Schiller Grounds Care announces new hires

Schiller Grounds Care has announced three new hires: Norman Yanke, who will serve as chief financial officer and will be responsible for the finance and IT functions of the company; Rob Kurzyna, who will serve as director of operations; and Tony Whelan, who will serve as director of international business and national accounts.

Yanke brings more than 20 years of progressive and diversified financial leadership experience to Schiller from companies such KPMG and Honeywell. In his nine years at Honeywell, Yanke held various positions with the most recent being global director of sales operations/finance for a division of Honeywell International, where he oversaw their profitable growth in the field of process automation control technologies.

“Norm’s leadership experience and cultural fit make him a welcome addition to our talented senior management team”, said Pat Cappucci, president and COO of Schiller.

Yanke holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting from Temple University and is a certified public accountant and a certified management accountant.    

Kurzyna will be responsible for operations, logistics, engineering and purchasing at Schiller’s corporate Southampton, Penn., manufacturing location, which is the primary manufacturing site for the Classen, Little Wonder and Mantis brands. He brings over 20 years of experience in manufacturing, process improvement, design engineering, quality and supply chain management to Schiller. The bulk of his career was split between Bosch Siemens Home Appliances and REHAU, a privately owned multi-industry plastics manufacturer, where he ultimately led the operations and supply chain functions for the Americas.

Kurzyna holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, and served in Desert Storm.

In his role as director of international business and national accounts, Whelan will manage Schiller’s comprehensive network of dealers and distributors outside the United States and Canada as well as manage national account business for all Schiller brands worldwide.  

Whelan holds a bachelor’s degree in international business from the New York Institute of Technology and brings nearly 20 years of experience in building and leading domestic and international distribution, sales and operations for such companies as Jacobsen and Rain Bird International.