ISEA Announces New Board of Trustees, Naming Incoming Chair, Vice Chair and Treasurer


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“Due to visionary leadership, a great staff and member support, ISEA is stronger than ever,” said Votel.

Craig Wallentine, Global Business Development Manager, DuPont Safety & Construction (Retired) (DowDuPont) was elected chairman of the board of trustees of the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), at the group’s annual meeting in Arlington, Virginia. Tom Votel, President & CEO, Ergodyne, was elected vice chairman.

Nate Kogler, Senior Director of Product Management, Bradley Corporation, was elected ISEA board treasurer. Kogler is new to the role of treasurer, and the treasurer role itself is a newly created board position.

In addition, industry leaders Steve Blanco, President, Americas Business Segment, MSA; Rodney Taylor, Global Sales and Marketing Manager, Industrial PPE, D3O, LLC; and Ned Hickok, President, OccuNomix International, were elected as new board members.

Craig Wallentine joined DowDuPont in 1989 and during his 30-year career there he held a broad range of leadership positions in the field of industrial personal protection. Particular areas of expertise are marketing leadership training and development, sales force effectiveness and channel strategy, new product development, global supply chain design, emergency event response planning and emerging region market development. Prior to joining DowDuPont, Wallentine worked for Exxon USA in several operational and planning roles.

“It is an honor and pleasure to hold this position,” said Wallentine. “I have the great fortune to follow in the footsteps of two successful leadership teams with a solid foundation having been built by former Chairman Eric Beck and retired ISEA President Dan Shipp, followed by the thoughtful organizational improvements made by my immediate predecessor as chair, Sheila Eads, who also on-boarded our dynamic new president, Charles Johnson.”

“We are also seeing the fruition of investments made to update and digitize our industry-leading Qualified Safety Sales Professional (QSSP) training program to ensure that training participants have modern learning tools and the most relevant safety information,” added Wallentine. “Looking ahead, we will stay focused on the needs of end users to identify and implement safety innovations to protect more workers in more work environments, especially where we can quantify the impact of better safety standards. That is what we believe is important and what we want to deliver going forward.”

Tom Votel became Ergodyne president & CEO in 1986, in a turnaround and rebranding of the company’s prior incarnation. He led the firm through a variety of existential threats, helping it evolve into a respected leading developer of specialized gear for worker safety and productivity.

“Due to visionary leadership, a great staff and member support, ISEA is stronger than ever,” said Votel. “I look forward to continuing to improve and enhance our value to members and the noble goal of advancing standards that ensure worker safety and protection.”

Continuing members of the ISEA board are past chairman Sheila Eads, President and Chief Executive Officer of ERB Industries; Kelly Kolb, Senior Business Development Manager, Kimberly-Clark Professional; Brian Myers, Global Business Manager, 3M Personal Safety; and Bill Schubach is Vice President of Sales for Moldex-Metric.

About ISEA

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) is the trade association in the U.S. for personal protective equipment and technologies. Its member companies are world leaders in the design, manufacture, testing and distribution of protective clothing and equipment used in factories, construction sites, hospitals and clinics, farms, schools, laboratories, emergency response and in the home. Since 1933, ISEA has set the standard for the personal protective equipment industry, supporting member companies united in the goal of protecting the health and safety of people worldwide.

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