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Itafos has announced the appointment of Stephen Shapiro and Isaiah Toback to its board of directors, effective from April 14, 2022. Toback replaces Rory O’Neill as a nominee by its principal shareholder, CL Fertilizers Holding LLC, pursuant to an investor rights agreement between the Company and CLF.

“We are pleased to welcome Stephen and Isaiah to our board. Both appointments add to the overall depth and skill set of the board and will be instrumental in providing oversight as the company continues to execute on of its strategic initiatives,” said Anthony Cina, chairman of the company’s board of directors. “On behalf of the board, I would also like to thank Rory for his leadership and contributions to the company.”

Shapiro is also CFO at Cellview Imaging Inc., an emerging medical device company. Prior to joining Cellview, he had a 30 year career in investment banking, most recently leading the Canadian Industrials and Consumer Group for Wells Fargo Securities Canada. Prior to that, he spent 13 years with BMO Capital Markets, where he started and led the Agriculture and Fertilizer Group. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a bachelor of commerce from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Toback is a partner at Castlelake and deputy co-chief investment officer. He is responsible for guiding and executing the firm’s global investment strategy across asset classes, overseeing the firm’s value and income fund portfolios and supporting the growth and development of its investment teams. He is also a voting member of the firm’s Investment Review Committee. He became a partner of the firm in 2020 and previously served in portfolio management and investment roles, with particular experience with investments in dislocated industries and corporate special situations. Prior to joining Castlelake, he was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, where he was responsible for transportation structured financings, focusing on the aviation and shipping industries. He holds a bachelor of arts in economics from Vanderbilt University.

Berndorf Band Group has appointed a new management team. In an unusual dual appointment as CEOs, Alexander Leutner and Gernot Binder will replace long-standing managing director Herbert Schweiger at the market leading steel belts and steel belt systems company. Jointly developing corporate strategy within the Berndorf Band Group.

Leutner joined the company, based in Austria, in 2014, where he worked as executive vice president of the International Commercial Division until the end of 2021, when he stepped up to be one part of the management duo. He has a master’s degree in law, and brings a wealth of international experience to the role, having previously worked for global companies for many years. In 2008, he moved to Hungary with his family to run a business as general manager, returning five years later to join the Berndorf Band Group.

Gernot Binder, also CEO of the Berndorf Band Group, graduated in mechanical engineering and gained his first professional experience in a technical company in the Triesting valley, followed by a successful career within the Berndorf Band Group, where he started in 1996 as Service and Training Manager. After two multi-year terms in the management of Berndorf’s overseas companies in the USA, he returned to Austria in 2014, heading Berndorf Band Engineering GmbH as president until the end of 2021.

Joint CEO Alexander Leutner said: “We achieve [success] through our qualified employees, a unified market presence, good leadership, technological progress, modern working methods, digital opportunities, efficiency and cost management, and attentive governance of the organisation.”