Involta knows manufacturing and technology go hand in hand – and with the right technology in place, manufacturing leaders can increase productivity, reduce downtime, and drive efficiencies at every level. The Involta Manufacturing Advisory Board is designed to help realize this vision, further identify IT needs for industry-wide business innovation, and scale best practices.
The Involta Manufacturing Advisory Board brings top manufacturing executives and honored guests from across the U.S. together to drive innovation in both technology and manufacturing. Each year, the Board gathers to discuss current information technology industry trends and how continued digital transformation can advance the manufacturing industry.
Involta asks board members and industry thought leaders to act as strategic advisors for key Involta manufacturing initiatives. This helps ensure Involta can continue to provide valuable and reliable services to improve manufacturing operations. Drawing upon the group’s knowledge, expertise, substantial business experience and insight into the manufacturing industry’s continued evolution is critical to Involta’s vision and overall success.
When the country’s top leaders come together, incredible things happen. Involta looks forward to the continued partnership and camaraderie among our board members and esteemed industry-leading guests for years to come.
Jeff Chenevey leads Global Information Technology and Digital Services at Vitamix in Cleveland, where he has been employed since 2015. As a member of the Vitamix Leadership Council (VLC), Jeff is responsible for driving the overall IT & Digital strategy as the company continues to grow and become even more direct to consumer focused. Prior to Vitamix, Jeff was a Partner / Managing Director at Accenture for 23 years, followed by founding his own consulting firm. Jeff has a variety of experiences helping companies and government agencies improve the way they work, leading large transformational efforts at NASA, USDA, US Army, Freeport McMoran, Devon Energy, US Navy, Yamana Gold and Rio Tinto, amongst many other companies in different industries.
Chenevey is a graduate of the University of Mount Union, where he serves on the Business Advisory Council (BAC). Jeff also serves as a mentor at Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve, Vice Chair of Ohio Boys Town and also Treasurer and Board Member of his local church.
David Devich is responsible for information technology at Momentive Technologies, a global leader in the production of advanced materials serving the semiconductor market and related industries. He and his team are focused on creating value, managing risk and optimizing processes across all facets of the company. Before joining Momentive Technologies in 2019, David was VP and Chief Technology Officer at Bellwether Enterprise, a commercial financial services firm. In that role, he helped accelerate the firm’s growth by standardizing and digitizing processes and infrastructure.
Prior to that, he served as General Manager of Global IT for The Timken Company. In that role, he led the delivery of global strategic technology initiatives and oversaw worldwide technology-related M&A efforts. Throughout his career, he has held various business and IT leadership roles in both the United States and Europe. David earned a BBA in both Management Information Systems and Information Systems Audit and Control from Bowling Green State University. He also holds an executive MBA from Baldwin Wallace University along with various professionalcertifications.
David enjoys giving back to the community by serving with Habitat for Humanity, United Way, Scouts BSA and the Brunswick Band Parents Organization. A Cleveland native, musician and lifelong Eagle Scout, he resides in Brunswick, Ohio with his family.
Kathryn Freytag is the Chief Information Officer for iFit, a leading health and fitness platform that provides interactive fitness content though proprietary software and the industry’s broadest range of connected fitness equipment.
Kathryn previously served as the Vice President and CIO at Donaldson Company. She joined the company in January 2017, bringing more than 20 years of experience with Fortune 100 companies leading global IT organizations and delivering strategic technology initiatives. Prior to Donaldson, she spent six years with Honeywell International, where she was VP and CIO for Building Solutions and then Enterprise Systems & Solutions. Kathryn also held technology leadership positions at Stratasys, Medica, American Express, and Wells Fargo & Company. Kathryn has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Iona College and an MBA in information systems from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. She chairs the governing body of Minneapolis CIO Executive Summit; sits on the Hennepin County IT Advisory Board; and serves on the Board of Directors for NuWay and WithAll.
Joe serves as Technology Division President at GBS, a world-class solutions provider headquartered in North Canton, Ohio. Since joining the company at its Youngstown location in 1988, Joe has consistently excelled as both a vital leader and a valuable team member. His industry experience and expertise have helped to build and maintain the company’s growth while expanding its diverse client base.
Throughout his longstanding career, Joe has served in a variety of key roles, including Vice President of both the Document Management and Managed Technology Solutions verticals. His responsibilities ranged from overseeing critical projects, forging important client partnerships, ensuring high-level client satisfaction, and utilizing GBS’ extensive product and service offerings to support clients in achieving their goals.
As President, Joe is responsible for developing short-and long-term strategic plans, understanding competitive trends, helping to drive revenue, and ensuring profitability for the division. His highly-effective profit and loss management skills assist the company in maintaining its momentum as it plans for future opportunities and substantial growth. Ultimately, Joe’s goal is to provide the best in leading-edge solutions for GBS clients while remaining focused on the company’s future to ensure continued profitability and success not only for GBS but for its growing family of employee-owners and clients. Joe is a proud graduate of Youngstown State University.
Page Smith is an experienced, passionate, results-oriented leader in IT strategic and development operations with a strong history of success, profitability, and exceptional outcomes. With a background in International Business from UNC Charlotte, Page seeks to bring together technology leaders and projects with successful results to the business at hand, incorporating experience in advertising, manufacturing, and information technology. Page also enjoys building strong teams, cultivating culture, and mentoring motivated and curious aspiring talent in the IT field. When he’s not in the office, Page is an absolute golf fanatic, a woodworker, a father to two amazing kids, and a husband of 15 years looking for successful outcomes on the home front, too.
Ryan Schaap joined Wells Enterprises in March 2015 as the VP IT & CIO, bringing more than 20 years’ experience in technology roles, cybersecurity, and leading merger and acquisition integrations.
Prior to Wells, Ryan spent the majority of his career working in the energy industry. He worked for MidAmerican Energy and Berkshire Hathaway Energy for more than 18 years and served as their VP-IT leading a team of IT professionals from across the state of Iowa. While leading IT, he led IT merger/acquisition activities for multiple wind, solar and other utility-specific projects, including the purchase and integration of NV Energy.
In his current role as CIO at Wells, he is charged with developing strategic plans for technology and systems to support the business. Ryan also serves as the senior business leader on teams that drive the company’s efforts related to eCommerce and acquisition integrations.
Ryan currently serves on several community boards, including membership on the board of directors for the Technology Association of Iowa where he is a past Board Chair. Ryan is also the Deputy member representative for Wells Enterprises on the Iowa Business Council. Ryan received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Management Information Systems from Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Brian Schilf is Vice President of Information Technology at Avient Corporation (NYSE:POL), the global leader in specialized polymer materials, solutions and services. He joined Avient, formerly PolyOne, in 2001 after beginning his career at Accenture. In his current role, Brian oversees Avient’s Global IT Strategy looking for ways to deliver technology solutions to conduct and improve business by collaborating across Avient, our supply chain, and global customer base.
Prior to Accenture, Brian received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University and a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University.
He currently serves as a member of GCPTec’s Board of Advisors. Hobbies include Taekwondo (Second Degree Black Belt) and competitive swimming.
Curt Warren is Vice President, Infrastructure and Operations for the Sherwin-Williams Company. Curt has been with Sherwin for 25 years, moving to the current assignment in the spring of 2021. His current focus is modernizing service delivery and system design to support digital transformation. His prior role was the Sr. Director (CISO), Information Security. During his time in this role, the team adopted tools and process to address the move to Cloud, SAAS and remote work with a focus on securely enabling the business to take advantage of new ways of working and consuming technology. Prior assignments included managing several of the Infrastructure functions including the Service Desk, Directory, Client Integration, Server, Project Management Office, and Messaging/Collaboration teams. While in these roles Curt also led the Information Technology mergers and acquisition execution during the company’s global expansion. Curt has led multiple research and strategy efforts around both technology and organizational change.
Curt received a BA from Ohio University in Economics and Political Science and a Master’s in Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University with a concentration in Organizational Behavior.
Sherry Neubert is the Chief Information Officer and the Vice President of Information Technology at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron, where she has been employed since 2002.
Sherry has worked in Operations and IT-related positions for 25 years. She began her career with Goodyear in the Enterprise Data Warehouse leading the Business Intelligence team, and during her tenure she has held various positions in IT and Project Management. Sherry is passionate about data and analytics and especially interested in understanding the role artificial intelligence will have in the workplace of the future.
A native of Akron, Sherry was educated in the Akron Public Schools and graduated from North High School, and through her work and education she has traveled all over the world and lived in both the U.S. and Europe.
Sherry holds a Bachelor of Science in Management of Information Systems from The University of Akron, an MBA from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management, and a Masters in Operational Excellence from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. She is a certified PMP and a Six Sigma Black Belt.
Sherry is a graduate of Leadership Akron’s Class of XXVII. She received the Greater Akron Chamber’s “30 for the Future” Award in 2011, the Frank L. Simonetti Distinguished Alumni Award from The University of Akron College of Business in 2017, the Case Weatherhead Outstanding Alumni Award in 2018, and the Athena Leadership Award in 2018.
She actively coaches and mentors individuals both inside of Goodyear and in the Akron community.
Sherry’s community interests are mainly in the areas of the economic empowerment of women, STEM education, and diversity in tech. She is the Chair of the Leadership Akron Board, serves on both the LeBron James Family Foundation Community Advisory Board and the Corporate Visiting Committee for Case Western Reserve University, and she is the immediate past President of the Women's Endowment Fund, a fund of the Akron Community Foundation.
Sherry lives in Green with her husband Chuck. They have two adult children. Sherry’s favorite things are shoes and books and of course her granddaughters.
Brian has a unique blend of management skills, finance and operations experience. As Sloan Lubrication Systems’ Chief Executive Officer he positions the company for continued growth while maintaining the commitment of a family business whose name denotes four generations of dedication and knowledge.
He began his career at Sloan Lubrication in 2008 as their VP of Sales & Marketing and later transitioned to Chief Operating Officer, a role he held from 2012-2014. He was named Chief Financial Officer during a company-wide reorganizational process in 2014, and ultimately took over as Chief Executive Officer at the culmination of Sloan’s multi-year 3rd to 4th generation transition plan at the end of 2018.
Brian graduated from Kenyon College in 2008 with a degree in American Studies. He continued his education as an Entrepreneurial Fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence in 2011, where he is still active in the Entrepreneurial Peer Forum Program. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh.
He is committed to reframing and streamlining Sloan Lubrication’s business process, delineating clearly defined roles in every operational aspect, and delivering the products, services, and experience their customers have come to know and expect over Sloan’s first 98 years. Sloan will celebrate 100 years in business in 2022, and Brian hopes to help set the company on a strong growth course for its second century!
Tisa Mullis, Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Babcock & Wilcox, Inc. is an experienced, results-focused transformational leader who has demonstrated strong business acumen with commitment to collaborative, complex problem solving, customer service, and the ability to build effective and high-performing teams. Since joining B&W Inc., she has transformed and centralized IT Operations in North East Ohio and is current leading the department through additional and significant transformational efforts across the entire portfolio. Tisa joined B&W in 2017 as Senior Director, IT Business Services, after serving in several progressively more responsible IT leadership roles during 20 years with Belk Inc. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Winthrop University, and holds Six Sigma Green and Black Belt certifications from NC State University.
Troy Fridley serves as the Senior Vice President, Information Technology for Kent Corporation. He is responsible for leading the business process design and technology vision/strategies for Kent Corporation's portfolio of operating companies. Before joining Kent in 2011, Troy served as the Director of Strategic Planning and Process Design for Bridgestone Americas, as well as in multiple roles at Bandag Incorporated. Troy serves on multiple Board of Directors and is a member of several CIO and Manufacturing boards and associations. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Iowa, and his MBA from St. Ambrose University.
Matt Banowetz was the Senior Vice President of Engineering and Production Services at Marion Process Solutions, a premier manufacturer of custom blending and process solutions. He joined Marion in 2015 after beginning his career at ESP International. In his current role, Matt oversaw Marion’s production, supply chain, engineering and product development efforts. Matt was the leader of the operational excellence initiative at Marion, which is their strategic mantra and vision to implement a self-sustaining business system that auto-corrects without management interference.
Matt has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iowa and a Master of Business Administration through the executive program at the University of Iowa.
Hobbies include travel, finish carpentry, wood working, remodeling, and trying to be as good a golfer as my kids.
Himanshu Parikh is Vice President of Manufacturing Operations at Roche Tissues Diagnostics (Ventana Medical Systems) in Tucson, AZ. He is responsible for managing manufacturing andoperations for Tucson and Pleasanton, CA (Spring BioScience) sites. He has over 20+ years of experience in running manufacturing operations of various diagnostics & biotechnology companies like Digene Corp., PerkinElmer life Sciences and Becton & Dickinson. He earned his Ph.D. from M.S. University in India and MBA from University of Maryland.
Besides running manufacturing operations, Himanshu is very passionate about implementing continuous improvement tools to improve operational efficiencies and leading manufacturing through digital transformation. He is a certified Six Sigma black belt.
Dave Benson is the co-founder and chief financial officer of Epicurean, located in Superior, WI, as well as its sister company, Loll Designs, located in West Duluth. Benson brings over twenty years of knowledge and experience in product development and manufacturing, marketing and business development to the Board of Directors. He was invited as U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar’s special guest at President Obama’s State of the Union address in 2010, where he was held up as a positive example of a successful, local small manufacturing business. Born and raised in Minnesota he enjoys many different outdoor activities and spending time with his wife and two kids.
Toward Zero President Aaron Muhl co-founded the company in 2015 with the belief that dialing in technology, process and culture is key to helping manufacturing companies thrive. With over 25 years' industry experience, Aaron has built a network of resources to help companies understand the opportunities available with select technology, implementation and change management. Aaron’s extensive background in management, manufacturing technology and systems architecture has also helped him drive enterprise communication standards for manufacturing, as a voting member of ISA-95 for over 12 years.
