MENDOTA, Ill. — After more than five years of substantial investment and growth, the development of Starved Rock Wood Products (SRWP) continues with the hiring and promotion of several key executives and managers. 

The company has named Michelle Christ as company president. Christ, who holds a BA in Accounting and an MBA, joined the company a year ago as chief financial officer. She had served as interim president for the past three months. 
Previously, Christ held senior financial leadership roles at MoboTrex and Terso Solutions. Her promotion was the final part of a management restructuring that saw the arrival of Tom Hayward as Director of Operations and Steve Parisee as VP of Sales and Marketing. 

Hayward, who joined the company in June, brings extensive experience in driving operational excellence and productivity at a wide range of companies including Baker Furniture and MasterBrand Cabinets. 

Parisee arrives with more than 30 years of sales and marketing experience at wood product companies such as Elkay, Canyon Creek, Spahn & Rose Lumber, and also Pella Windows.

Christ said that the company has made several appointments to the overall team structure, putting employees into “positions where they can directly influence the day-to-day operations.”

• Matt Mellott, who has been with SRWP for 23 years, now leads the installation team;
• Eric Vondergathen has moved up to manage its programming department;
• Jeremy Moorman and Brad Sondgeroth are supervising production lines;
• John Fishburn leads field services; 
• Showroom managers are Bob Doto (Glenview, Illinois) and Jason Stamberger (Mendota);
• Rich Ackman, Ashley and Derek Richey continue to drive sales on our Sales team. 

“The company has so many strong leaders at all levels; we've tried to unlock that potential with this new structure," she said.

Starved Rock Wood Products is part of the family-owned CL Enterprises Group. Hinesh Patel, president and CEO of CL Enterprises, added, “It has been a period of transformation for Michelle and the team as we ramp up for the next chapter of our story. We have a world-class showroom in Chicago (voted 'Best Independent Showroom in the USA' in 2022 by National Kitchen and Bath Design Magazine), and we will shortly be opening another in our hometown of Mendota. Now we also have a best-in-class management team and organizational processes to help us make the most of the investment and the opportunities that lie ahead."

In addition to investing in its team, Starved Rock Wood Products also continues to invest in the manufacturing facilities at its Mendota plant. Peter Limberger, co-founder and chairman of CL Enterprises, stressed the company's continued commitment to the Mendota area. 

"We are a family business, based in a small rural town, and we have been operating and investing from here since 1915. Our overarching vision as a company is to contribute to the economic renaissance of small towns. Untapping the strengths of rural areas, we strive to achieve great things through the creation of jobs and other opportunities. Starved Rock Wood Products is a rapidly growing business with high-quality products, and with more and more customers arriving from across the Midwest. However, our DNA will always be 'small-town', and all the positive values that come with that. We're proud to be based in Mendota and to call it home. It will be wonderful to have a beautiful world-class showroom in the town to serve our local region."