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Leadership

Your Performance Team

Valence is led by a team of industry powerhouses in special processing, with decades of exceptional surface technology expertise. Their goal is simple – to provide every customer around the world with best-in-class quality, delivery, and value.

Chris Celtruda

Chief Executive Officer

  • Former CEO and Member of Board of Directors at Kellstrom Defense 
  • Other Experience: President of Industrial Products at Gardner Denver.; Vice-President of Aerospace at CIRCOR International; and Director of Aerospace Controls and Engine Systems at Honeywell Aerospace
  • Member Board of Directors of the Southern California Aerospace Club, GEOST, and Heinz Engineering LLC
  • An accomplished executive leader with over 30 years of experience driving strategic business growth with full P&L ownership for technology-intensive business units of up to $1.25 Billion in annual sales.
  • Expertise: Executive Team Development, Organic Business Growth, Business Execution, Merger, Acquisition and Integration, Change Management, Global Business Customer Relationship Management, Lean Manufacturing / Operations Transformation.

Patrick O’Connor

Chief Commercial Officer

  • CEO – Atlas Specialty Products
  • Board Advisor to the Desser Group – Graham Partners, Liberty Hall Capital Partners, STAR EnviroTech, Inc., and PAS MRO
  • Executive VP of Global Sales & Marketing – Wencor Group
  • VP Sales & Marketing – Permaswage, Limited Partner Bridgepoint Capital plc.
  • President / CEO – Sargent Fletcher, Inc. and VPGM Cobham Mission Systems 
  • VP Engine Systems & Accessories – Engine Platform Solutions for Honeywell Aerospace 
  • VP Air Transport – AlliedSignal Aerospace
  • Graduate of the Thunderbird School of Global Management (MBA)
  • B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona
  • Expertise: Aerospace & Defense, OEM & Aftermarket segments, growth leadership, private equity, mergers & acquisitions

Donald Weinstein

Chief Financial Officer

  • More than 32 years of executive leadership in multiple industries
  • Former Chief Financial Officer at BHI Energy
  • Other Experience: CFO and operations executive for multiple private equity and public companies
  • Expertise: growing organizations, M&A, turn arounds, accounting, finance, tax, IT, domestic, and international economics

Patricia Hamrick

Chief Human Resources Officer

  • Former Global VP, Human Resources for Howmet Fastening Systems (formerly part of Alcoa), with responsibility for 31 sites in 11 countries and over 7000 employees.
  • Prior experience with Johnson & Johnson Consumer as Worldwide Director of HR for the Neutrogena franchise. Later, Director of HR for J&J Consumer Supply Chain, North America/Latin America.
  • Former Director of Human Resources at Raytheon Technologies.
  • Former VP, Human Resources with Pacer International, a legacy XPO Logistics company.
  • Serves on the Board of Directors for the American Red Cross, Los Angeles Region.
  • Graduate of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
  • Expertise: Aerospace, defense and logistics end market experience, consumer products, Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A), organizational transformation.

Tudor Lupea

Executive Vice President Corporate Development

  • 10 years of M&A and corporate development experience in the aerospace industry
  • Former Corporate Development and Strategy of PCC, Precision Castparts 
  • Other Experience: Corporate Development at Noranco, M&A at MNP
  • Expertise: M&A, strategy and business development, financial analysis, and modeling

Simone Murphy-Fickenworth

Vice President Quality Assurance and Compliance

  • 18 years of quality and compliance experience in the aerospace industry
  • Other experience: Quality Manager- Chrome Plus
  • Expertise: continuous improvement, aerospace, quality assurance, and quality systems

Steve Cooper

Vice President Information Systems

  • Over 25 years of experience in oil and gas, manufacturing automation & software industries
  • Other experience: IT Director for Honeywell International, other roles in Operations, Information Technology, Quality, & Marketing
  • Expertise: certified Six Sigma Black Belt, led global organizations and directives
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