Two New North manufacturers announce CEO changes
Michael Hawthorne becomes CEO of Waupaca Foundry after previously serving in executive roles at JB Poindexter & Co., Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC and New York Air Brake LLC. He succeeds Mike Nikolai, who leaves the company after nine years as CEO and more than three decades of service at Waupaca Foundry. Waupaca Foundry was acquired by the private equity firm Monomoy Capital Partners early last year.
Daniel Collin, chairman of Waupaca Foundry, said Hawthorne will focus on driving operational efficiency and enhancing innovation in his new role.
“He brings over 30 years of industry experience and understands the roles that engineering, design, system integration and operational excellence play in achieving breakthrough results,” Collin said. “He will build on the strong foundation that Mike Nikolai has left here.”
Hawthorne earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Clarkson University, a master of science in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Syracuse University.
“I am honored to join Waupaca Foundry and look forward to working with the talented team to build upon the company’s strong foundation,” Hawthorne said. “Waupaca Foundry has a long-standing reputation for delivering high-quality products, and I am excited to lead the company to its next growth phase.”
Meanwhile, Nature’s Way has hired 30-year supplement industry veteran Scott Woodruff to replace outgoing CEO Mike Devereux. Woodruff served in roles as senior vice president, chief marketing officer and chief product development officer for Nature’s Way between 2001-2018 before spending the last six years in CEO positions with KD Nutra and Acumen Health Holdings. Woodruff said he is excited to return to the firm where he played pivotal roles in merging and expanding the company’s product portfolio.
“I am honored to return to Nature’s Way and look forward to working with the talented team to drive innovation and growth,” said Woodruff, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah and an MBA from Westminster University.
During his tenure as Nature’s Way’s chief marketing officer, Woodruff helped launch Alive! at Walmart, marking the company’s entry into the mass market. He also played a pivotal role in shaping the development of Nature’s Way Canada through the acquisition of Ascenta.
— Kate Bruns
Titletown meets “Home Town”
Green Bay furniture maker KI was featured on a January episode of the popular HGTV series “Home Town,” which documents home renovations in the state of Mississippi. The episode, titled “Unlimited Dreams,” showcased KI’s furniture in the transformation of a Victorian home into a K-12 learning center in Laurel, Mississippi. The opportunity to collaborate with “Home Town” arose when one of the show’s designers reached out to her former design professor about recommendations for K-12 furniture: “You only want the best, and that’s KI,” Al Lawson, associate professor of interior design at the University of Southern Mississippi, told her.
Live long and prosper
A recent WIndicators study released by UW Extension finds that Wisconsin is at the center of one of the largest concentrations of prosperity in the United States, with the state routinely faring better than the national average on all four dimensions of prosperity: poverty, unemployment, housing, and education. According to the report, Wisconsin counties have seen large improvements in poverty rates and unemployment rates from 1990 to 2020 — improvements that have driven the state’s rise in prosperity measurements.
FTI CEO honored for safety savvy
Mike Jansen, CEO and chairman of the board at Menasha-based Faith Technologies Incorporated (FTI), was named to the 2025 “CEOs Who ‘Get It’” list by the National Safety Council. This honor recognizes organizational leaders who demonstrate personal commitment to worker safety and health. Jansen was one of six CEOs nationwide recognized with the 2025 award. He has been FTI’s CEO since 2013 and has been employed with the company since 1984. “A safety culture begins at the top, and we believe that few CEOs are as invested in their team members’ safety as Mike,” said Rob Messina, FTI executive vice president.
