PN names finalists for CFO of the Year award

DETROIT — Plastics News has named four finalists for its CFO of the Year Award, honoring financial leaders at North American plastics processing companies who have steered their companies to strong growth and profitability.

The 2015 CFO of the Year finalists, selected by a panel of judges and Plastics News' editorial staff, are:

• Jon Dill, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ampac Packaging LLC in Cincinnati.

• Morgan Endecott, CFO of i2tech LLC in West Des Moines, Iowa.

• Paul Manley, CFO and chief operating officer of MGS Manufacturing Group Inc., Germantown, Wis.

• Roger Vang, CFO of Diversified Plastics Inc. in Minneapolis.

The finalists come from a diverse range of plastics manufacturers, from small to large and involved in many end market areas.

Ampac is a manufacturer of flexible packaging products that is among the largest in North America. Since joining Ampac in 2000, Dill has been instrumental in the completion of 13 acquisitions, the establishment of operations in China and Vietnam and the recapitalization of the company with private equity.

Endecott was named CFO at i2tech in 2004, where she has overseen 47 straight profitable quarters and sales that have more than doubled in the past decade. She engineered a financial syndicate that allowed the company to fund its impressive growth and lowered borrowing costs in the process. The company won Plastics News' Processor of the Year Award in 2008.

Manley has overseen growth from one manufacturing facility to six and helped extend MGS's global reach since joining the company in 1996. He has managed a move into the health care market that has been profitable and he closed a strategic acquisition on the East Coast.

Vang helped Diversified Plastics move into a new era of ownership by creating an innovative employee stock ownership plan in 2009, obtaining the funding and performing financial analysis that reduced the cost of the transition. He has helped obtain working capital that has allowed for updated equipment, including high-end 3-D printers that have helped the company gain recognition for additive manufacturing.

“These financial professionals are among the top executives in their field and bring an impressive range of skills, leadership and decision-making abilities that allow their companies to rise above the competition,” said PN Publisher Brennan Lafferty. “In several instances, they have identified new customers and facilities and reduced internal costs in the face of overall economic challenges. The accomplishments of these key plastics executives is inspiring and indicative of the economic strength of the North American plastics industry.”

In addition to PN editorial staff, judges for the CFO of the Year Award included Bonnie Bachman, professor of economics at Missouri Science & Technology; Michael Devereux, partner and director of manufacturing and distribution services for accounting firm Mueller Prost; Deborah Douglas, managing director of Douglas Group, a private investment banking firm; and John Hart, managing director of P&M Corporate Finance.

The winner will be announced at the Plastics Financial Summit on June 3 at the Mid-America Club in Chicago. The event will feature a panel discussion with the finalists and Lafferty. For information see www.plasticsnews.com/2015pfschicago.