Eriez has appointed Jaisen Kohmuench to the role of president and CEO. Kohmuench will take the role effective January 1, 2024. He will succeed current President and CEO, Lukas Guenthardt, who is retiring at the end of 2023.
"Lukas has played a pivotal role in driving the company's transformative growth, fostering innovation, and achieving remarkable success during his tenure," said Richard Merwin, chairman of the board at Eriez. "Under his visionary leadership, Eriez achieved record revenues and strengthened its global market presence."
According to Merwin, Kohmuench emerged as the clear choice to succeed Guenthardt after a comprehensive selection process. With more than two decades of experience at Eriez, Kohmuench has held various executive-level roles within the organization, most recently as chief operating officer.
Kohmuench's time at Eriez has taken him from his initial role in research and development as a process engineer to directing and expanding the U.S. flotation group. He later assumed an expatriate position as managing director for Eriez-Australia before returning to the U.S. to manage all of Eriez's international businesses as vice president of international and then chief operating officer.
"Jaisen's career path reflects a distinctive fusion of technical and financial responsibilities that have helped him develop into the versatile and accomplished leader he is today," noted Merwin.
Kohmuench has been instrumental in shaping global business strategies and driving growth in magnetic, flotation, and service operations. His expertise is demonstrated through his authorship of numerous technical papers and contributions as an inventor with over a dozen patents. Kohmuench's academic achievements include earning bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in mining and minerals engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Merwin emphasizes that Kohmuench truly embodies the company's core mission and values: "Jaisen's extensive technical and international experience, proven leadership qualities, and philanthropic spirit will serve as a guiding force propelling Eriez into a prosperous future.
"We look forward to an exciting new chapter under Jaisen's leadership and extend our sincere gratitude to Lukas for his exceptional service."