James F. Kirsch | Thomas R. Miklich | Mark H. Duesenberg | Ann E. Killian | John A. Fleischer | Michael J. Murry | Peter T. Thomas

James F. Kirsch
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

James F. Kirsch is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ferro Corporation.  He joined Ferro in 2004 as President and Chief Operating Officer, became President and Chief Executive Officer in 2005 and added responsibilities as Chairman in 2006.

Prior to joining Ferro, Mr. Kirsch served as president of Premix Inc. and Quantum Composites, manufacturers of thermoset molding compounds, parts and sub-assemblies for the automotive, aerospace, electrical and HVAC industries. Earlier, he served as president and a director for Ballard Generation Systems and vice president for Ballard Power Systems in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Mr. Kirsch began his career with The Dow Chemical Company, where he spent 19 years in positions of increasing responsibility, including global business director of propylene oxide and derivatives and global vice president of electrochemicals.

Mr. Kirsch received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Ohio State University. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Cliffs Natural Resources, Inc., the Greater Cleveland Partnership, and John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.

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Thomas R. Miklich
Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thomas R. Miklich joined Ferro in July 2010 as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Ferro Corporation, with responsibility for overall financial management, including accounting, treasury, tax, budgeting, investor relations, and internal audit.  He also has senior management responsibility for Ferro’s worldwide information technology function.

Mr. Miklich has more than 30 years of diverse financial experience. He has served as chief financial officer for both public and private companies, including Titan Technology Partners, a privately held IT consulting firm; OM Group, Inc., a specialty chemicals company; Invacare Corporation, a manufacturer and distributor of medical equipment; Van Dorn Company, a manufacturer of containers for the food, chemical, paint, household, automotive products and petroleum industries; and The Sherwin Williams Company, a manufacturer and distributor of paint, coatings and related products.

Mr. Miklich earned a Juris Doctor degree and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cleveland State University.  He is a Certified Public Accountant. He currently serves on the board of directors of Noranda Aluminum Holding Corporation and Quality Distribution Inc.

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Mark H. Duesenberg
Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Mark H. Duesenberg is Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, with responsibility for the legal affairs of Ferro Corporation and its subsidiaries worldwide. 

Prior to joining Ferro in 2008, Mr. Duesenberg served as Executive Director, Legal and Government Affairs for Lenovo Group Ltd. in Washington, DC, and as Lenovo’s Legal Director—Europe, Middle East and Africa, in London.  From 1999 to 2005, he held positions of increasing responsibility in the law department of Invensys plc, in London. Prior to his corporate law roles, Mr. Duesenberg was an attorney at Hughes Hubbard & Reed and the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC, and served as a law clerk to the Hon. Pasco Bowman of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Mr. Duesenberg received his Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a bachelor’s degree from Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana.

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Ann E. Killian
Vice President, Human Resources

Ann E. Killian is Vice President, Human Resources with worldwide responsibility for the human resources function.  Prior to joining Ferro in 2005, Ms. Killian was Vice President, Human Resources for W.W. Holdings, LLC, a privately owned, $350 million manufacturer and distributor of commercial construction products.

Ms. Killian began her career with TRW, Inc. where she spent 21 years. There, she held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President, Compensation and Benefits at the time the company was acquired by Northrop Grumman. Prior to that, Ms. Killian was Vice President, Organizational Effectiveness at the company’s Cleveland headquarters and Vice President, Human Resources for the Avionics and Surveillance Group in San Diego, California.

Ms. Killian earned her master of business administration in personnel management from Cornell University and bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Buffalo State College. She is a member of the boards of trustees for the Hunger Network of Greater Cleveland and the Cleveland Leadership Center.

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John A. Fleischer
Vice President, Chief Information Officer

John A. Fleischer is Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Ferro Corporation. He joined Ferro in January 2012, and is responsible for overseeing Ferro’s global information technology function and the strategic direction of the Company’s information systems.

Prior to joining Ferro, Mr. Fleischer was with the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company as Director and Chief Information Officer for North American Tire (NAT), a $10 billion division. He led efforts to optimize NAT’s IT organization and to simplify legacy enterprise resource management and data warehouse environments. Prior to NAT, he spent 11 years at T-Systems North America, a unit of Deutsche Telekom. At T-Systems, he held executive roles leading two operating units that provided technology solutions and services. He also held leadership roles in the company’s competency centers, which had responsibility for quality management, project management and technology management. Before joining T-Systems, he held technology project leadership roles at Federal-Mogul Corporation, a $7 billion global automotive parts manufacturer and distributor.

Mr. Fleischer served as a commissioned officer in Military Intelligence and Acquisition Management in the U.S. Army. He earned an MBA in Technology Management/Operations/Logistics from the Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and Economics from Princeton University.

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Michael J. Murry
Operating Vice President, Electronic, Color and Glass Materials

Michael J. Murry is Operating Vice President of Ferro's Electronic, Color and Glass Materials Group, which includes its Electronic Materials, Glass Systems and Performance Pigments and Colors businesses. Prior to joining Ferro in 2005, Mr. Murry was president, CEO and a director for Catalytica Energy Systems, a development-stage clean energy company. He was vice president and general manager for the portable and stationary power businesses at Ballard Power Systems and prior to that was vice president of marketing at American Natural Soda Ash.

Mr. Murry began his career at the Upjohn Company (now Pfizer) as a chemical engineer. After earning a master's degree in business administration, he continued his career with The Dow Chemical Company, where he spent 15 years in a variety of marketing and business operations management roles, including market manager for the specialty epoxy and vinyl ester resin business, global business operations manager for epoxy resins, and business operations manager for the polycarbonate and thermoplastic polyurethanes businesses.

Mr. Murry earned his master of business administration degree from Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania and his bachelor and master of science degrees in chemical engineering from Michigan State University.

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Peter Thomas is Operating Vice President of Ferro's Polymer and Ceramic Engineered Materials Group, which includes its Polymer Additives, Specialty Plastics, Tile Coatings, Porcelain Enamel, and Pharmaceuticals businesses. He began his career with Ferro in 2000 as director of sales for polymer additives. He has held increasingly responsible positions, including commercial director for performance and fine chemicals, then vice president of organic specialties, including the polymer additives, plastics, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals businesses.

Prior to joining Ferro, Mr. Thomas was vice president of the oleochemical-derivatives business unit for Witco Corporation. He also held positions as vice president of sales and global market director. Before joining Witco, he was executive vice president for Inland Leidy Chemical Distribution, business manager for GAF Corporation, and prior to that with Noxell Corporation.

Mr. Thomas earned his master of business administration degree in marketing from Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland and his bachelor of science degree in chemistry from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a member of the International Pharmaceutical Excipients Council, Soap and Detergents Association, the Society of Plastics Engineers and the American Production and Inventory Control Society. He is also a member of the board of directors of Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association and is Ferro's executive contact for the American Chemistry Council.

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