Our executive management team is committed to advancing the organization through thoughtful, experienced leadership and enhancing the lives of our employees, customers and partners.
Andreas Ruzic
CEO Rittal USA / EVP North America
Andreas joined Rittal in May 2021 and is the CEO of Rittal in the U.S. as well as the Executive Vice President for our Canadian and Mexican subsidiaries.
In this role he is focusing on the customer experience, leading the executive team and growing the business while building strong relationships with our partners, customers and future customers.
Andreas graduated in Industrial Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences in Rosenheim/Germany and brings over 20 years of senior and C-level experience covering a variety of industries including manufacturing, aviation & aerospace, retail, telecommunications, and supply chain management.
Scott Casey
CSO
Scott joined Rittal in February of 2022, as the CSO for the U.S. business. He focuses on building an agile, world class sales organization that partners with our customers and provides solutions for their needs.
Scott received his MBA from the University of Colorado and brings 25 years of experience to Rittal both as a business owner and as an executive leader with US and international firms.
Bob Jennings
CFO
Robert joined Rittal in July of 2021 as the CFO of Rittal in the U.S. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Illinois State University and his Master’s (MBA) in Accounting from DePaul University.
Robert comes with tremendous knowledge of over 30 years of experience managing Accounting, Finance, Information Technology, Purchasing, Logistics, Treasury and other support functions as part of US and overseas operations of global enterprises in various industries including manufacturing, automotive, industrial equipment and electronics.
Robert has worked in the US, Japan, China, France and various other locations including a 3-year assignment in Germany with his family. He is passionate about people and achieving success by building and nurturing high performance teams.
Kris Cannon-Schmitt
COO
Kris joined Rittal in August 2022 as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for North & South America, supporting Canada, USA, and Latin America. In this role she is focusing on building strong plant operations, logistics, and transportation solutions to meet the growing demand of our customers.
Kris graduated with an Industrial Engineering degree from The University of Iowa and an MBA from St. Ambrose University. She brings over 20 years of senior management experience covering a variety of areas including manufacturing, supply chain management, marketing, sales operations and customer engagement.
Juan Carlos Rivero-Garcia
VP, Operations
Born in Juarez, Mexico, Juan Carlos grew up in the state of Chihuahua where he graduated from the Chihuahua Technology Institute in Mechanical Design and Industrial Engineering. He worked in Mexico, Germany and the U.S. for over 30 years in different industries such as mining, construction, electrical / electronic, digital factory, mechanical drives and wind power, covering manufacturing and logistics operations.
Juan Carlos joined Rittal in August 2021 as the Vice President of Operations leading Urbana manufacturing facility and focused on driving operations excellence with a highly motivated team.
Craig Shirley
VP, Human Resources Rittal / Eplan
Craig joined Rittal in November of 2023 and is the Vice President of Human Resources for Rittal US and Eplan businesses.
In this role he is focusing on leading human resources strategy while improving culture, diversity and engagement, acquiring, developing and retaining talent, directing total rewards and optimizing technology to improve the employee experience and driving data-based decisions to continually improve sustainable processes.
Craig graduated with two MBA’s from the University of Illinois, Chicago specializing in Management and Entrepreneurship in addition to deep exposure in Lean/Six Sigma within global Fortune 500 organizations. He brings nearly 30 years of senior and C-level experience in manufacturing including technology, food ingredients, packaging and medical devices.
Ivaylo Deliivanov
VP, Service & Sales Operations
Ivaylo joined Rittal in September of 2022, as the Vice President of Service and Sales Operations for the U.S. business. He focuses on building a strong nationwide service network to support our customers and provide a consistent and best in class overall experience.
Ivaylo received his Executive MBA from the St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia PA and brings 20+ years of service and operational experience to Rittal as an executive leader with U.S. and international companies.
Andrew Prichard
VP, IA & IT Channel
Andrew joined Rittal in 2001 as part of the Rittal sales trainee program. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH. During his tenure at Rittal, Andrew has held multiple sales and sales management roles in different segments of our business.
Michael Milam
VP Industrial Automation
Michael joined Rittal in April 2021 as the General Manager of the South Region. Prior to joining Rittal, he spent 20+ years in the Energy Industry, where he held multiple positions and several in leadership within both sales and operations for Distributors, Manufactures, and Manufacturer Reps. Michael has a BS degree in Management and Marketing from Sam Houston St.
Jonathan Bluhm
Regional VP Northeast
Jonathan Bluhm is the new Regional Vice President for the Northeast Sales Region. With a 10-year military background, combined with 10 years in progressive sales roles, he brings extensive leadership experience and global exposure.
Jonathan holds a Bachelor's degree in Management and an MBA. He has excelled in his private sector career, progressing through various sales roles in service providers and manufacturing companies. Prior to joining Rittal, he served as a North American Sales Director for Standex Electronics, collaborating with key OEMs in the transportation, medical, and industrial sectors.
Ben Mauldin
Regional VP Southeast
Born and raised in Georgia, Ben earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication from Emmanuel College. In 2014, he joined Rittal after 11+ years in various sales and leadership roles with an industry leading Manufacture in the Mechanical Power Transmission & Material Handling space.
In March 2021, Ben was named the General Manager for the Rittal Southeast Region over all sales business units after holding previous roles in Account and Sales Management.
Brian Soloway
Regional VP South
Brian joined Rittal in February 2023 as the Regional Vice President for the Southwest Region and is based in Houston, TX.
Brian graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Youngstown State University and an MBA from Marquette University and brings over 15 years of leadership experience in sales and marketing, manufacturing, product management, engineering and demand planning.
Robert Andre de la Porte
Regional VP Midwest
Robert joined Rittal in April 2021 as the General Manager for the Midwest region. In this role, he is focusing on expanding customer partnerships together with a highly motivated team.
Robert has 13 years of experience in electrical explosion protection for hazardous locations. He has developed sales organizations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East for ATEX/IECEX/NEC electrical solutions; and in Asia, France and Germany for powder coating equipment. Born in Belgium, he received his MSIT from Eastern Michigan University and his BBA from Kent State University. Robert has lived in Belgium, Germany, France and Ohio, USA.
Ryan Clark
Regional VP Pacific
Ryan has 20+ years of senior leadership experience guiding and shaping companies in both the industrial automation and consumer goods channels. Having earned degrees in Human Resource Management and Marketing from Franklin University, Ryan has put them to work for organizations varying in size from startups to large multi-national, legacy brands.
He is passionate about harnessing the power of team dynamics and continual improvement to drive goals and betterment.
Imran Ishaq
Director - Corporate Planning & Strategy
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Imran grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, His 30+ years career spans power, industrial, automation sales, marketing, product development, international management, services, training and competencies development for four major global industrial players.
Imran is based in Chicago metroplex. He is a graduate of Purdue University in Electrical Engineering & Engineering Technologies and Insead Global Executive Business program.
Imran joined Rittal U.S. in 2021 focusing on corporate planning and strategy development. He is an avid global traveler, an amateur radio, vintage car, and high-performance race-car enthusiast.
Melanie Corbolotti
Executive Assistant
Melanie was born and raised in Herborn, Germany and started her career with Rittal in January 1996 at the headquarters location in Herborn. After 7 ½ years and gaining experience in various roles from Inside Sales, Customer Service, Key Account Relations, Distributor Inside Support, and assisting the Sales Manager, she took the opportunity for an expat assignment in 2003 at our U.S. location in Springfield and later Urbana, OH.
During the expat assignment Melanie further advanced as the Assistant to the Sales Director and since 2006 holds the position as the Assistant to the Managing Director/President. Her main focus is to support the MD but also assisting the Executive Team as well as the office management in our Schaumburg, IL location.