Leadership

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

Tommy Balas

Chief HR Officer
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Tommy joined OmniMax in June 2021. He is responsible for the employee experience, including internal communications and helping shape the company’s ESG strategy.

Prior to OmniMax, Tommy served as VP of HR for Boral Industries, an international manufacturer and distributor of residential and commercial building products and materials. He has held the title of Executive VP and Chief HR Officer for Global Payments Inc. — one of the biggest payment processing companies in the world.

His resume also includes Harland, a leader in banking technology, checks and custom-printed products. He worked his way up from General Manager for two lines of business to VP of HR at Harland. Rounding it out is his role as Managing Partner for Advanced Industrial Resources, Inc. — a privately owned environmental and industrial emissions testing firm.

Education:
MBA, Georgia State University; BS in Management, Georgia Institute of Technology

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

Scott Cooper

Chief Procurement Officer
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Scott joined OmniMax in September 2021. He is responsible for managing our global supply chain, supplier relationships and quality assurance strategies.

Prior to OmniMax, Scott served as Senior VP of Global Strategic Sourcing for Serta Simmons Bedding — one of the largest sleep-solutions manufacturers in the world. He has also held the title of VP of Global Supply Chain for Armstrong World Industries, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of walls and ceilings.

In addition, Scott’s resume includes Dell. There, he served as Worldwide Procurement Director. Prior to Dell, Scott worked 7+ years in Consulting with Oracle and Cincom Systems.

Education:
MS in Computer Information Systems, Bachelor of Engineering and Management, Napier University (Scotland)

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

Brian Leahy

General Manager, Outdoor Living
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Brian brings to OmniMax 20+ years of experience in operations, commercialization, global sourcing, and more for the building products and home improvement sectors.

Prior to joining OmniMax, Brian worked for 12 years with Southern Patio, a division of Griffon Corp. and a leading manufacturer of outdoor décor products, servicing the retail and two-step distribution channels. While President of Southern Patio from 2016 to 2021, Brian more than doubled their sales. Before that, he served as their VP of Operations and Marketing.

From 2001 to 2007, he worked for The Home Depot and HD Supply in merchandising, operations, strategy and M&A roles. Brian began his career at Danaher Corporation as part of the Management Rotational Program and Operations team.

Education:
MBA, University of Georgia; BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Chris Peetz

Chief Operations Officer
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Chris joined OmniMax in 2023 and is responsible for the company’s Consumer manufacturing facilities as well as the leading the engineering, continuous improvement, logistics and safety teams that provide support across all OmniMax’s businesses.

Chris brings to OmniMax a proven track record of successfully maximizing profitability, quality and efficiency while increasing sales and customer satisfaction through premier customer service. His more than thirty years of building products, operations and continuous improvement leadership includes most recently serving as chief supply chain officer of Lasko Products, the international home products company.

During his career, Chris has also served as executive vice president of operations for PrimeSource Building Products, chief operating officer for The CarlStar Group and vice president of global manufacturing for Howden.

Education: BS from Ball State University; MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Kirk Stinson

Chief Commercial Officer, Consumer and Distribution
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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