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MANAGEMENT TEAM

Greg Podell
President & Chief Executive Officer

A 25-year veteran of the waste management equipment industry, Greg Podell was named president and chief executive officer of E-Z Pack in November 2009.

Podell most recently served as chief operating officer at Wastequip, Inc., a manufacturer of waste handling and recycling equipment, where he was responsible for steering the organization toward improved production methodologies, product standardization, and financial results, and led an aggressive western U.S. expansion strategy.

Prior to his role as COO at Wastequip, Podell spent six years as president of the company’s Galbreath subsidiary, where his accomplishments included impressive customer growth with the nation’s largest waste collection companies and ISO 9001:2000 certification. Podell also served eight years as Galbreath’s vice president of sales and marketing after starting his career in sales.

Mr. Podell, a graduate of Purdue University, formerly served on the Board of Governors for the Waste Equipment Technology Association and is a past member of the Detachable Container Association and the Environmental Research Foundation.

Jim Rogers
Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Jim Rogers joined E-Z Pack in 2008, bringing with him more than 35 years of experience with prominent North American and international automotive manufacturing companies. Having held senior management and leadership roles for truck and original equipment manufacturers such as American LaFrance, Heil, Volvo and Peterbilt, Mr. Rogers possesses a strong balance of business leadership and sales and marketing management skills.

Most recently he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing of Commercial Products for American LaFrance, a leading manufacturer of fire, rescue and vocational vehicles. Besides enhancing the sales structure and distribution channels, he implemented a branding strategy that resulted in leadership position in targeted industries such as refuse, construction, airport services, and municipal equipment.

From 2002 through 2005, Mr. Rogers served as Heil Environmental’s North American Vice President of Sales where he successfully transformed the organization into a regional sales ownership model while improving profitability, increase revenues and improve market share.  As President of Heil’s Truck Equipment Group, he led the company’s return to profitability.

Prior to his tenure at Heil, Mr. Rogers launched and operated Sterling & Western Star Trucks in of Chattanooga and Knoxville. As General Manager and Minority Owner, he oversaw the growth of sales from start-up to $25 million. As Director of National Accounts Sales at Volvo Trucks of North America from 1995 to 1997, he managed key customer relationships with Waste Management, BFI, USA Waste, USA Concrete, and Rinker Materials.

Mr. Rogers served in a variety of key management positions at the Paccar Division of Peterbilt Motors from 1977 to 1995. Paccar is a worldwide manufacturer of light, medium and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, DAF, Leyland and Foden nameplates. His roles included Branch Manager, Materials Manager, National Dealer Development Manager, Regional Manager and Director of National and Vocational products.

Mr. Rogers, who began his career at the Ross Gear Company division of TRW, Inc., earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Economics from the University of Tennessee and completed the Executive and Senior Management Development Program at Dartmouth University.

Jack Johnson
Vice President of Operations

As VP of Operations, Jack Johnson’s responsibilities include production, purchasing, materials, inventory, and scheduling.  Prior to E-Z Pack, Mr. Johnson worked early in his career as Operations Manager and Division Controller for the Aramark Corporation.  After Aramark, Mr. Johnson spent 7 years in Senior Purchasing Management for Tier 1 Japanese automotive suppliers, Hitachi and Mitsubishi.  At the Japanese transplants, Mr. Johnson gained valuable experience in the principles of Kaizan, JIT purchasing/material flow, inventory control, TS16949 quality implementation, and lean manufacturing.

Mr. Johnson has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Virginia.

 Angela Gray
Chief Financial Officer 

As Chief Financial Officer, Angela Gray’s responsibilities include all cost accounting and in-depth analysis of production costs and product pricing. Prior to E-Z Pack, Ms. Gray worked as an independent financial consultant, where she acted as interim Controller for one of her client’s recently acquired companies. Ms. Gray also spent five years of her career with Lexmark International, working as a Manufacturing & Logisti cs Specialist as well as a Cost Analyst.

Ms. Gray has 13 years of manufacturing accounting experience working for both publicly traded and privately held companies that have serviced the retail and industrial markets. This experience and significant cost accounting background has provided Ms. Gray an excellent understanding of companies in the manufacturing space.

Ms. Gray has a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and an MBA from Morehead State University. She has served various local charitable organizations as Treasurer and in other capacities.

 
Tom Robbins
Engineering Manager

As Engineering Manager, Tom Robbins oversees the entire plant and product engineering function at E-Z Pack, as well as the safety direction, field service management and warranty processing functions associated with E-Z Pack’s production facilities and personnel.

Mr. Robbins has spent his entire 25 year career working in the refuse industry, having worked for Heil Company, Crane Carrier Company, the Leach Company, and most recently, G&H Manufacturing prior to joining E-Z Pack. Mr. Robbins has held a variety of management roles, including engineering, sales, marketing and product management. As Chief Engineer at G&H, Mr. Robbins’ efforts helped improve the production process significantly, decreasing lead time, reducing labor hours and reducing production inventory by implementing just-in-time procurement. At previous companies, Mr. Robbins led development and design efforts for many new products and product lines.

Mr. Robbins has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

Karen Seevers
Inside Sales Manager

As Inside Sales Manager, Karen Seevers supports E-Z Pack’s dealers and regional salespeople in bid quoting, pricing and order processing.

Ms. Seevers has over 30 years refuse industry experience, all of which has been spent working with the E-Z Pack product line. Ms. Seevers first worked at the company – then Peabody Galion –in a variety of roles including Advertising Assistant, Receptionist and Secretary to the President. Her first sales position was within the Export department, and since that time Ms. Seevers has worked in a variety of sales roles for E-Z Pack. She works closely in her position with many groups at E-Z Pack, including the sales, engineering and production teams.

Brad Newsome
Sales Manager - EZ-Pack Parts division

As Sales Manager of E-Z Pack’s Parts division, Brad Newsome is responsible for generating sales of after-market refuse parts and truck bodies for E-Z Pack.

Mr. Newsome has over 10 years in the waste management and garbage trucking industries. Prior to joining EZ-Pack, he worked as the Parts and Maintenance Supervisor for Rumpke Waste, one of the nation’s largest privately owned waste and recycling companies. Prior to Rumpke, he worked in sales for McNeilus Companies, a national refuse truck and concrete mixer manufacturer, and in maintenance for both Republic Waste Services and Superior Waste Services. At McNeilus, Mr. Newsome increased sales more than 170% in less than four years.

Jeff Wellman
General Manager - Parts & Service division

As General Manager of E-Z Pack’s Parts & Service division, Jeff Wellman is responsible for building the after-market refuse parts segment of E-Z Pack. Mr. Wellman started with E-Z Pack as Production Manager and soon thereafter moved into his current role of General Manager.

Prior to joining E-Z Pack, Mr. Wellman worked for McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, a national refuse truck and concrete mixer manufacturer. At McNeilus, Mr. Wellman started in Parts Sales and was later promoted to Parts and Service Manager. The majority of his McNeilus career was spent as Operations Manager, where he oversaw the entire after-market parts process, including manufacturing, sales, new products, outsourcing, and vendor relations. At McNeilus, Mr. Wellman worked with the directors of the company to initiate the Street Smart Parts product line, which he helped grow substantially over the following two years.

Mr. Wellman has a long history in parts and service management in the trucking industry as well as six years in the refuse industry.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Ted Flood
Board Member - Board of Directors

Mr. Flood spent 43 years of his career in the waste and refuse industry, working in nearly every area of the business. Mr. Flood served as Chairman of the Waste Equipment Manufacturers Institute, Trustee and Chairman of the Environmental Industries Association and was Chairman, CEO, and President of Waste Technology Corporation when he retired in 2003.

Mr. Flood’s extensive experience in the refuse industry has developed his strong knowledge of the areas of marketing, product design, advertising, sales, and many other important business functions. Mr. Flood’s primary responsibility as a Board Member is to utilize his vast industry expertise to advise the Board and the E-Z Pack management team on key business decisions.

Fred Leach
Board Member - Board of Directors

Mr. Leach spent 25 years at the Leach Company, a manufacturer of refuse collection bodies, recycling vehicles and other tools and equipment, where he was a key member of the leadership team – Executive Vice President for seven years and then President and CEO for ten years. Most recently Mr. Leach was CEO of Chick Packaging, a packaging, logistics, and distribution company. At Chick Packaging, Mr. Leach drove 78% top line growth and improved the bottom line by 106% over three years. He also turned around three underperforming business units, returning each to profitability within eighteen months.

Mr. Leach’s 25 years experience in the refuse industry has provided him an extensive background in strategic and tactical leadership, direct sales repositioning, business growth and diversification, turnaround management and driving growth. As a Board Member, his primary responsibility is to utilize this industry expertise to advise the Board and the E-Z Pack management team on key business decisions.

Mr. Leach has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Coe College. He is past Chair of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation and the Waste Equipment Technology Association. He is a Board Member of The Management Association, Trustee of St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy and past President of the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce.

Gordon Shaw
Board Member - Board of Directors

Always active in the industry, Mr. Shaw has served three terms as chairman of the Waste Expo Technology Association (WASTEC), two terms on the WASTEC board of governors, and is currently chairman of the board of trustees of the Environmental Industry Associations (EIA). He was named WASTEC Member of the Year in 2003, and in 2006 was inducted into the EIA Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for select industry leaders who have made significant contributions to both the waste industry and their local communities. Along with his corporate and industry involvement, he is also involved in community and civic organizations such as Catch a Dream Foundation for children with life threatening diseases and the Mark Mitchell Shelter for battered women.