Pilot Chemical unveils refreshed strategy, names Mike Clark president

Pilot Chemical Corp. has launched a revitalized strategy designed to increase growth and innovation and put a deeper focus on its employees and customers. Mike Clark will oversee implementation of the strategy as the corporation’s new president. He will continue to report to Pam Butcher, CEO, and also retain his position as chief operating officer.

The new strategy invests millions in the development and commercialization of new products and technologies over the next four years. It also builds a strong cultural foundation through a companywide, comprehensive Change Management program, which will be supported by formal Change Management training.

“Mike brings fresh eyes and experience with turning strategy into operational and financial success,” said Butcher. “He is a strong leader who brings a good line of sight to Pilot’s vision while managing the ongoing operation of our business.”

As part of its effort to make Pilot Chemical more responsive to its customers, as well as nimbler and more leading edge, the senior leadership team has been reorganized to align against the new strategy. Various leaders will take on new roles based on the “structure follows strategy” best practice. No jobs have been eliminated in the initiative.

Key organizational changes include:

• Strategy and Change Management emphasis: Glynn Goertzen, president of Pilot’s Liquid Minerals Group subsidiary and Pilot’s vice president of Corporate Development, will lead the launch and execution of the Change Management program along with ensuring strategic alignment across all functions. Bill Rohrer, who has been named director – Strategy and Project Management, will support Goertzen.

• People-first commitment: Catherine Ochterski has been named vice president of Human Resources. In this role, she will deepen the company’s focus on recruiting, training, retaining and empowering employees.

• Investment in manufacturing: Mike Bizzarro has been named director of Manufacturing, in addition to his current role as the manager of the Middletown, Ohio, manufacturing site. He will support plant managers and promote the implementation of best practices across Pilot’s five manufacturing facilities and continue to report to Chris Leedy, vice president of Manufacturing and Engineering.

• Digitalization roadmap: David Waizmann has assumed the role of director – Digitalization. He will oversee the development and execution of a comprehensive digitalization road map, to include exploring more robust use of data analytics to strengthen market focus.

• Information Technology to support the transformation: Mark Moser has been named director – Information Technology. He will oversee the upgrading of Pilot’s IT infrastructure companywide.

The comprehensive changes come as Pilot also begins expansion of its Middletown plant to include a small-scale production facility to test and validate technology before commercialization. The company has more than 300 employees across seven U.S. locations.

“Under Pam’s trusted leadership, we have achieved significant success and built a strategy that increases investment in our plants, spurs innovation and motivates our employees to accelerate growth,” said Paul Morrisroe, chairman. “This will allow us to continue to focus on what’s right for our customers, employees and communities and to ensure our long-term sustainability.”

 Pilot Chemical Company, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A., is a privately owned and independent global specialty chemical company providing high-quality products and services to the disinfecting, sanitizing and cleaning; metalworking and lubricants; oil field and emulsion polymerization industries. Its proprietary core technologies involve alkylation, sulfonation, sulfation and a number of other specialty operations, including the production of biocidal quats, tertiary amine derivatives, polymers and organometallic fuel additives.