Leadership

At OmniMax, we know that it is our people that make our company successful. We have a highly accomplished team that is focused on providing our customers with the best possible service and product offering and building capabilities that will optimize our performance for the future.

Our team includes an international mix of people and experiences that offer a wide range of perspectives. We specialize in fabricating products and connecting with customers to ensure their needs are met on a daily basis; and from those who have been part of our organization for over 35 years to the new talent that just joined, we are all passionate about working together, finding solutions and recognizing paths to ongoing improvement.

John T. Krause

Chief Executive Officer
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John T. Krause joined OmniMax in September 2023. He brings to the Company more than 25 years of general management, marketing, finance and operations experience.

Prior to joining OmniMax, John was with JELD-WEN, a global designer, manufacturer, and distributor of interior and exterior doors, windows, and related building products. He most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of the company’s North American business. Prior to joining JELD-WEN, Krause spent 13 years at Cooper Industries and Eaton Corporation in a variety of senior finance, marketing and operations roles. He began his business career as a manufacturing manager and engineer at Photocircuits Corporation.

John served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in corporate finance from Georgia State University.

Mary S. Cullin

Senior VP, CFO and Treasurer
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Ever since Mary joined the OmniMax team in 2008, she has led our business to new heights. She continues to boost our earnings and help us better serve our customers.

Mary has been the Senior VP, CFO and Treasurer of OmniMax Holdings since October 2013. Before that, she served as VP of Finance and Shared Services for OmniMax, responsible for North American finance, accounting, information systems, credit and payroll activities.

Prior to joining OmniMax, Mary was the Divisional CFO of HD Supply Lumber and Building Materials. She has also held financial positions with The Home Depot and Flowers Foods.

Education:
BS in Financial Management, Clemson University

Chris Berg

VP and General Counsel
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Chris has served as VP and General Counsel of OmniMax since 2016. He brings to the table deep experience dealing with legal issues for international manufacturing companies.

Prior to joining OmniMax, Chris worked with the law firm Husch Blackwell and then transitioned to an in-house Counsel role with Smurfit-Stone — an international leader in paper and packaging. Chris served in many legal and compliance roles throughout several transformative transactions from Smurfit-Stone to WestRock. He helped with mergers and acquisitions, as well as a successful Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Chris stayed on the WestRock team for 13 years. He was responsible for litigation, employment, risk, compliance and commercial transactions.

Education:
Juris Doctor, Washington University; BS in Political Science, University of Missouri

Karina Hernandez

Chief Human Resources Officer
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Karina Hernandez joined OmniMax in April 2024 . In her role, she is responsible for shaping organizational culture, fostering employee engagement, and spearheading talent development initiatives.

With over 15 years of experience in Human Resources, Karina brings expertise in HR operations, talent management, and strategic planning. Prior to OmniMax, she served as VP of Human Resources at Eaton for three years. Her career also includes leadership positions at L3Harris Technologies, Verizon Enterprise Solutions, and Honeywell, where she developed deep expertise in HR technology implementation and aligning human capital strategies with business objectives.

Education:
Masters, Labor and Industrial Relations, Michigan State University; Dual BA, Accounting and Business Administration, Universidad Católica del Táchira

Mike Kuharski

Chief Strategy and Development Officer
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Mike joined OmniMax in August 2021. He spearheads strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, integration and transformation.

Prior to OmniMax, Mike served as Managing Director at Strategic Value Partners (SVPGlobal) where he led the acquisition of OmniMax. He oversaw the firm’s investments in North America across industrial, building products, infrastructure, energy, and food and agriculture. Before joining SVPGlobal in 2017, Mike held roles with York Capital Management, the Private Equity Group of KKR & Co., the M&A Group of Merrill Lynch and more. He has also served on the Board of Directors for OmniMax, SH130 Concession Company and Chaparral Energy.

Education:
MBA, Harvard Business School; BA in Finance and Economics, University of St. Thomas

Michelle Lane

Chief Marketing Officer
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Michelle Lane joined OmniMax as the Chief Marketing Officer in June of 2024 and brings more than 20 years of B2B Marketing experience. Michelle is responsible for driving the development and execution of a comprehensive philosophy, strategy, and direction of the marketing organization. She oversees the organization’s product management, channel marketing, demand creation processes and creative/communications initiatives.

Prior to joining OmniMax, Michelle spent 3 years as the VP of Marketing and Communications for Holcim in their Building Envelope Division. Michelle held various roles at Bridgestone Americas with increasing responsibility across B2B businesses for over 15 years, including the building products, commercial truck and bus new and retread business, and the off-the-road tire business focused on construction and mining.

Education:
Michelle earned a bachelor’s degree in economics at the University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls and her MBA from the University of Iowa at Iowa City.

Vrajesh Y. Modi

Chief Operations Officer
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Vrajesh Y. Modi joined OmniMax in September 2023. He is responsible for working closely with our manufacturing plants across the organization, identifying opportunities for process improvement. His hands-on experience in manufacturing excellence combined with his deep understanding of our technology infrastructure and proven ability to recognize and leverage talent, makes him uniquely qualified to lead our operations forward.

Previously, Vrajesh was a partner with Boston Consulting Group, where he focused on large-scale change at his Industrial Goods and Building Materials clients. As part of this work, he led transformation and PMI efforts, including development and implementation of growth strategy and value capture plans.

Education:

Vrajesh holds an MBA, SM and SB in Mechanical Engineering an SB in Management Science from MIT. He has also served on MIT’s board of trustees.

Kirk Stinson

Chief Commercial Officer
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Kirk started at OmniMax in 2016 as VP and General Manager of our Consumer division, which includes our retail and distribution segments.

Since then, he has moved from the commercial side of OmniMax — where he led the Marketing and Outdoor Living teams — to the Consumer and Outdoor division. His focus is on sales and marketing, plus the integration of our recent acquisition of FLAMCO.

Kirk has spent his entire career in the home improvement industry starting with Stanley Black & Decker back in 1991. He held multiple positions there during his 22-year career, including leadership roles in sales, marketing and business. He served as VP in the distribution channel for their DEWALT division from 2008 through 2010. Kirk also led the residential security and AIS side of Stanley Security.

Education:
BS in Business Administration, Kearney State College