Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST), a global supplier of sealing and vibration control solutions to a wide range of industries, has announced key changes in its leadership – including an appointment to its board of management and the naming a new president of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies (Freudenberg-NOK).
Dr. Theodore Duclos will become a member of FST’s board of management on Jan. 1, 2016, and will be relocating from the United States to the company headquarters in Weinheim, Germany. In a related change, Matthew Portu will take over as president of Freudenberg-NOK while retaining his role as senior vice president, global procurement.
Duclos has been named chief technology officer at FST. In this role, he will be responsible for technology, quality, components and the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) field at the global technology company. He is currently president, North America, at Freudenberg-NOK, and senior vice president, Fluid Power at FST. Freudenberg-NOK is a joint venture between Freudenberg and the NOK Corp. in Japan, established by the Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership in 1989.
Duclos, who holds a doctorate in biomedical engineering from Duke University and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Stanford University, has three decades of experience in research and development, technology development and general management. He joined the Freudenberg Group in September 1996 as corporate director technology at Freudenberg-NOK.
He was promoted to vice president, operations and technology, in 2004, where he was responsible for operations, engineering, quality and lean manufacturing improvement. In 2010, he became vice president and general manager of the Radial Shaft Seal Division, which manufactures sealing products for the automotive and industrial markets. Following the formation of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies in 2011, Duclos was named the senior vice president of the Global Fluid Power Division. In 2014, he took on the additional position as president of Freudenberg-NOK.
With the change, the board will consist of Claus Mohlenkamp, CEO; Dieter Schafer, chief operating officer; Ludger Neuwinger-Heimes, chief financial officer; and Dr. Theodore Duclos, chief technology officer.
Portu, who holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and an Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, has been senior vice president, global purchasing, at Freudenberg-NOK since July 2013. He previously held executive positions in the Freudenberg-NOK purchasing area and was associate director of purchasing at Visteon Corp. from 1999 to 2005, after working in purchasing at Ford Motor Co.
Portu also will assume his new position in January 2016 and will be based at Freudenberg-NOK headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan.
