host of initiatives including supply chain, product distribution and inventory management. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Sales for Exide Motive Power Europe, also based in Manchester.
Mr. Dette also has held several Managing Director positions for Exide Technologies in Germany and Austria since 1998.
Prior to joining Exide, he was employed by DETA Akkumulatorenwerk GmbH in Bad Lauterberg, Germany as Sales Director for Network Power Batteries. From 1979 until 1994 he worked for Piller Power Systems GmbH, a world leader in power protection technology and building systems for mission-critical applications worldwide. At Piller, headquartered in Osterode, Germany, he was Sales Director, Power Supplies. He also served Piller as Sales Manager and Sales Engineer.
Mr. Dette began his career in 1977 at Robert Bosch Fernseh, GmbH in Darmstadt, Germany, where he was a Field Test Engineer for broadcasting equipment.
He holds an advanced Diploma of Engineering in Electronics from the Technical High School Lippe Germany.
Michael Ostermann President - Transportation Europe
Michael Ostermann is President of the Transportation Europe operating division of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical-energy solutions. He is responsible for the commercial and operational aspects of the division as well as the overall profitability of the business.
Mr. Ostermann brings a broad range of automotive industry and operations experience to his position at Exide. Since 2005, he has served Frauenthal Holding AG in a number of capacities, including Management Board Member and Managing Director with full divisional responsibility for the Company's Automotive Components sector. While at Frauenthal, Mr. Ostermann was responsible for establishing the company's Automotive Division; leading the integration of a dozen decentralized production locations; and formulating and streamlining Frauenthal's lean organization.
Prior to his three years at Frauenthal, he held a number of positions at Styria, a leading European manufacturer of commercial leaf springs and stabilizer bars for commercial vehicles and trailer axles.
Mr. Ostermann holds a Machine Construction Degree with a focus on manufacturing technology and a Diplom-Ingenieur (German equivalent of a Master of Science Degree) from Fachhochschule (University of Applied Sciences) in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Luke Lu President, Asia Pacific
Luke Lu is President ― Asia Pacific of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a global leader in stored electrical energy solutions. Mr. Lu is responsible for providing overall leadership and direction for the Asia Pacific business, capitalizing on profitable growth opportunities for this rapidly developing geographic market. He is based in Shanghai, China, which will become the central headquarters for the Asia Pacific region. The Exide Asia Pacific business top-line revenues represent both Exide's Industrial Energy and Transportation businesses.
Mr. Lu brings a broad range of industry experience to his role at Exide. Most recently, he served Johnson Controls in a variety of capacities including Vice President, Sales and Marketing – Asia Pacific Battery Group; Acting General Manager for Chongqing Joint Venture; and Commercial Director, China and Southeast Asia. Prior to his time at JCI, he worked at General Electric Corporation. His roles there included a position as Greater China Marketing and Application Development Manager for the company's Toshiba Silicones division and Pacific Tech-Marketing Manager for GE Silicones in Waterford, New York. His career also includes Project Manager responsibilities at Pragmatics, Inc., a leading provider of software and systems engineering, information assurance, network operations and management services for both defense and civilian agencies.
Mr. Lu holds a Ph.D. in Inorganic and Physical Chemistry from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor of Science in Organic and Physical Chemistry from Nankai University, Tianjin, P.R. China.
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