Quaker Houghton announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Joseph Berquist as Chief Executive Officer and President, and a member of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Mr. Berquist, who succeeds Andy Tometich as Chief Executive Officer and President, most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer for Quaker Houghton.
Michael F. Barry, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Quaker Houghton commented, “I want to thank Andy for his three years of leadership at Quaker Houghton. His outside perspective and experiences were valuable to help position the Company for future growth. The Board’s plan since my retirement has been, ultimately, to have a CEO with detailed working knowledge and experience with our specific industry, customers, and products. That detailed familiarity with the business will help drive shareholder value as we grow through organic market share gains as well as acquisitions.”
Mr. Barry continued, “Joe has demonstrated exceptional leadership at Quaker Houghton throughout his career. Having personally worked with Joe for more than 25 years, I know him to be a highly regarded leader with an indisputable knowledge and passion for this industry, our customers, and our people. His vision and proven track record in delivering above-market growth for Quaker Houghton is precisely what is needed as the Company enters this next chapter.”
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“I am honored to have the confidence of our Board of Directors to lead this organization at such an exciting time for Quaker Houghton”, Mr. Berquist said. “I look forward to continuing to work alongside my remarkable colleagues to enhance Quaker Houghton’s position as the trusted global leader in industrial process fluids and services. We have a strong foundation and proven business model with an opportunity to add scale, strengthen our culture, and deliver long-term sustainable value to our customers and our shareholders.”
Since joining Quaker Houghton in 1997, Mr. Berquist has been instrumental in the execution of the Company’s growth. In 2008, he was promoted to the Company’s executive leadership team as Managing Director North America, where he drove several consecutive years of revenue and profitability improvement. Mr. Berquist successfully co-led the integration planning of the 2019 Quaker Houghton combination, a transaction that nearly doubled the Company’s size, and generated synergies in excess of $80M. During his tenure, he has been involved in executing 24 of the Company’s acquisitions. In 2019, Mr. Berquist assumed the role of Chief Strategy Officer, where he led the organization’s strategy development. In 2023, Mr. Berquist was appointed to the newly created position of Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer with commercial responsibility over all Quaker Houghton’s global businesses.
SOURCE: PRNewswire