Board of Directors

Gary Hendrickson, a director since May 2017, is the Chairman of our board of directors, a position he has held since May 2017. Mr. Hendrickson previously served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Valspar Corporation, a global paint and coatings manufacturer, from June 2011 to June 2017, and was its President and Chief Operating Officer from February 2008 until June 2011. Mr. Hendrickson held various executive leadership roles with the Valspar Corporation from 2001 until 2017, including positions with responsibilities for the Asia Pacific operations. Mr. Hendrickson also serves as a director of Polaris Industries Inc., a publicly traded global manufacturer and seller of off-road vehicles, including all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles and Waters Corporation, a leading specialty measurement company and pioneer of chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences. Mr. Hendrickson’s experience as President and Chief Executive Officer of a global company provides expertise in corporate leadership and development and execution of business growth strategy. He also brings to the board of directors significant global experience and knowledge of competitive strategy.

Jesse Singh, a director since he joined us in July 2016, is our Chief Executive Officer and President. Prior to joining us, Mr. Singh worked for 14 years at the 3M Company, a manufacturer and marketer of a range of products and services through its safety & industrial, transportation & electronics, health care and consumer segments, and served in numerous leadership roles at 3M, including Chief Commercial Officer, President of 3M’s Health Information Systems business and VP of the Stationery and Office supplies business, which included the iconic Post-it and Scotch Brands. During his career at 3M, Mr. Singh was involved in running 3M’s worldwide, customer-facing operations, which was comprised of 4,000 shared services, 12,000 sales and 5,000 marketing professionals. He also served as CEO of 3M’s joint venture in Japan and led 3M’s global electronics materials business. Mr. Singh brings to our board of directors extensive senior leadership experience and a comprehensive knowledge of our business and perspective of our day-to-day operations.

Sallie B. Bailey, a director since November 2018, previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, a leading manufacturer of engineered wood building products for residential, industrial and light commercial construction, from December 2011 to July 2018. Prior to working for Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, Ms. Bailey worked as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ferro Corporation, a global specialty materials company, from January 2007 to July 2010 following an eleven year career at The Timken Company, a global producer of engineered bearings and alloy steel, in various senior management positions of increasing responsibility, lastly as Senior Vice President, Finance and Controller between 2003 and 2006. Ms. Bailey also currently serves as a director of L3 Harris Technologies, Inc., a technology company, defense contractor and information technology services provider. Ms. Bailey brings to our board of directors a broad knowledge of corporate finance, strategic planning, banking relationships, operations, complex information technology and other systems, enterprise risk management and investor relations gained through prior service as a senior executive of large global manufacturing companies, including as chief financial officer, and she also has knowledge of and experience with complex financial and accounting functions and internal controls.

Fumbi Chima, a director since November 2020, is the CIO at BECU. Ms. Chima has a successful history of transformation in turnaround and high growth Environments. Ms. Chima brings decades of experience leading companies in the retail and financial sectors, including adidas, Walmart, Burberry, FOX Networks, American Express and most recently adidas. In addition to technology, Ms. Chima’s experience showcases a dedication to diversity, women’s empowerment and inclusion. In a previous role, she developed mentoring opportunities for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Currently, she serves on the corporate boards for Africa Prudential and Work & Co, holds advisory roles for SAP Executive Advisory and Apptio EMEA Advisory, and is on the board of Women at Risk International Foundation. 

Howard Heckes, a director since November 2020, is the President & CEO of Masonite International Corporation. Mr. Heckes has a successful history of driving growth and margin improvement at the companies he has led. Mr. Heckes most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Energy Management Collaborative, a privately held company providing LED lighting and controls and IoT conversion systems and service solutions based in Plymouth, Minnesota. In this role he implemented efficient and scalable business systems and processes to support the Company’s rapid organic growth. Prior to Energy Management Collaborative, Mr. Heckes spent nine years at Valspar, from 2008 to 2017, where he served as Executive Vice President and President of Global Coatings, with responsibility for M&A strategy and delivering financial objectives for the entire Industrial Coatings portfolio. He also previously served as Valspar’s Senior Vice President, Global Consumer, with responsibility for leading Valspar’s Global Consumer Products portfolio, which included major branded consumer paint companies across the U.S., China, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Mr. Hirshorn is a Partner in the Private Equity Group, where he focuses on portfolio management. Additionally, Mr. Hirshorn serves as a member of the Management Committee of Ares Management and the Ares Private Equity Group's ACOF Investment Committee. Previously, Mr. Hirshorn served as an Operating Advisor for Ares from 2009 to 2013. Prior to joining Ares in 2009, Mr. Hirshorn was the President of Potbelly Sandwich Works. Previously, he was Senior Executive Vice President of Finance, Operations, Research and Development for Sealy Mattress Corporation. In addition, he was a Vice President in the Portfolio Group at Bain Capital, where he focused on providing operating leadership to a number of its retail and consumer products businesses, was a Manager at Bain & Company, and worked at Procter & Gamble, where he focused on product development. Mr. Hirshorn currently serves on the Board of Directors of DuPage Medical Group, Valet Living, The Azek Company (formerly CPG International Inc.) and CoolSys. Mr. Hirshorn holds a B.S. from Cornell University in Chemical Engineering and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Mr. Hirshorn was selected to join our board of directors due to his extensive experience in operations for businesses in the retail and consumer products industries and for his senior leadership experience.

Brian Klos, a director since February 2018, is a Partner in the Ares Private Equity Group and serves as a member of the Ares Private Equity Group’s Corporate Opportunities Investment Committee. Prior to joining Ares in 2006, he was a member of the General Industries West Group and Mergers and Acquisitions Group at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., a global financial services firm, where he participated in the execution of mergers and acquisitions and debt financings spanning various industries from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Klos currently serves on the board of directors of ATD Corporation, a supplier of tires to the North American replacement tire market. Mr. Klos’s years of experience managing and evaluating investments in companies operating in various industries and his in-depth understanding of our business led to the conclusion that he should serve as a director on our board.

Romeo Leemrijse, a director since November 2020, leads OTPP investing activities in the diversified industrial and business services, consumer and retail as well as the energy sectors. He joined Private Capital in 2006 and has more than 25 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Since joining the organization, he has been involved in a number of significant transactions including PODS, GFL, Aethon Energy, CSC, Shearers, Hawkwood Energy, Dematic, Insight Pharmaceuticals, GNC and Serta Simmons Bedding. He currently sits on the boards of PODS, CSC, Serta Simmons Bedding and Aethon Energy. Romeo was previously a principal at EdgeStone Capital Partners, where he was responsible for sourcing and executing investments, as well as monitoring and providing strategic guidance to portfolio companies.

Blake Sumler, a director since January 2020, is a Managing Director at OTPP and leads OTPP’s Diversified Industrials and Business Services team in the Private Capital group. Mr. Sumler joined OTPP in 2013 and has worked in private equity for more than 15 years. Prior to joining OTPP, Mr. Sumler was a Senior Vice President at Callisto Capital, a mid-market Toronto-based private equity firm focusing on buyouts and growth capital investments in Canada. Mr. Sumler’s varied work experience includes hedge fund investing at a Toronto-based firm, equity research at RBC Dominion Securities and debt syndication at Newcourt Capital. He currently serves on the boards of PODS Enterprises LLC and GFL Environmental Inc. Mr. Sumler is a CPA and a CFA charterholder. He holds a BA (Chartered Accounting) and a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ashfaq Qadri, a director since February 2019, is a Senior Principal of OTPP and has served in that role since March 2017. Mr. Qadri joined OTPP in 2016 with more than a decade of experience in private equity and investment banking. In his role as a Senior Principal, he is responsible for execution and portfolio management for direct private equity investments in the industrials and energy sectors. He is currently involved with OTPP’s investments in Hawkwood Energy LLC and KANATA Energy Group Ltd., and serves on the board of KANATA Energy Group Ltd., a privately funded midstream infrastructure and service company. Prior to joining OTPP, Mr. Qadri was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley Private Equity from 2012 to 2014, with roles based in both New York and London. He also previously worked in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking division in New York. Mr. Qadri has an in-depth understanding of our business and has years of experience managing and evaluating investments in companies operating in various industries, including in the industrial and energy sectors. His understanding of our business and broad experience led us to conclude that he should serve as a director on our board.

Bennett Rosenthal, a director since 2013, is a Co-Founder of Ares, a Director and Partner of Ares and Co-Head of the Ares Private Equity Group. He is a member of the Ares Executive Management Committee and the firm’s Management Committee. Mr. Rosenthal additionally serves as the Co-Chairman of the board of directors of Ares Capital Corporation, a specialty finance company that provides debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle market companies and power generation projects. Mr. Rosenthal also is a member of the Ares Private Equity Group’s Corporate Opportunities and Special Opportunities Investment Committees. Mr. Rosenthal joined Ares in 1998 from Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. where he served as a Managing Director in the Global Leveraged Finance Group. He currently serves on the boards of directors of City Ventures, LLC, a homebuilder in California coastal communities, and the parent entities of Aspen Dental Management, Inc., a dental practice management company, CHG Healthcare Holdings L.P., a healthcare staffing services company, DuPage Medical Group, Ltd., an independent multi-specialty physician group, National Veterinary Associates, Inc., an owner and operator of freestanding veterinary hospitals, and other private companies. Mr. Rosenthal’s previous board of directors experience includes, Dawn Holdings, Inc., Hangar, Inc. Maidenform Brands, Inc. and Nortek, Inc. We believe that Mr. Rosenthal’s extensive experience in the financial industry as well as the management of private equity in particular and his experience as a director of other public and private companies give the board of directors valuable insight.

Brian Spaly, a director since August 2020, is the founder and former Chief Executive Officer of Trunk Club, a personal styling startup focused on making it easy for men and women to discover and acquire stylish clothing without the hassles of the traditional shopping experience. Mr. Spaly led the company during its acquisition by Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) in August 2014. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Spaly was the founder of Bonobos, a men’s clothing company famous for the best-fitting pants on earth, which was acquired by Walmart (NYSE: WMT) in July 2017. Since 2018, he has served as a member of the board of directors of Deckers Brands (NYSE:DECK), a global portfolio of footwear brands such as UGG, Hoka, Teva and Sanuk. Mr. Spaly also currently serves as Executive Chairman of the Tecovas, Inc. board of directors as well as several other early stage growth company boards. Mr. Spaly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. We believe that Mr. Spaly’s experience leading high-growth companies as CEO and public companies as a board member, along with his proven digital and direct marketing experience will benefit AZEK as we continue to focus on growing our business and further differentiating our leading product offering.