Management Team
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Alan Barton, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
View Bio “Dr. Alan Barton has a proven track record of developing product lines and materials and managing profitable businesses and teams, which makes him the ideal CEO for Lehigh Technologies,” said Ellen K. Pao, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Lehigh board member. “His experience will be instrumental as Lehigh develops new applications and expands into new markets.”
Barton began his 23-year career at Rohm and Haas in Research and Development and was promoted into larger management roles in Europe and the United States culminating in global responsibility for the company’s Coatings businesses. He also led Rohm and Haas’ sustainable development efforts.
Barton was born in England and completed his undergraduate education at University College, Oxford. In 1978, he moved to the United States to study at Harvard University where he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry.
“Companies around the world are just beginning to recognize the importance and benefits of using recycled materials and Lehigh’s technology has tremendous potential for applications across a wide range of markets,” said Barton.
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Jeff Schramm
Chief Financial Officer
View Bio An accomplished Finance and Accounting professional, Jeff Schramm leverages more than 10 years of experience in executive management toward his current position as Chief Financial Officer of Lehigh Technologies. Based in Atlanta Georgia, Jeff is adept at managing a variety of complex financial initiatives and has played a critical role in establishing Lehigh Technologies as the world’s leader in the production and distribution of ultra-fine powdered rubber.
Prior to Lehigh Technologies, Jeff served as the Vice President of Finance at Euramax International and was the Corporate Controller of North America for Kemira Chemicals, where he spearheaded the integration of FinnChem and Lanxess Paper Chemicals. Jeff came to Kemira after serving in a variety of progressive financial roles at Milliken & Co. Jeff has a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Finance and Investment Management with a Master of Business Administration.
When he is not working, Jeff enjoys outdoor activities with his two boys and auto racing.
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Kedar Murthy
Vice President & General Manager, Tire & Rubber
View Bio Kedar Murthy is currently the Vice President and General Manager of Lehigh Technologies Tire and Industrial Rubber Business. Mr. Murthy has over 20 years of experience in developing business strategy, managing sales teams, marketing, operations and finances in the global chemical’s industry. He has experience in managing both specialty and commodity chemicals businesses. Kedar led several startups within large corporations and established joint ventures in India, Brazil and Russia. Previously he was EVP Global OEM Business at GPX International Tire, and held several senior leadership positions at Cabot Corporation including Director of Global Sales, Marketing and Technical Services for all Specialty Chemicals Businesses and the Corporate e-Business Group. At General Electric he was Marketing Person of the Year and earned his Six Sigma Black Belt while on Corporate Audit Staff.
He is the Marketing Chair for TiE-Boston (The Indus Entrepreneurs) and Served as Chair TiECON East 2009, the East Coasts largest Entrepreneurial Conference. He has both a B. S. and M. S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and The University of Wisconsin-Madison respectively.
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Elizabeth Searcy
Vice President, Marketing
View Bio Elizabeth Searcy has over 18 years of marketing experience with companies ranging from start-ups to the most admired Fortune 50. Most recently, Elizabeth was the VP of Global Marketing for MFG.com, the largest online sourcing marketplace for the manufacturing industry. Prior to MFG.com, Elizabeth was a Director at Zyman Group, an international marketing strategy consulting firm founded by Sergio Zyman, the former Chief Marketing Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. For over six years, she led domestic and global marketing consulting engagements for large industrial companies.
Prior to joining MFG.com and Zyman Group, Elizabeth served as Director of Marketing for Snapper Outdoor Power Equipment Company, where she was a key member of the leadership team charged with revitalizing the Snapper brand. Prior to that she held marketing management positions with Riverwood International (now Graphic Packaging), where she led the company’s most successful packaging innovation, FridgePack (now the industry standard in the soft drink industry). Elizabeth also has experience with internet start-ups, and has worked at KPMG and Morgan Stanley, where she was Manager and Analyst, respectively.
Elizabeth received her MBA from the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University and her BS from Florida State University.
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David Petroni
Vice President, Operations
View Bio David Petroni brings over 20 years of Operations and Process Engineering experience to Lehigh and has been instrumental in the development and optimization of Lehigh’s proprietary production environment. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Petroni worked in a variety of Technical & Operation Management roles for ICI Paints, Eastman Chemical, and Avery Dennison. Mr. Petroni holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
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Tom Rosenmayer, PhD
Vice President, Technology
View Bio Tom Rosenmayer has over 20 years of experience at both large and small technology companies, including Baker-Hughes, IBM, W.L. Gore & Associates, and Shamrock Technologies. He has a diverse background in technology, marketing, and general management, including a five year international assignment in Germany. Tom earned his PhD in Materials Science from Rice University and is a co-author on numerous technical publications and patents.
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Ryan Alleman
Sales Director: Coatings, Asphalt & Construction Materials
View Bio Ryan Alleman brings nearly 20 years of technical and management expertise to his efforts in setting up and developing Lehigh’s Coatings Segment. Previously he worked in various sales, project and business management positions throughout his career at Ciba Specialty Chemicals. Ryan holds a degree in chemistry and business.
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Frank Papp
Technical Manager, Tire and Industrial Rubber
View Bio Frank Papp has considerable rubber compounding experience with passenger, light truck, radial truck, and off-the-road tires. Frank earned a BA in Chemistry from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. and completed graduate level course work in Polymer Science at the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
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William Schreiber
Technical Director, Plastics
View Bio Bill Schreiber has been in the Plastics industry for over 35 years. He has held Technical, Manufacturing, and Management positions with such companies as Celanese, Ball, Monsanto, Asahi Kasei, MRC Polymers, and Bayer Material Science. Bill was also the C.O.O. of Delta Polymers/Amplas Compounding. Bill has extensive International experience having been a Technical liaison to Germany, Ireland, England, and Japan for various companies. Bill attended Raritan Valley College in New Jersey and joined Lehigh Technologies in 2007.
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Ravi Ayyer, PhD
Technical Manager: Plastics
View Bio Ravi Ayyer earned his PhD from Case Western Reserve University and MS from University of Akron. His fields of interest include Polymer Structure-Property Relationships, Adhesion, ESCR and Rheology & Processing of Polymers. He has authored and co-authored many technical publications and proceedings. He joined Lehigh Technologies in June of 2009. Besides the market driven projects, he is also the principal investigator on the phase I NSF Grant Award for understanding structure and properties of plastics/PolyDyne™ composites.
