Leadership TEAM

James Ray

President and Chief Executive Officer

James R. Ray was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in December 2023. He has served on CVG’s Board of Directors as an independent director since March 2020, and currently serves on the Board as a non-independent director. Mr. Ray also serves as an independent director on the Board of Spirit AeroSystems, Inc., and previously served on the Boards of Leslie’s, Inc. and RR Donnelley. In addition to his Board roles, Mr. Ray has provided consulting services to Fortune 100 companies and private equity portfolio companies. 

Mr. Ray has extensive global and broad-based experience in many of CVG’s key end markets, including electrical systems. Prior to joining CVG’s Board, Mr. Ray served as President, Engineered Fastening at Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. where he held various global industrial P&L and operational leadership roles from 2013 through 2020. Before Stanley Black & Decker, he spent more than 25 years in global P&L and engineering leadership roles at TE Connectivity, Delphi, and General Motors.

Mr. Ray earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Howard University and a master’s degree in manufacturing management from Kettering University.

Mr. Ray’s leadership philosophy centers on accountability and enabling others to succeed. He believes that there are three critical areas of culture which must intersect proactively: a relentless focus on customers, recruiting and developing the best talent to execute with excellence, and rewarding shareholders for their investment. 

Mr. Ray’s extensive experience in leading people and businesses has resulted in a leadership foundation built on a strong culture, developing high-performing teams and driving results through focused and innovative growth.

Jeff Beechan

Vice President, Strategic Sourcing & Global Supply Chain

Mr. Beechan joined CVG in January 2023 as Vice President, Procurement and Supply Chain Management. In September 2023, he was appointed Vice President, Strategic Sourcing & Global Supply Chain and named to the CVG executive leadership team. 

Mr. Beechan is a results-oriented procurement and supply chain leader with more than 30 years of global experience in agriculture and industrial equipment, infrastructure and engineered solutions manufacturing industries. He has an extensive background in strategic sourcing, supply chain management, global commodity management, contract development, organizational restructuring, acquisitions/integration, and insource/outsource. He is a collaborative and focused leader who excels at building, developing and leading high-performing teams. 

Mr. Beechan encourages cross-functional collaboration internally as well as with the CVG global supply base. This supplier collaboration ensures that we align with manufacturers having a core competency as well as disciplined focus on quality, delivery and cost of the various products they supply to CVG.     

Prior to joining CVG, Mr. Beechan served as Vice President, Sourcing and Supply Chain at Ideal Tridon Group. In that role, he led the strategic sourcing and supply chain team, focusing on supplier optimization, global commodity strategies, disciplined business processes and industry best practices. Prior to this, Mr. Beechan held strategic sourcing and supply chain leadership positions with manufacturing companies in various industries, including Manitou Equipment America, LLC, Contech Engineered Solutions, JLG Industries and New Holland.

Mr. Beechan holds a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University.

Andy Cheung

Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Information Technology

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

Executive Vice President, Business Planning & Development

Mr. Fishel is Executive Vice President of Business Planning & Development.

Prior to his current role as Executive Vice President of Business Planning & Development, 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, Global Vehicle Solutions

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.

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 Chief Legal Officer, 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.

Corinne Ross

President, Aftermarket & Accessories

Ms. Ross joined CVG in October 2023. She came to CVG after 16 years with German-based
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, a leading sealing technology company, where she served
as Vice President, Corteco North America, Aftermarket Division. In that role, she led oversight of regional sales; marketing; supply chain management and operations; and product development and category management. She began her career in human resources and served in a variety of HR roles of increasing responsibility in both corporate and manufacturing environments. 

Corinne is a dynamic strategist, passionate business leader and collaborator with a strong
record of developing people and teams to create and execute business plans focused on long-term strategic vision.

Corinne holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA, both from the University of Findlay.

Richard Tajer

President, Global Electrical Systems

Mr. Tajer is the President of Global Electrical Systems. 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.

Minja Zahirovic

President, Industrial Automation

Mr. Zahirovic is the President of Industrial 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.