Performance Fibers’ leadership team of commercial, technical and industry experts
collectively have over two centuries of experience, generating insights and building
relationships that customers rely on for planning and decision making.
Our leadership is committed to excellence and continuous improvement in every aspect
of the business – from Lean Six Sigma to research and development. Their unique
legacy perspectives, combined with strategic planning, position us for a future
of endless possibilities.
To view team member biographies, please click on the names under the photograph.
Paul Palmisano joined Performance Fibers in 2008 as Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer, with a focus on continuing to build a world-class finance organization
with a culture of strong financial stewardship.
His previous experience includes 12 years with Honeywell International, a manufacturer
serving the automation and controls, aerospace, specialty materials and transportation
systems segments, where his roles included vice president, corporate business analysis
and planning. Most recently, he was vice president, chief financial officer of the
Grace Davison division of W.R. Grace & Co., a global specialty materials and chemicals
manufacturer.
Mr. Palmisano holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University
of Maryland and is Six Sigma Green Belt certified.
Kristin Sydnor rejoined Performance Fibers when Sun Capital Partners, Inc. acquired
the business from Honeywell in December 2004.
Mrs. Sydnor originally joined Honeywell Performance Fibers in 1999 and in 2002,
moved to Honeywell's Building Solutions business as Regional Human Resources Leader.
She previously worked for Pillsbury and Nissan Motor Manufacturing in a variety
of Human Resources roles.
Mrs. Sydnor, a resident of Pittsboro, North Carolina, holds a Master of Business
Administration degree from the University of Louisville (Kentucky). She is also
a graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.
Rick Brown is chief executive officer of Performance Fibers, a global leader in
high-performance industrial fibers and related materials, with operations on three
continents.
Prior to joining Performance Fibers, Mr. Brown served as vice president of W.R.
Grace and president of Grace Performance Chemicals, a $1.4 billion global business
with five operating units, where he developed a business strategy focused on optimizing
the core business, expanding in global growth markets and focusing on innovation.
Previously, he spent 19 years with General Electric, where he served as president
of GE Silicones – Core Products and grew core chemical product sales with a global
focus. Among his other positions with GE was president of GE Sealants and Adhesives,
where he grew GE’s consumer and construction sealants/adhesives business. Mr. Brown
received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire – Plymouth
State and is Six Sigma certified.
As Vice President of Global Operations, Alex Carnevale is responsible for overall
manufacturing excellence at Performance Fibers, with a focus on strengthening the
business infrastructure, global manufacturing footprint optimization, improving
our ready-to-serve operations, and helping each of our sites to drive cost competitiveness.
Mr. Carnevale has held several diverse leadership positions during his tenure with
Honeywell/AlliedSignal and Performance Fibers, including Plant Manager at the Moncure,
NC facility and Production Manager at the Longlaville, France facility. He has also
led the European business for both Honeywell Performance Fibers and Performance
Fibers.
Mr. Carnevale resides in Luxembourg. He holds a Master of Business Administration
degree from the University of Richmond (Virginia) and graduated with honors with
a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Virginia.
Chris Fieber is the Vice President of Corporate Strategy for Performance Fibers,
responsible for developing global business strategies including organic growth and
merger/acquisition activities.
Mr. Fieber joined AlliedSignal in 1995 as a Process Design Engineer and held various
positions in engineering within the Performance Polymers SBU, including Process
Engineering Leader for the Hopewell, VA plant. In 2000, he joined Performance Fibers
as a Business Analyst, followed by roles as Global FP&A Manager and Business Development
Manager. Prior to joining AlliedSignal, he held positions in Operations and Engineering
for Eli Lilly and Company. Mr. Fieber holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical
Engineering from Purdue University (Indiana) and a Master of Business Administration
degree (Fuqua Scholar) from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (North Carolina).
He is Six Sigma Black Belt certified and is a licensed Professional Engineer.
H.J. Sha is Performance Fibers’ Vice President and Managing Director – Asia. Located
in Shanghai, China, he is responsible for development and execution of the growth
strategy for the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr. Sha joined AlliedSignal in 1991 as a Research Engineer, where he worked on a
variety of R&D projects including computer simulation, new products and process
development. In 1995, he joined an AlliedSignal team to start-up a joint venture
in China, where he worked with AlliedSignal and Honeywell Performance Fibers as
Technical Manager, Operations Manager, Plant Manager, China General Manager and
Asia General Manager.
Mr. Sha received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Fiber
Engineering from China Textile University, and his Ph.D. in Polymer Science from
Penn State University.
James Johnson heads up the Information Technology group, where he is responsible
for developing strategy and providing IT solutions for the global Performance Fibers
organization.
Mr. Johnson joined Performance Fibers from Honeywell 's Specialty Materials business
group, where he served as IT Leader, IT Director for Business Process Enablement
and IT Director for Application Strategy and Delivery. Previous positions included
IT consultant for Renaissance Worldwide and specialist/programmer for Merrill Lynch.
Mr. Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of
Virginia and a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Strategic
Management from the University of Maryland.
As Vice President, Technology, Rick Black drives and coordinates technical strategies
for growth and innovation for the company’s North American, Asian and European regions.
Mr. Black brings over 20 years of extensive global commercial and manufacturing
experience to Performance Fibers. His previous career positions included chief marketing
officer at Sigma Group, an industrial manufacturer based in India, and vice president
of global sales at Oberg Industries. Prior to that he was with General Electric’s
plastics division in a variety of global and domestic roles in marketing, sales
leadership, product management and supply chain, including managing Asia-Pacific
marketing and product development.
Mr. Black holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from West
Virginia University and a Six Sigma Green Belt certification.
Ron Werner assumed his current position as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary
upon Performance Fibers' divestiture from Honeywell International in December 2004.
Mr. Werner joined Honeywell in 1989 as Attorney – Securities, responsible for handling
securities law compliance matters. Mr. Werner's subsequent positions included Assistant
General Counsel – Corporate Finance, Securities and Employee Benefits; General Counsel
for Honeywell's Engineered Plastics and Spectra® Fibers and Composites
businesses; and General Counsel for Honeywell's Chemical Intermediates, Carpet Fibers,
Specialty Films and Specialty Additives businesses. In 1998, he was named General
Counsel of Honeywell's Performance Fibers business.
Prior to joining Honeywell, Mr. Werner was a corporate law associate with the New
Jersey and New York law firm of Shanley & Fisher, PC. He earned a bachelor's degree,
magna cum laude, with distinction in economics from Rutgers College (New Jersey)
in 1982 and his J.D. with honors from Rutgers School of Law – Newark in 1985, where
he was an editor of the Rutgers Law Review.
As President, Europe, Andreas Mader is responsible for developing and implementing
a regional strategy that delivers leadership in innovation and customer value.
With a strong background in the chemical and tire industries, Mr. Mader has extensive
experience in both commercial and operation roles. Prior to joining Performance
Fibers, he was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Henkel’s global semiconductor
business. Previously he was with National Starch and Dow in both Europe and the
U.S., where he held a variety of positions in general management, sales, marketing
and business development.
Mr. Mader holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the Technical University
in Krefeld, Germany.
Brian Herington is President of Performance Fibers’ Americas division, where he
is responsible for providing strong regional leadership and aligning global strategies
with regional innovation and execution. He is focused on delivering operational
excellence and customer value throughout the region.
An experienced leader in the plastics industry, Mr. Herington previously was General
Manager of the High Performance Polymers business for SABIC Innovative Plastics.
He spent 18 years with SABIC Innovative Plastics, GE Plastics and GE Lighting in
a variety of roles in sales, marketing and product management, as well as leadership
roles in Brazil and the Netherlands.
Mr. Herington holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Illinois State University.
Mark Wall joined Performance Fibers in January 2010 as Chief Commercial Officer responsible for driving the company’s marketing and sales strategy across all regions. He is focused on strengthening and growing our global customer relationships and leading marketing strategy for Performance Fibers’ advanced technology product platforms.
Mr. Wall has more than 25 years of global experience. Prior to joining Performance Fibers, he spent more than 20 years with GE Plastics in a variety of marketing, commercial and leadership roles. He served as regional President for GE Plastics’ operations in South America, China and Japan, growing the respective regions and providing strategic leadership during his tenure. Most recently Mr. Wall was Group Senior Vice President and President Asia Pacific with Gategroup, where he led the company transformation from a single brand to an 11 brand total solutions provider.
Mr. Wall holds a Bachelor of Science degree in plastic engineering from Lowell Technical Institute in Lowell, Massachusetts.
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