Leadership

Larry Keith is Chief Executive Officer of the ENTEK family of companies and is responsible for the success, growth and strategic direction of all of the ENTEK companies. Larry has been with ENTEK since the very early days of the company in 1986. He worked alongside ENTEK’s founders to develop leading-edge production lines for battery separators, ensure the highest quality products for customers, and build the world class organization ENTEK is today. Larry is deeply committed to leading ENTEK, its employees, products and customers to higher and higher levels of success.

As President of the ENTEK’s battery separator divisions, Rob is responsible for their executive management and operational oversight. Rob has been in a leadership position with ENTEK since the company’s beginning and played a pivotal role in leading the lead acid separator business to its current industry dominate position. He was also a key player in the successful startup and market entry of the lithium separator division. Rob’s most important undertaking as President is to forge and preserve solid relationships with employees, customers and suppliers.

Dr. Pekala is Chief Technology Officer for ENTEK International LLC. He has a B.S. degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University (1981) and a Sc.D. degree in polymeric materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1984). Upon completion of his graduate work, Dr. Pekala joined Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a research scientist. During his 11 years within the Materials Science Department, he pioneered the field of organic aerogels. In 1996, Dr. Pekala joined PPG Industries as a scientist working in the Silica Products business unit. At PPG, he managed the Microporous Materials Group and had responsibility for precipitated silica used in battery separators and synthetic printing media. In 1999, Dr. Pekala joined ENTEK where he has helped to commercialize new products such as lithium battery separators, industrial separators, waterproof breathable membranes, and golf car separators. Dr. Pekala has over 100 technical publications, 2 R&D 100 awards, 33 patents, and has given numerous invited talks at major technical meetings.

Kimberly Medford joined ENTEK in 2012 as ENTEK’s VP & General Counsel.  During her tenure, she has led the company’s legal, HR and EH&S departments.  She has been part of ENTEK’s executive management team since joining the company.  In both her role as VP & General Counsel and now as President, she has been deeply engaged in ENTEK’s global growth through mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and new production facilities.  Kim is directly involved with major customer and supplier relationships across the ENTEK family of companies.  Prior to joining ENTEK, she represented the company as outside counsel.  Kim is a native Oregonian and chose to stay in Oregon for her education, graduating from Willamette University and Willamette University College of Law.

Laeek Afzal joined ENTEK as its Chief Financial Officer in April 2023.  As a member of ENTEK’s executive management team, Laeek has global responsibility for leading all ENTEK’s financial strategy including treasury, investor relations, FP&A, taxation, financial reporting and governance functions.

Laeek most recently served as Vice President Finance and Commercial at North Star BlueScope in Toledo, Ohio where he was responsible for overseeing Finance, IT and Procurement. Prior to that Laeek worked in BlueScope Steel’s Corporate Finance and Strategy team covering their global operations across North America, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand.  Laeek started his career in audit at PwC in Melbourne, Australia and progressed to a Senior Manager at PwC in their M&A and Transactions Service business advising various private equity and corporate clients globally.

Laeek holds a Bachelor of Accounting from Monash University in Melbourne.  He is a CFA charter holder and a qualified Chartered Accountant from Australian and New Zealand.  Laeek completed the CFO Program through Columbia University in New York during 2022.

Daigo Furuichi joined the ENTEK team in 2021 as part of the acquisition of the Battery Separator Division of Nippon Sheet Glass (“NSG”).  He serves as the president of the newly formed ENTEK Asia Inc.

Prior to the acquisition, Daigo had been with NSG since 1991, first in business development for glass disks for HDD and then in the glass fiber division.  There, he was in charge of sales and marketing for various segments, such as glass-cord, glass pigment, and glass flakes, covering a wide range of industries (automotive, plastic, paint, cosmetics).  He has in-depth experience in sales and marketing for Japan, Europe, North America, and Asia.  Since 2017, he has been leading the Battery Separator Division and continues to help grow business in Asia.

Daigo is excited and proud to be a member of ENTEK family. When he is not working, he enjoys watching sports (baseball and soccer), traveling by train and sea fishing.

Jeff Grimm has served as the chief financial officer for manufacturing companies for over 30 years and has been the Chief Financial Officer of the ENTEK companies since 2012. Jeff began his career with Arthur Andersen & Co. and is a CPA licensed in the state of Oregon. Jeff received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Clint Beutelschies joined ENTEK in 2017 as VP of Global Sales, responsible for ENTEK’s lead-acid separator business. Prior to joining ENTEK Clint spent more than 11 years with ITW Corporation as a VP of Sales & Marketing and GM of a specialty films business unit. Before joining ITW, Clint worked in the specialty papers industry for 18 years in a variety of commercial leadership roles. He is a 1985 graduate of the University of Arkansas. Currently based in Singapore, Clint leads a global sales team that is committed to bringing value and innovation to customers around the world.

When Linda started with ENTEK back in 1988, the first ENTEK extruder was still 10 years away from making its debut, but it gave her the opportunity to learn and grow with the extruder business from the beginning. Along the way, she honed her skills in accounting, systems and project management and leadership as she moved into the role of regional sales manager for ENTEK Extruders, becoming Director of Sales in 2016 and Vice President of Sales in 2019.

Linda has a knack for coalescing the needs of her customers, and she brought this knack to the team that developed the QC³ Extruder line for ENTEK in 2015, acting as key liaison between customers and designers. She has a passion for customer service and believes that strong partnerships are a winning combination for all.

Linda sits on the board of directors for Women Breaking the Mold (WBM), a group dedicated to the professional development of female executives in the plastics industry.

Dr. Graeme Fraser-Bell has 33 years of international experience in the global battery market. After retiring from his position as VP Sales & Marketing for ENTEK International in 2012, he has since re-joined the company to lead the Sales & Marketing function world-wide for the group’s lithium battery separator business.

After securing a degree in Applied Chemistry from Newcastle University, he went on to complete a D.Phil in Organic-metallic Chemistry at Oxford University, followed by an MBA with Rolls Royce.  Dr. Fraser-Bell is currently a member of Linacre College’s remuneration committee, and in 2013 was invited to become a member of Oxford University’s Vice Chancellors Circle. This former college tennis, soccer and rowing club captain is now more comfortable with a gentle tennis knock about with his wife.

Dr. Fraser-Bell secured three Queens Awards for Export and International trade for ENTEK International, has appeared on BBC UK Dragons Den, and has invented multiple award-winning board games in his “spare time.” He says the quote which resonated the most throughout his career was “you can achieve anything in life as long as you don’t mind who takes the credit for it.”

Jennifer Stock oversees the day-to-day operations of ENTEK’s lead acid separator production and leads the production team.

Jennifer grew up in the area and started with the company in 1994, when she was hired as a QC Lab Technician. As her skills and knowledge grew, her natural leadership, and the ability to get to the root of any challenge led her to ever-increasing responsibility, first as a quality specialist and then as the QC Lab Manager. In 2017, Jennifer was given the role of Global Quality Assurance Manager and tasked with globalizing and standardizing ENTEK’s quality systems, working primarily with the QC team at the company’s joint venture in Indonesia.

Jennifer’s deep knowledge of the ins and outs of separator processing and her ability to motivate people made her an obvious candidate to take on the role of Plant Manager in 2021.

Joe came to ENTEK in 2017 as Operations Manager in Newcastle. His extensive background in the automotive industry (including 20 years working in a Tier One plant), along with his work in plastics and steam-processed products, made for a seamless integration into the ENTEK team. He became Plant Manager for the Newcastle plant in 2019.

Joe believes in a ‘hands on’ approach to problem solving, focusing on product quality, waste reduction, production optimization and improving overall plant performance. His background is in Mechanical and Process Engineering, which he studied at Teesside University.

Joe’s firm commitment to ENTEK’s core values is invaluable, not only in overseeing processes, but in leading its most valuable asset…its people.

Neil studied Finance & Accounting at Northumbria University, Newcastle UK, graduating in 1981 and his career since then has been within capital intensive, high-volume, process manufacturing industries. Neil enjoyed 20 years with Kimberly-Clark & SCA (tissue paper manufacturing) where he quickly migrated from finance into operations management, becoming a specialist in – amongst others – Lean Manufacturing, benchmarking, cost reduction and project management across European sites. This was followed by 9 years in plastic film and sheet extrusion as Operations Director prior to joining ENTEK in 2011.

Growing up in an Oregon farming community, Marvin has always relied on his aptitude for hard work, creative problem solving, and mechanical abilities to keep things running.  As an integral part of the equipment manufacturing division since joining ENTEK in 2007 as a Design Engineer, Marvin has exercised these aptitudes daily to help both ENTEK separator factories and our third party equipment customers to design, build, and commission highly technical production facilities. His involvement in multiple projects through the years, including critical work on the capacity expansion for ENTEK’s US separator division in 2014, led to his promotion to Engineering Manager in 2018. In 2022, Marvin was once again promoted to VP of Engineering as he continues to lead both people and projects for ENTEK globally, including our recent Asia expansions and US turnkey factory development for our third party customers.  Marvin attended Oregon Institute of Technology, where he majored in mechanical engineering technology.

Rarely will you find John at a desk. His training in the principles of servant leadership has inspired him to be a passionate practitioner of, and advocate for, servant leadership in life. Most days you’ll find him out on the shop floor, where he oversees ENTEK’s manufacturing. John started at ENTEK in 1999, and his background in manufacturing and production scheduling gave him all the tools he needs to step into his new position as VP of Manufacturing. When he’s not keeping things running smoothly at work, John also enjoys creating beautiful designs in metal and wood.

Dawn Ratashak joined ENTEK as Vice President of Human Resources in April of 2023. As a member of ENTEK’s executive management team, Dawn will oversee the Human Resources operations for ENTEK’s domestic locations.

Dawn most recently served as the Director of Human Resources at PakTech Headquartered in Eugene, Oregon where she oversaw HR, Safety, and Training. Dawn holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Western Governors University, and is a SHRM Certified Professional, she also volunteers within the Society for Human Resource Management community.

Dawn grew up in California and relocated to Oregon in 2009. She spends her leisure time exploring the vast beauty that the Pacific Northwest provides with her family.

Grant Webster started his career at ENTEK in 2005 in ENTEK’s IT group.  Within the IT group, Grant led Global IT Infrastructure overseeing all of ENTEK’s manufacturing locations.  In 2019, having invested 14 years learning the business from his position in IT, Grant was promoted to manage ENTEK’s global separator supply chain.  With his deep IT background, Grant has developed significant tools to make data more available and streamlined for planning purposes and to support ENTEK’s operations and sales teams with real time data.  He leads raw material procurement, production and capacity planning, and delivery of finished goods to our customers.  Grant is committed to the creation of automated solutions to enable data driven decisions.