Leadership TEAM

We Find a way

The leadership at CVG is committed to one single idea: Find a way to win. A diverse team of people who create new ways can advance technology, deliver the best solutions, and create a better planet. 

BOB GRIFFIN

Chairman of the Board and Interim President and Chief Executive officer

Robert C. Griffin has served as a Director since July 2005, and was elected Chairman in 2019. Mr. Griffin’s career spanned over 25 years in the financial sector until he retired from Barclays Capital, where from June 2000 to March 2002 he was Head of Investment Banking, Americas and a member of the Management Committee. Prior to joining Barclays Capital, Mr. Griffin was a member of the Executive Committee for the Montgomery Division of Bank of America Securities and held a number of positions with Bank of America, including Group Executive Vice President and Head of Global Debt Capital Raising and as a Senior Management Council Member. Since 2005, he has served on a number of boards, both public and private, including during the last five years, the boards of the following public companies: The J.G. Wentworth Company (ending in 2018), and Builders FirstSource, Inc. (ending in 2019).

Qualifications: Mr. Griffin has a broad understanding of the financial and investment world. He has over sixteen years of experience in senior and executive management positions with large corporations which included responsibility for determining and executing successful strategies. Mr. Griffin has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of another public company, been on numerous committees of each company where he has served as a Director and brings a depth of knowledge about corporate governance from those roles to his service on the Board of Commercial Vehicle Group. Mr. Griffin earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Miami University.

Andy Cheung

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Cheung joined CVG in October 2022.  Prior to this appointment, Mr. Cheung spent more than 25 years at Johnson Controls, progressing through a variety of roles and departments, including positions in finance, general management, procurement, and corporate development. He has held several senior-level positions throughout his career, and lived and worked in Japan, China, Belgium, and the United States during his tenure. Cheung is joining CVG directly from Johnson Controls where he was most recently serving as Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Global Products.

Mr. Cheung brings global business experience in the automotive and building industries.  He also has extensive experience with acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships which will prove valuable as CVG enters its next phase of profitable diversified growth.

Mr. Cheung was born in Hong Kong and received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Cheung is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Don Fishel

President, Engineered Materials

Mr. Fishel is President of Engineered Materials.

Prior to his current role as President of Engineered Materials, Don served as Sr.
Vice President and Managing Director for our Engineered Materials division, and
also served as Vice President of Business Development and Strategy where he led
the acquisition of First Source Electronics. Beyond his time spent with CVG, Mr.
Fishel has served as Vice President of the Commercial Vehicle Division with Safe
Fleet and has held various sales and marketing leadership roles with Stoneridge,
Inc.

Mr. Fishel has an MBA from Indiana University and undergraduate degrees in
Marketing and Electronics Technology from Shepherd University.

Mr. Fishel’s philosophy centers around collaboration and a team-centered approach
to sales, operations, and service that deploys our best talent against each
opportunity. He believes leveraging the diverse knowledge and skills of our global
team allows us to support unique customer needs across multiple industries
through knowledge sharing and experience that contribute to a forward-thinking
environment.

Don exemplifies how the leadership at CVG is oriented around finding ways to win
and promoting sustainable success. His entrepreneurial mindset helps deliver
break-out growth that allows us to maintain a high-performance environment and
remain consistently profitable.

Russell Ketteringham

President, Vehicle Solutions ‑ North America and Europe

Russell (Russ) Ketteringham is an energetic and successful industry veteran. He comes to CVG directly from BOS Automotive, a well-known global automotive supplier based in Germany. Russ worked there for 25 years and was most recently President of BOS Automotive North America. He has a track record of successfully driving profitable growth through product innovation, new customer acquisition, and customer penetration. He possesses a strong background in program management and launch, product development and engineering, and operations prior to transitioning into general management.  Over his tenure, he has gained international leadership experience and has lived in the USA, Mexico, Europe and Asia Pacific. 

Russ is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States and graduated with honors from Coventry University, UK with a degree in manufacturing engineering.  He has spent his entire career in the vehicle industry and has prior experience with portions of our product lines. He has current working and long-term relationships with many of CVG’s top customers in North America and Europe.

Kristin Mathers

Chief Human Resources Officer

Ms. Mathers is Chief Human Resources Officer. She joined CVG in September 2021.
Ms. Mathers comes to CVG from Baker Hughes in Houston, Texas where she served most recently as Vice President of Talent Management with responsibility for all aspects of global talent acquisition, recruitment, succession & retention, leadership programs, and training & development. Ms. Mathers has been with Baker Hughes and its legacy parent, GE, since 2000 and has broad experience including HR leadership assignments in GE’s transportation business, appliance business, lighting business and corporate headquarters. She has held progressively responsible roles within Baker Hughes as Head of North American Human Resources and Vice President of HR Transformation.

Ms. Mathers holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with a specialization in Actuary Science from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Ms. Mathers has a passion for learning, development and growth in herself and everyone that she supports and partners with. She strives to create a culture where people are excited to come to work to be a part of the transformation and find opportunities to excel in their individual careers and reach their potential.

Kristin brings a strong expertise in coaching leaders and building high-performing teams, creating effective operating models, and ensuring continuous improvement is always at the forefront. Kristin looks at situations and a future of what could be versus looking at things as they have always been. She is a pragmatic leader that always questions the status quo and will continue to look for improvement opportunities in herself and the team. 

Aneezal H. Mohamed

Chief Legal Officer, Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary

Mr. Mohamed is General Counsel, Compliance Officer & Corporate Secretary.

He joined CVG in 2013, holding positions of increasing responsibility that included Associate General Counsel, Deputy General Counsel, Interim General Counsel and Vice President, Legal & Compliance and Secretary. Previously, Mr. Mohamed was counsel with Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter and served in several capacities at Cardinal Health, including Senior Counsel, Vice President & Associate General Counsel and Assistant General Counsel. Prior to that, Mr. Mohamed was counsel to CMS Energy Corporation.

Mr. Mohamed graduated from Cooley Law School at Western Michigan University with a Juris Doctorate in 1997. He has his Bachelor’s in Political Science and Economics from Towson State University, and he is licensed to practice law in Ohio and Michigan. He was formerly Chairman of the Board of Directors and is a current Board member of the Columbus Council on World Affairs and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Mohamed prioritizes partnership in every aspect of CVG’s business. He believes partnership and collaboration between leaders is the most effective way to make strategic decisions and he is dedicated to business growth, providing better products for customers, and a better culture for employees.

Aneezal is one example of the uniquely great people at CVG. His expertise guides our decision making and keeps us accountable to deliver record-setting results, and his collaborative approach keeps us thinking creatively and as a team.

Richard Tajer

President, Electrical Systems and Enterprise CCO

Mr. Tajer is the President of Electrical Systems and Enterprise CCO. He joined CVG in January 2019.

Prior to joining CVG, Mr. Tajer spent 20 years with Yazaki North America, where he served most recently as Executive Vice President of Electronics, Instrumentation and Components with P&L responsibility for nine manufacturing facilities and $1 billion in sales. Prior to Yazaki, Mr. Tajer obtained relevant commercial and engineering experience from Alcoa Fujikura and United Technologies.

Mr. Tajer is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University. He is an active member of SAE International, the International Institute of Connector and Interconnector Technology, and the MENTTIUM corporate mentoring program.

His core philosophy revolves around people, product and profit. He believes we separate ourselves in the market with our people; that our products are the commercialization of our ideas and service; and the profit we earn allows us to invest in people and products.

Rich demonstrates how CVG dedicates to one diverse and inclusive CVG team that delivers record-setting results. His innovative approach and years of experience make his work a testament to how CVG always finds ways to win and pursues entrepreneurial break-out growth while taking every opportunity to be creative and have fun.

Jeff Tritapoe

Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Tritapoe is the Chief Operating Officer. He joined CVG in April 2022.

Over the course of his 30+ year career, Tritapoe has worked in public and privately held organizations while serving in operational roles leading international strategic investment, operational excellence, cost optimization, enterprise procurement and logistics. Tritapoe’s manufacturing experience spans the plastics, textile, metal forming and fabrication industries where he worked for industry leaders such as Dupont, Huntsman/Pliant, Xerium, Omnimax and Polydeck. Since 2006, Tritapoe has served in executive roles including VP, SVP
and COO.

Tritapoe believes the path to operational excellence is only achieved through the engagement of internal associates to committed outcomes. Supporting CVG’s overall service, quality, and profitability, it starts with the development of a paradigm focused on baseline manufacturing problem solving to drive continuous improvement.

Mr. Tritapoe received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering-Production and Operational Management from the University of Tennessee Space Institute. As a compliment to his engineering background and passion for operational excellence, he also has both Lean/DFSS and Black Belt certifications.

Minja Zahirovic

President of Warehouse Automation

Mr. Zahirovic is the President of Warehouse Automation.

Prior to joining CVG, Mr. Zahirovic spent 10 years with Festo, where he served most recently as Vice President of System Solutions for the North American market. In this capacity, Mr. Zahirovic developed world-class automation systems across many industries including healthcare, electronics, automotive, packaging, and more.

He brings more than 15 years of industrial automation and engineering experience and has proven success in business development, product development, and value creation for companies within the industrial automation space.

Mr. Zahirovic holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from McMaster University, as well as a master’s degree in mechanical engineering also from McMaster University. He earned his Executive MBA from Kellogg-Schulich School of Management at Northwestern University and York University. Additionally, Mr. Zahirovic is a licensed Professional Engineer.
Minja is always thinking backward as a key to solving tough problems. Creativity is at his core and innovation and problem-solving drives him. He is passionate about technology and solution development and often sees a solution to problems others have not identified yet. He believes in building high-performing teams and developing and elevating individuals to unlock new possibilities.