ZEELAND — Gentex Corp. (Nasdaq: GNTX) announced a series of executive moves this week, including the election of Steve Downing as president and CEO following the retirement of company founder Fred Bauer.
Also, Neil Boehm was named CTO and vice president of engineering, and Kevin Nash vice president of finance, CFO and treasurer.
The trio brings more than 50 years of combined Gentex experience and service to the leadership team. They’ve worked together since 2002.
Downing joined Gentex in 2002 as a financial analyst and has served in a variety of roles with increasing responsibilities in commercial management, forecasting, quotation development, and strategic partnerships. In May 2013, he was promoted to CFO and vice president of finance while maintaining responsibility for all commercial management activities. His next promotion came in June 2015, when he became senior vice president with added responsibility for the company’s business development and sales functions. In August 2017, downing was promoted to president, COO, interim CFO and treasurer.
Downing’s leadership over the past several years has been instrumental in guiding Gentex through several acquisitions and equity investments, forming partnerships with leading technology providers, iterating core products, and forging new technology paths like biometrics, connected car features and dimmable glass.
Boehm joined Gentex in 2001 as a program manager and has served in various roles with increased responsibilities in product development and engineering, most recently as vice president of engineering. He has been instrumental in the development of nearly all of Gentex’s current products, overseeing teams responsible for their development and launch. In his new role, Boehm will be responsible for managing the company’s growing technology portfolio while directing the entire engineering organization.
Nash joined Gentex in 1999 as a senior accountant and has served in various positions at Gentex with increased responsibilities in the accounting and finance areas, most recently as chief accounting officer and vice president of accounting. Nash has been responsible for overseeing all aspects of accounting functions, including SEC reporting, treasury management, corporate governance, investor relations, general and international accounting, corporate forecasting and budgeting, and tax and long-range financial planning. In his new role, he will be responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial management, planning and reporting operations as well as the company’s IT and corporate facilities teams.
Founded in 1974, Gentex is a supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors and electronics to the automotive industry, dimmable aircraft windows for aviation markets, and fire protection products to the fire protection market. More at www.gentex.com.