Joseph A. Berquist was named Chief Executive Officer and President of Quaker Houghton and appointed to the Board as a director on November 18, 2024.
Mr. Berquist, who has been employed by the Company since 1997, most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer from January 2023 until November 2024. Prior to that role, Mr. Berquist served as Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer, and Managing Director, Global Specialty Businesses, from September 2021 through December 2022. Additionally, he served as Interim Managing Director of EMEA, from August 2022 through December 2022. Prior to his appointment to Executive Vice President, Mr. Berquist served as Senior Vice President, Global Specialty Businesses and Chief Strategy Officer from August 2019 until September 2021. Throughout his tenure at the Company, Mr. Berquist has served in various leadership positions of increasing responsibility across the entirety of the business. Mr. Berquist holds a B.E. in chemical engineering from Youngstown State University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.
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Jeewat Bijlani Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer
Jeewat Bijlani joined the Company in 2019. Effective January 1, 2023, Mr. Bijlani was named Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, he will lead the Company’s enterprise strategy organization. Prior to this position, Mr. Bijlani served as Senior Vice President, Managing Director, Americas from August 2019 through December 2022.
Prior to joining Quaker Houghton, Mr. Bijlani was President, Americas and Global Strategic Businesses for Houghton International from 2011 through July 2019. At Houghton International, he led global M&A, strategic planning, and business development teams to execute Houghton’s growth initiatives. Prior to joining Houghton, Mr. Bijlani was a Director in the Private Equity Group at Celerant Consulting where he led strategic and business transformation engagements in the Chemicals and Manufacturing sector. He led the Celerant team at Houghton from 2008 to 2011, driving the Operational Excellence program and post-merger integration of DA Stuart and Shell MWF into the Houghton organization. Prior to Celerant, Mr. Bijlani spent time in the commercial organization at Green Seed/FFB Group and Holcim International in Asia Pacific.
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer
Tom Coler Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Tom Coler joined Quaker Houghton in June 2024, and serves as our Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. Prior to his tenure at Quaker Houghton, Mr. Coler held the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at Savage Corporation, a prominent privately backed global supply chain & logistics service provider. Preceding his role at Savage, he served as Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer for the Health, Hygiene & Consumables business unit at H.B. Fuller Corporation, a leading public multinational manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemical products headquartered in Minneapolis, MN. With a robust background in global leadership within both public and privately held companies spanning various industries, Tom brings extensive expertise in corporate finance, mergers, acquisitions, business process improvement, cost optimization, and other pertinent financial matters.
Mr. Coler earned his bachelor’s degree and MBA in Finance from the University of Minnesota. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the state of Minnesota and holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Jeff L. Fleck Senior Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer
Jeff Fleck joined the Company on February 27, 2023 as Senior Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer. Mr. Fleck is responsible for leading the global end-to-end Supply Chain organization.
Prior to joining Quaker Houghton, Mr. Fleck worked for Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products Company where he held the role of SVP, Chief Supply Chain Officer from 2016 to 2023. From 2010 to 2015 he served as SVP, Chief Supply Chain and R&D Officer for Zep Inc., a leading manufacturer of specialty chemical products. He has also held various supply chain management leadership positions at The Clorox Company, American Home Products, and Cargill Incorporated.
Throughout his career, Mr. Fleck has led organizational, cultural, and operational transformation efforts for large global enterprises aiming to achieve supply chain effectiveness, business improvements, process standardization, and new product commercialization. His strategic expertise spans across demand/supply planning, procurement, operations, logistics, and customer service.
Senior Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer
Anna Ransley Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Information Officer
Anna Ransley joined the Company on July 31, 2023 as Senior Vice President, Chief Information Digital Officer. Her responsibilities include leading the Company’s information technology organization and transforming Quaker Houghton’s global digital strategy with a focus on operational efficiencies and enhancing the Company’s differentiated customer intimacy strategy.
Prior to joining Quaker Houghton, Ms. Ransley served as Global Chief Information Officer at Godiva Chocolatier from 2021 to 2022, where she led all aspects of the company’s digital and technology strategy. From 2017 to 2021, Ms. Ransley served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President, Digital and Technology at Heineken USA. Previously, Ms. Ransley served in several information technology leadership roles with increasing responsibilities at Boehringer Ingelheim, Connolly, Inc., and Hyperion Solutions.
Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Information Officer
Dr. Dave Slinkman Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Dr. Dave Slinkman has served as Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer since joining the Company on August 1, 2019. Mr. Slinkman’s primary responsibilities include the oversight and strategic direction of research, technology and innovation.
Prior to joining Quaker Houghton, Mr. Slinkman was employed by Houghton International from 2012 through July 31, 2019, where he served as Vice President of Technology. Prior to joining Houghton, Dr. Slinkman worked for Nalco Chemical Company, where he served as global technology leader, overseeing global research in the areas of mining, colloidal technology, and analytical services from 2008 until 2012. Early on at Nalco, he held various positions including Manager, Research and Development for the finishing technologies group, which encompassed both metal working fluids and surface treatment products, and Technical Director for the paper chemicals group.
Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer
Robert T. Traub Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Mr. Traub joined the Company in 2000. Effective August 1, 2019, Mr. Traub was named Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Mr. Traub’s primary responsibilities include providing legal advice and overseeing the legal function for the Corporation on a global basis, with specialized focus in securities law, litigation, compliance and disclosure areas, and corporate development. Prior to his current role, Mr. Traub held the position of Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from April 2015 until July 31, 2019. From March 2012 through March 2015, he served as the Corporation’s General Counsel. He has also served as Director of Global Corporate Compliance since January 2009, a role he continues to hold in his new position. From August 2000 until January 2009, he served as the Corporation’s Senior Counsel. Prior to joining Quaker Houghton, Mr. Traub worked for Penske Truck Leasing as business counsel. He possesses a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law and a B.A. from Pennsylvania State University.
Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary
