Evoqua Water Technologies announced that Ben Stas has been named chief financial officer for the company. Stas joined Evoqua this week from Latrobe, Pa.-based Kennametal Inc., where he held a variety of senior financial and business roles during his tenure there.
At Evoqua, Stas will be responsible for all of the company’s financial matters including audit, treasury, risk management, tax and controllership. He will report to Ronald Keating, Evoqua’s CEO, and will be based at Evoqua’s world headquarters in Warrendale, Pa.
“Ben is an outstanding business partner who I’ve been fortunate to work with closely in the past,” Keating said. “We are fortunate to have someone with his skills, knowledge and global perspective leading our financial organization as we look to profitably grow Evoqua around the world."
Over the course of his 18 years at Kennametal, Stas served in key financial roles for the $3 billion supplier of tooling and industrial materials, including VP finance - Business Groups. In this role he was responsible for overall financial leadership and governance of Kennametal’s business groups with operations in more than 60 countries. In this position, Stas was instrumental in navigating the company through the 2009-2010 economic downturn and implemented plans that helped set record financial performance. Most recently he served as VP of manufacturing for the Industrial Business segment which today is the company’s largest and most profitable business with revenues of $1.6 billion across 27 manufacturing locations.
Stas also served as CFO of the Metalworking Solutions and Services Group; CFO of Kennametal Europe, where he was based in Switzerland; director of Global Manufacturing Finance; controller of Metalworking Americas; and senior financial analyst Global Sales, Marketing.
Prior to joining Kennametal, Stas worked for DuPont Co., as a plant controller, accountant and team leader. He holds an MBA from Duquesne University and a BS in business administration from Drexel University. Stas, his wife and two daughters live in Latrobe, Pa.
Stas replaces Mark Roos, who has served as interim CFO for the past year following Evoqua becoming a separate company in January 2014. Roos will continue to be a key asset to Evoqua, working with Keating and company leadership on special initiatives to further spur profitable growth.
Source: Evoqua Water Technologies
