Our executive management team is committed to advancing the organization through thoughtful, experienced leadership and enhancing the lives of our employees, customers and partners.
Bob Jennings
CFO & Interim CEO
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.
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.
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.
Ben Mauldin
VP Energy & Power Solutions
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 2024, Ben was named Vice President of Energy & Power Solutions 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.
Sarah Groden
Regional VP Northeast
After studying engineering at the University of Michigan, Sarah spent over a decade sharpening her skills in the industrial automation world at Electro-matic, one of Rittal's largest national channel partners. Sarah’s leadership style is all about deep industry knowledge, a laser focus on optimizing sales channels, and a passion for learning and sharing that knowledge with others.
Asad Chinoy
Regional VP Southeast
Asad joined Rittal in November 2024 as the Regional Vice President for the Southeast Region, based in Atlanta, GA. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Southern Polytechnic State University and an MBA from Kennesaw State University. With more than 15 years of experience, Asad has a proven track record of success in sales leadership, machine automation, manufacturing, supply chain management, and engineering.
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.