Southampton, Pa. — As NewAge Industries grew from a small distributor of plastic tubing to the mid-sized manufacturer it is today, its need for thoughtful and experienced leadership grew as well. To address that need, NewAge’s majority owner and CEO, Ken Baker, recently appointed several new members to its Board of Directors.
Over the past 15 years the company’s product lines have diversified to include high-purity biopharma products, and it has become an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) company. Additionally, the number of employees has doubled during that time period. Baker felt more outside direction and strategic growth planning was needed.
New to the Board of Directors are Matt Sullivan, Cecil Ursprung and Pat Sacco.
Baker asked Matt Sullivan to join the Board last year. The two met through a local executives group, and Baker believed Sullivan’s leadership, vision and organizational concepts relating to company succession would be an asset to NewAge Industries. Sullivan is president and CEO of the Dunmore Corporation, a family-owned business specializing in engineered films for coated, metallized and laminated products.
Cecil Ursprung was solicited to become a board member in early 2016. Ursprung’s background includes positions as president, CEO and board member for Reflexite (now Orafol), a manufacturer of products that focus reflected light. He has been a board member for five other ESOP companies and brings a great deal of knowledge about employee ownership to NewAge’s board. Ursprung is currently on the board of the National Center for Employee Ownership, an organization of which NewAge is a member.
Most recently, Pat Sacco was invited to join NewAge’s Board. Sacco has more than 30 years of experience in the life sciences and biopharmaceutical industries and understands the challenges of manufacturing, engineering, quality, and technical operations. He held positions as senior vice president of manufacturing and vice president of engineering, among others, at Shire. Sacco also has experience with guiding organizations through rapid change and growth, developing long term supply strategies, and the talent and human capital management of large organizations.
“This group of experienced people will help lead NewAge Industries into its next phase,” said Baker. “With the changes occurring in the global economy, the challenges of continuing to manufacture top quality products, and a 40,000 square foot expansion underway at our headquarters to add to our existing 125,000 square feet, this Board will help plan the years ahead for NewAge, its customers and its employee-owners.”
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