Leadership

Mark Pihl was elected Chairman of the Board in October of 2022. Prior to his retirement, Mark served Web Industries as President & CEO, President & COO, and has been a board member since 2012. During his 30+ year career with Web Industries, Mr. Pihl restructured the company and created a business unit architecture, which realigned resources to meet customer and market needs, executed the M&A and international expansion strategies, and positioned all aspects of the company for sustainable and profitable growth. Throughout his career, Mark’s leadership demonstrated active caring for people which contributed to the creation of a high-engagement employee-ownership culture. Mark studied business at Nichols College and Duquesne University and has held various executive and operations roles for Sony Chemical, USA and FLEXcon, Inc.

Donald Romine joined Web Industries in 1973 after attending the Florida Institute of Technology. With more than 45 years at Web, he has served as Manufacturing Supervisor, Plant Manager, General Manager, VP of Manufacturing, company president from 1991 – 2015, and CEO from 1995 – 2018. When an employee-owner of Web Industries, his main goal was to grow Web’s business while preserving the key company tenets of building healthy relationships, serving customers with excellence, and respecting the inherent worth of individuals. Under Mr. Romine’s leadership, Web transitioned into a 100% employee-owned corporation, empowered people to develop their full potential, and expanded the company’s capabilities to meet the high-tech needs of its business partners.

Mr. Bastardi has held senior level positions within public, multi-national, as well as private, emerging growth medical device & diagnostics companies. His experience spans corporate development, strategic planning, marketing, finance, and general management leadership roles for branded products and contract manufacturing businesses. Currently, he is CEO at the The Great Plains Laboratory. Previously, Mr. Bastardi held various positions with Accriva Diagnostics, Covidien, Flex, Accellent, and Surgical Specialties Corporation. He earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Georgetown University. Mr. Bastardi joined the Web Industries Board of Directors in 2018.

A senior financial executive with extensive CFO experience, Tom has over forty years of diverse business experience in accounting and finance within retail, e-commerce, contract-manufacturing and direct-marketing companies. In 2015, Tom retired as EVP & CFO of SmartPak Equine, where as a key member of senior management, he built and led the HR, IT, and customer service teams along with the accounting and financial functions. Tom is currently on the accounting faculty of the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis and is engaged on a consulting basis as CFO of Boyce Technologies in New York City (#166 on the 2015 Inc. 500 list). Tom serves on the Board of Regents of Concordia University Chicago, chairing their audit and finance committee and as member of the Board of Trustees of Concordia Plan Services, the employee benefit and pension provider of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, serving as chair of their Strategy Committee. A member of Web’s Board of Directors since 2015, Tom is a CPA and holds an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St Louis and a BS in Accounting from Southeast Missouri State University.

An independent investor and venture capitalist for over three decades, Stephen Ringlee has been on the Web Industries Board of Directors for over twenty years, during which he has been a strong advocate for Web’s employee-owned culture and focus on great customer relationships. Outside of Web, Mr. Ringlee is the Managing Director of Centesimus Capital and has helped build several IT, life sciences, web commerce, financial and health services and manufacturing companies as well as develop innovative venture capital finance programs for several US states. He is an active board member of several non-profit business and community development groups. Stephen is a CPA, holds a BS in Engineering from UC Berkeley, an MBA from Dartmouth, and a MS in Tax from Bentley University.

A visionary leader with extensive expertise in marketing, business development, program management, strategic customer sales, and complex strategy development in large multi-national corporations, Mrs. Towne has an outstanding record of orchestrating complex programs to effect positive change. Currently, Brenda holds the position of Customer Director for Industrial and Commercial markets for Plexus Corporation. Prior to joining Plexus, she held various senior Sales and Marketing positions in companies such as Celestica, Hewlett Packard, and General Electric. Mrs. Towne is an accomplished entrepreneur and business owner of an organization known as Thrive for Women, which focuses on health and wellness for women, all the while raising awareness for orphanages in third world countries. Brenda earned her MBA from Southern New Hampshire University and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Accounting and Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts. Brenda joined the Web Industries Board of Directors in 2015.

John was hired as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in 2017 and brings over 30 years of financial expertise to Web Industries. John has been a leader of the financial function for several companies, including 10 years as the Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for Nypro Inc. His background in international finance and capital structures will enable Web to continue its growth both domestically and internationally. John has over 10 years of experience in other ESOP companies and strongly believes in the culture of employee-ownership which can transfer potential to reality. He is focused on developing the financial team into true business partners and translating data into information. John has an MBA from Boston University, a BA in Economics from the University of Maine, and spent his junior year as an exchange student at McGill University where he developed his enthusiasm for the complexity of international business.

John joined Web Industries as President in 2022 bringing 36 years of combined public and private company experience. Mr. Madej was then named CEO in December 2022. Prior to joining Web Industries, John Madej held positions at Hollingsworth & Vose (H&V), where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer and previously was Chief Financial Officer for 6 years. He joined H&V in 2009 as Vice President and General Manager of the Energy and Industrial Systems Business Unit. He was also the Division President of the Engine and Industrial Filtration division. For more than 24 years, John served in a variety of leadership roles at General Electric (GE). Most recently, as President and CEO of Exatec, LLC, a GE-Bayer joint venture. While at GE, John held foundational positions in sales and market team leadership at GE Plastics in multiple industry segments ranging from Business Equipment to Automotive including an expatriate assignment in Tokyo, Japan. John earned a BS in Electrical Engineering from Union College.