Techmer PM Leadership

Mike McHenry joined Clinton, Tenn.-based Techmer PM as its chief operating officer in July 2020. In May 2021, he became chief executive officer. As CEO, Mike has responsibility for the day-to-day operations, the leadership team, and financial results of the business.

He earned his BS in chemistry from Rutgers University before holding various leadership posts in the materials industry.

Prior to joining Techmer PM, Mike served as president, CEO, and board director of Master Fluid Solutions, where he successfully led all strategic and operational activities within the company’s business globally. His experience also includes being vice president of BASF’s Coating Raw Materials business in North America. He joined BASF in 2009 as part of its acquisition of Ciba Specialty Chemicals, where he was president of Ciba’s Coating Effects Segment in the Americas, as well as a member of the global leadership team. From 2006‐08, he served as vice president and global market center head for Ciba’s Process & Lubricant Additives business.

Jon Rogers brings more than a quarter century of experience in polymer additives, pigments, and resins to Techmer PM when he came on board in February 2022 as vice president of global sales and marketing.

He joined Techmer from Japanese fluorochemicals maker Daikin America Inc., where he was business director for its melt-processible resins business.

Jon earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Pace University in 1995 and began his career working as a chemist with Akzo Nobel Chemicals. He then paused to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Rochester. In 2000, he joined Ciba Specialty Chemicals where he worked in various roles throughout the company, including R&D in Switzerland, technical service, and marketing. He transferred to BASF with the Ciba acquisition in 2009 and led positions in strategic planning, sales management, and business management. During that time, Jon also earned an MBA in finance from Pace University.

A native of Mumbai, India, Bhushan Deshpande joined Techmer PM as an analytical engineer in June 2000 after completing his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Tennessee. Five years earlier he had earned his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from University of Bombay’s Department of Chemical Engineering (UDCT).

Bhushan has held various jobs in Techmer’s technical organization, including analytical engineer, technical service manager, laboratory and quality control manager, and product development manager. He has been the VP of technology since April 2019. In this position, he is responsible for all technical development for the company as well as vendor technical management.

He has presented at various industry conferences and overseen numerous customer training sessions.

Elizabeth Perusse brings nearly three decades of human resources experience to her role at Techmer PM. She has held roles of increasing responsibility across various HR disciplines, predominantly in business partnering and HR leadership. She also has been active in organizational leadership and change, performance management, employee benefits, compensation and technology.

Her industry experience spans financial services, consumer products, biotechnology and manufacturing. Elizabeth, who earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from Presbyterian College in South Carolina, holds certifications as a senior human resources professional from both the HR Certification Institute and the Society of Human Resources Management.

Though the Chattanooga, Tenn., native has lived most of her life in the Atlanta area, she recently relocated to Knoxville, Tenn., to be closer to Techmer’s corporate headquarters.

Erika Mitchell has spent more than 20 years in supply chain management roles, mostly in the chemicals industry. Prior to joining Techmer PM in December 2020, she served as vice president of global supply chain for the Performance Alloys & Composites Division at specialty metals maker Materion Corp. and as general manager of contract manufacturing and masterbatch at Ohio-based advanced polymers supplier PolyOne Corp., now Avient Corp.

Erika earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from the University of Michigan in 1998, as well as an MBA with a focus in supply chain from Michigan State University. She started her career with Union Pacific Railroad and adhesives manufacturer H.B. Fuller, serving in various supply chain and pricing roles.

She and her family recently relocated to Knoxville, Tenn., from northeastern Ohio.

Dwayne Miller joined Techmer as chief financial officer in April 2022, after working in a similar role for Americo Manufacturing Co. Inc, a Georgia‐based maker of environmentally friendly cleaning products. The Ohio native began his career with Champion International (now part of International Paper) in 1983 after earning his B.S. degree in accounting at the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio, and assumed increasing roles of responsibility over the course of 18 years.

Dwayne joined Georgia Pacific in 2001 and worked there in various financial controller posts for five years before eventually assuming similar financial jobs with first Racetrac Petroleum and then Cummins Power South LLC. In 2013 he moved into private equity as CFO and vice president of SP Fiber Technologies LLC, where he led the turnaround of a $500 million manufacturing company coming out of bankruptcy. Still a certified public accountant living in the Atlanta area, he went on to hold key financial roles for other global private firms before shifting tracks to join the polymer industry with Techmer.

Craig Burnett has been in the value-added compounding business for 40 years. After obtaining a bachelor of science degree in plastics engineering from University of Massachusetts, Lowell, he began his career by working for a couple of years with another well-established compounding company before joining Techmer PM in 1986. 

Craig held various leadership positions in Techmer, including Western region sales manager, lab manager, and regional operations manager, before being promoted to his current role as vice president of operations. As such, he now is responsible for managing the manufacturing platforms in multiple facilities for the company, including the functions of production, maintenance, project engineering, and safety. 

With safety as his top priority, he has extensive experience in the application of lean manufacturing concepts, which includes using basic lean tools, visual workplace strategies, and other efficiency improvement strategies.