Our Leadership
Multiple Personalities with One Thing in Common: Integrity
It takes myriad types of characters, if you will, to keep a company balanced, forward-thinking and motivated. Magnus leaders are some of the most respected and accomplished performers in the industry. But that’s not all it takes to create a positive environment of innovation, loyalty and prosperity.
Whether it’s the long-term partnerships we’ve formed within the Magnus companies or the close affiliations we’ve developed in the field, we’re family business-minded when it comes to culture and big-business visionaries when it comes to creating natural, renewable products that we make in the USA. Above all, we’re all driven by integrity. That’s a Magnus expectation, not exception. We’re not afraid to have fun and a sense of humor either. All in all, these principles help us do good for people and the planet.
Eric Lofquist
Co-owner, President & CEO
Since 1978, Eric has been an accomplished entrepreneur with significant experience in natural products manufacturing and alternative fuels.
Prior to forming Magnus in 2007 with co-owner Scott Forster, Eric held various leadership and consulting positions in strategic planning, business development, product development and marketing.
The company’s innovations and growth have lead to a host of noteworthy awards, including Eric’s wins as Ernst & Young’s 2012 National and Northeast Ohio Entrepreneur Of The Year for manufacturing and distribution.
Eric was selected as a judge for the 2013 Northeast Ohio Entrepreneur Of The Year competition and will be judging National EOY events from 2014 to 2016. In addition, he was a judge and panelist for the 2013 Smart Business Evolution in Manufacturing Conference. Eric was acting president of the Maingate Business Development Corporation in Cleveland and was also a member of Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County Blue Ribbon Taskforce.
He graduated from Clarion State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. Email Eric.
Scott Forster
Co-owner, Vice President & COO
An entrepreneur since his early 30s, Scott started in 1993 as a lab chemist for Northeast Chemical (NEC). He held a variety of positions within the organization, including operations, processing and outside sales in Ohio and Indiana.
An internal staffing need at NEC brought him back inside, where he was placed in charge of all outbound shipments and acted as a liaison to industry brokers. Scott significantly grew this segment of the business by establishing an extensive nationwide network of contacts.
During this time, he completed his MBA at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. In 1997, he accepted a position with Chemtron Corporation in Avon, Ohio, where his responsibilities included handling the broker business and managing the customer service group for three years. Following Chemtron, Scott co-owned an environmental services company for six years, then launched Magnus with Eric Lofquist in 2007.
Here, Scott focuses on new business ventures, operations, human resources, finances and regulatory compliance. The company’s revenue growth and accomplishments in natural products development have resulted in numerous awards, including the No. 1 position on the 2012 Weatherhead 100 list of Northeast Ohio’s fastest growing businesses. Email Scott.
John Malloy
Chief Financial Officer
John is a CPA with more than 20 years of significant and diverse global experience as a financial executive, primarily for middle-market manufacturing companies. His areas of expertise include management, operations, business planning and M&A.
John specializes in financial reporting, budgeting and cash forecasting, inventory management and control, and tax planning and compliance. Before Magnus, he was the director of U.S. operations, and director of finance and administration for Eliokem in Akron, Ohio. He was also a senior manager at Deloitte in Cleveland.
As Magnus’ tech-savvy, enterprising chief financial officer, John uses his strong interpersonal and team-building skills to help develop creative, sustainable growth strategies. In addition to his impressive financial background, he also brings notable experience in HR, IT, customer support, supply chain analytics and marketing.
John holds a B.S.B.A in accounting and finance from John Carroll University. Email John.
Sharon Stefan
Corporate Controller
Sharon is an accounting professional whose career has spanned both public accounting and closely held companies. She has significant experience in GAAP, corporate taxes, management reporting and company financial statements. Sharon brings to Magnus her exceptional analytical skills, attention to detail and in-depth knowledge of numbers.
She manages the company’s financial system and helped to create standard accounting procedures for Magnus and all of its subsidiaries. Sharon works with the leadership team on special financial projects and analysis. She also coordinates all work with Magnus’ outside accounting firm.
Sharon prepares monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements and analyses, manages cash flow, handles financial forecasting and budgeting, and takes on other accounting and tax functions. She is also in charge of payroll and benefits administration.
Sharon has an MBA in accounting and a Bachelor of Science in business accounting. Email Sharon.
David Weiss
Vice President of Commercial Development
David brings 35 years of fats and oils management, manufacturing, accounting, formulation, and marketing and sales experience to Magnus International Group, which was initially one of his customers.
There is great synergy between Magnus’ expertise in petroleum derived co-product utilization and David’s unique focus on oleochemical, vegetable oil refining and animal fat-rendering co-product applications for the industrial and animal nutrition markets.
Together, Magnus and David have built a platform unlike any other business with similar capabilities. This has propelled the company to a highly regarded, financially strong position among its suppliers and customers, and within the global fats and oils market.
He has a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Email David.
Gregg Rechner
Vice President of Technical Affairs
Gregg has spent 18 years in environmental recycling and manufacturing, where he also gained 14 years of laboratory management and analytical experience.
At Magnus, Gregg is responsible for meeting customer specifications, maintaining compliance standards and ensuring product quality.
He conducts research for new product development and oversees the day-to-day production schedule. Gregg also provides support for plant upgrade designs and new plant process designs.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Ohio University. Email Gregg.
Jeff Moore
Director of Eastern Trading
Jeff is based in the Columbus, Ohio, area and brings more than 20 years’ experience as a proven top-performer in sales, management, marketing, PR and product development. He gained his corporate leadership expertise in a number of industries, including renewable energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, architecture and engineering, and construction services.
As a degreed civil engineer with a certification in marketing, Jeff’s core competencies include business and new markets development, product R&D and contract negotiation, as well as managing supplier relationships. He is also very proficient in employee training and development, operations, regulatory compliance, and mergers and acquisitions.
Jeff’s experience in developing anaerobic digestion projects throughout Ohio, and experience with organics recycling and environmental sustainability, is helping Magnus build a broader base of feedstocks and outputs across more industries and markets. Email Jeff.
Daniel Forsyth
Director of Midwest Trading
Dan is based in the Davenport, Iowa, area and comes to Magnus with nearly three decades of experience as an accomplished sales and operations executive for engineering and environmental services firms.
Dan’s areas of expertise include business development, client service, strategic planning, staff management and marketing. He is also a regulatory compliance and quality control specialist, and a technical services consultant.
Dan helps drive Magnus’ growth in natural products development by forming partnerships with food processing facilities, food manufacturers and food service preparation companies that send us their co-products. Email Dan F.
Mark Pavlus
Senior Plant Engineer
Mark came to Magnus in 2012 with more than 16 years of engineering experience in the manufacturing sector. He is focused on behavioral safety and operational improvements for Hardy Industrial Technologies, the Magnus entity that produces natural industrial and consumer waxes, and alternative fuels.
Prior to Magnus, Mark was a process engineer with BASF in Elyria, Ohio, where he worked with chemical catalysts. Once promoted to production superintendent, he increased precipitation rates by 100 percent and extrusion capacity by 30 percent. Mark also reduced annual fixed costs by nearly $1 million.
Before BASF, Mark was a process engineer at Tate & Lyle’s corn plant in Decatur, Ill. He eventually transferred to Dayton, Ohio, to work on the expansion of their citric acid plant and was promoted to area manager for the beer purification and extraction departments. Mark’s major achievement there was the doubling of the plant’s capacity.
While spending four semesters as a co-op with Mead Paper in Chillicothe, Ohio, Mark earned his chemical engineering degree from the University of Dayton. Email Mark.
Gordon Taylor
Production Manager
Gordon oversees daily manufacturing activities for Hardy Industrial Technologies. He has more than ten years of experience as a plant and manufacturing manager, operations supervisor and production team leader.
Prior to Magnus, Gordon worked for world-class industrial organizations like STERIS Corporation and Avery Dennison, where he was recognized as a star performer. He also has DuPont STOP training experience, a leading global standard for industrial safety.
Certified as a Six Sigma Green Belt, Gordon has an extensive background in Lean manufacturing, on-time production, and environmental health and safety. He is also well versed on total quality management, staff supervision and training, and workflow standards.
Gordon has an MBA from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from John Carroll University. Email Gordon.
Tom Burlinksi
Purchasing Manager
Tom comes to Magnus with more than 25 years of notable experience in purchasing, quality assurance, customer service, safety, transportation and production management for Northeast Ohio manufacturers, including Anchor Manufacturing Group and Slabe Machine.
He is highly proficient in materials procurement and delivery logistics, and has saved his employers hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchasing, shipping and labor costs by utilizing cycle counting, vendor auditing, workflow streamlining and other efficiency techniques.
Tom has an extensive background in continuous improvement and quality control, and has developed and implemented quality procedures and programs. He has also trained many quality and inventory employees during his career.
Through the years, Tom has taken training and certification courses from APICS (The Association for Operations Management) and the American Society for Quality Control (ASQC). Email Tom.
Daniel Weiss
Midwest Trading Specialist
Dan began his Magnus career in the summer of 2007, when he completed a comprehensive training program that included field technician duties, laboratory analysis, facility management and business development.
In July 2012, he relocated to Chicago to increase Magnus’ Midwest presence with key natural products customers and suppliers in oleochemicals, food manufacturing and vegetable oil refining, and in the biodiesel and ethanol industries.
Dan buys and sells raw materials that advance the company’s leadership position in the production and distribution of natural animal feed ingredients, and natural industrial and consumer waxes.
He works with fats, oils, greases and other food co-products from agribusinesses whose leftover materials would ordinarily be landfill-bound. Magnus converts these and other feedstocks into sustainable global products such as natural dairy animal feed ingredients, and natural waxes for firelogs and candles.
Dan holds a Bachelor of Marketing and Communication degree from Ohio University. Email Dan W.
Shelli Riley
Account Support Specialist
Shelli comes to Magnus with a decade of experience in purchasing, inventory and quality control, supplier relationship management, and financial analysis and reporting. We benefit greatly from her background with chemical, plastics and metals companies, at which she was recognized as a consistent top-performer.
Here, Shelli specializes in sales support, invoicing, accounts receivable, project quoting, internal and client reporting, load scheduling and transportation. She is a key part of the team that manages the financial interrelationship between multiple Magnus companies that produce sustainable global products such as natural animal feed ingredients, and industrial and consumer waxes.
Shelli was a business administration major at Franklin University in Columbus and Hudson Valley Community College in New York. Email Shelli.
Magnus International Group Companies Specialize in Converting Feedstocksinto Natural, Renewable Products.