PBI Performance Products has announced several organisational changes within its senior management team, aimed to capitalise on the thriving growth opportunities it has experienced across world.

Helmut Zepf has been promoted to Managing Director, PBI – PPE Division. In this new role, Helmut will manage all sales, marketing, and technical support activities for PBI fiber sold to PPE markets worldwide.

Bryan Bolden has been promoted to Vice President of Sales for the Americas and North East Asian Markets. Bolden came to PBI in 2007 and has established a strong track record in all the markets he has been assigned.  Bryan has had increasing responsibility throughout his years in the PBI business and has improved PBI’s relationships with key partners, while driving growth.

Ian Callaghan has been promoted to Vice President of Sales for Europe, Middle East, Africa and South East Asian Markets. He joined PBI in 2008 and has since contributed substantially with his remarkable people skills and expertise to PBI’s global growth in the key markets he has been responsible for.

Catalina Ciobanu has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing for PBI – PPE Division. Ciobanu joined PBI in 2015 and had an instant impact on PBI’s marketing strategy and support programs to our key partners. In her new role, Ciobanu will be focusing her efforts on PBI’s global marketing & communication strategy, to promote PBI’s brand and product portfolio worldwide. She will also be leading business developments efforts and managing key partners in Canada.

Diane Hess was appointed Vice President of Research and Development and Technical Support PBI – PPE Division. She started with PBI in 1992.  Prior to that, Diane worked as an Engineer in several polyester plants. Over her long career at PBI, Diane has had major impacts on the development of new products, quality improvements, customer support and expanding PBI’s presence worldwide. Diane also is a key member of many standards organisations and is regarded as one of the world’s top experts of Personnel Protection equipment (PPE) performance measures.

Finally, Agathe Wedekind has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for PBI – PPE Division. In her most recent role as International Sales and Marketing Manager, Wedekind has helped lead the growth and strength of PBI’s brand and visibility across all markets. She was also responsible for the implementation of the new brand identity in the International markets. In her new role, she will support PBI’s expanding sales and marketing efforts in key markets. 

In a statement about the new appointments, PBI Performance Products President Bill Lawson said: “Industry boundaries are shifting, as ecosystems and competition across countries, continents and sector lines are becoming more prevalent and new alliances are formed.  Traditional industry boundaries are being challenged and borders redrawn or redefined, at a more rapid pace than we have previously experienced in the fire service.

“These changes call for strategic thinking about what we can do, to continue to be at the forefront in innovation and serve our partners and our customers even more efficiently. At PBI, we have the ability to do that. Today, we are introducing our new organizational structure that has one goal in mind: create a customer-centric, unified global ecosystem with a strong regional focus.

“These changes will help deliver PBI’s goal of continually providing a top-tier service to its customers, drive growth and execute its strategy more quickly, to deliver the right capabilities to our valued partners and customers through the industry’s most innovative fabric technologies.”