Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC has named three longtime members of its leadership team to newly created senior executive positions. The moves are part of the company’s commitment to deliver its technology roadmap and drive growth, in alignment with Bendix’s parent company, the Munich, Germany-based Knorr-Bremse. Taking new leadership positions are:

• Mark Kromer, vice president – CoC Air Supply & Drivetrain NA.
• Aaron Schwass, vice president – CoC Wheel-End NA & General Manager, Bendix Spicer Foundation Brake (BSFB). BSFB is a joint venture between Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems and Dana Commercial Vehicle Products, LLC.
• Mike Tober, vice president – CoC Brake Control NA.

Kromer, Schwass and Tober each will lead a Center of Competency (CoC) in the company’s new five-CoC structure. They will oversee multiple product groups within their CoCs, and become the newest members of the Bendix Leadership Committee (BLC). The trio joins the leaders of the two other Centers of Competency: Claus Beyer, vice president – CoC ADAS/HAD (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems/Highly Automated Driving) NA & chief engineer; and John Kemer, vice president – CoC Steering NA & general manager, Bendix. 

“Mark, Aaron and Mike have distinguished themselves at Bendix as strong, committed and strategic leaders, and I am excited to welcome them into their new roles,” said Mike Hawthorne, Bendix president and CEO. “They and their fellow CoC leaders will carry responsibility for product strategic market alignment and will work in tandem with our engineering organization to drive a trajectory for integrated solutions that deliver customer value and sustained business growth.”

Mark Kromer worked for nine years as an engineer and buyer at Ford and John Deere before joining the engineering team at Bendix in 2004. After serving in various engineering management positions, he was promoted in 2015 to the job of CoC director, Valves, which he held until being named to his new executive role. In 2014, he was presented the Excellence in Bendix Leadership Award, the highest individual distinction a Bendix employee can achieve.

Kromer earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. He is a graduate of the second cohort of the Bendix Strategic Leadership Program.

Aaron Schwass joined Bendix in 1995 as a manufacturing engineer at the Acuña, Mexico, facility. His 25 years with the company comprise a range of leadership roles, including Acuña plant manager, business process integration manager, director of purchasing, and director of air disc brakes and foundation brakes at BSFB. Before his latest promotion, he served as BSFB vice president and general manager since 2012.

Schwass holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin. He is also a graduate of the inaugural cohort of the Bendix Strategic Leadership Program.

Mike Tober started at Bendix as an engineering co-op in 1998. He then joined the company as an employee and moved through a succession of engineering roles with increasing responsibility, including supervisor of electronic systems and controls, product manager for vehicle dynamic systems, and director for electronic brake and chassis control. 

Tober earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, and a master’s in systems and controls engineering from Case Western Reserve University.