Leadership Team
Thomas (Tom) Centa
President
Mr. Thomas (Tom) Centa has served as President of AMG Vanadium since October 2019. Additionally, he serves as CEO for the Vanadium segment of AMG Critical Materials N.V. and is the President of AMG Aluminum N.A. During his tenure at the helm, AMG Vanadium doubled its spent catalyst recycling and ferrovanadium production capacity after building a new $300M facility in Zanesville, Ohio, which became fully operational in Q4 2022. Passionate about leadership development, he has built a strong leadership team and organizational culture focused on AMG’s Values of safety, environmental sustainability, respect, integrity, and value creation. Mr. Centa has nearly four decades of experience in the metals industry, where he held executive leadership positions at Plymouth Tube Company, Alcoa, and North Star Steel prior to joining AMG Vanadium.
Mr. Centa holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and an Executive MBA from the University of Notre Dame. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Vanitec Limited, a not-for-profit global vanadium industry organization.
Jane Neal
Senior Vice President
Ms. Jane Neal is the Senior Vice President of AMG Vanadium, leading the Vanadium Sourcing and Environmental, Health, and Safety teams. She has over 25 years of manufacturing experience in quality, engineering and process control, operational leadership, and environmental management. Prior to joining AMG Vanadium, Ms. Neal held technical and operational leadership roles at Weirton Steel, Roll Coater in Weirton, WV, and Nucor’s Crawfordsville, Indiana Plant.
Ms. Neal is a member and past chair of the Ohio Manufacturers’ Association Board of Directors, and serves on the Health, Safety, and Environmental Committee of Vanitec Limited, a not-for-profit global vanadium industry organization. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Metallurgical Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from West Virginia University.
Kevin Jones
Managing Director
Kevin Jones serves as Managing Director for the Vanadium segment of AMG Critical Materials N.V. A seasoned leader in the metals industry, Mr. Jones brings 35 years of executive leadership experience in the vanadium business. His current role also includes being Managing Director of the Shell & AMG Recycling B.V. joint venture representing AMG. Prior to joining AMG, Mr. Jones was CEO of Gulf Chemical & Metallurgical Corp. in Freeport, Texas and was the Founder, President and CEO of Bear Metallurgical Company in Butler, Pennsylvania. During his time at the helm of Bear, he was recognized by Ernst & Young as Entrepreneur of the Year in 1994 and by the Pittsburgh Business Times as Manufacturer of the Year in 2005.
Mr. Jones holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Florida and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.
Shawn Buchtel
Vice President of Finance
Mr. Shawn Buchtel is the Vice President of Finance for AMG Vanadium. Prior to joining AMG Vanadium, Mr. Buchtel was the Controller for Ametek Solidstats Controls. He is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 25 years’ experience. He is a graduate of Kent State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Accounting. Shawn serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Cambridge Area Chamber of Commerce and the Western Guernsey Regional Water District.
Chris Keller
Vice President of Operations
Mr. Chris Keller is the Vice President of Operations of AMG Vanadium, accountable for leading overall business operations and performance at the Cambridge and Zanesville facilities. Additionally, Mr. Keller leads AMG Vanadium’s Continuous Improvement, Quality, and Process Engineering teams. Mr. Keller has over 25 years of operational and technical leadership experience in the metals industry. Before joining AMG, he served as Plant Manager at Novelis’ Ashville, Ohio facility, and prior to that as Technical Manager at Aleris Rolled Products in Ashville.
A native of southeastern Ohio, Mr. Keller is a United States Marine Corps veteran, Six Sigma Green Belt, and a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership and Development.
David (Dave) Lewis
Director of Strategic Projects
Mr. David (Dave) Lewis is the Director of Strategic Projects at AMG Vanadium. Mr. Lewis was responsible for the design and construction of AMG Vanadium’s new Zanesville, Ohio facility, which became fully operational in 2022. His current role includes new project development as well as optimization of the Zanesville plant. Mr. Lewis has over 40 years of experience in the metallurgical and steel industry with vanadium, catalyst recycling, carbon steel and stainless-steel production, and operational leadership specifically with EAF, AOD and BOF furnaces.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Metallurgical & Materials Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Ohio University. Mr. Lewis is a member of the Association of Iron and Steel Technology and the Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center at the Colorado School of Mines. Additionally, he serves on the Muskingum University Physics and Engineering Advisory Council.
Bala Cherukuri
Director of Engineering
Bala K. Cherukuri is the Director of Engineering at AMG Vanadium, where he leads engineering operations across the Cambridge and Zanesville facilities. With over 20 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, and technical program management, Dr. Cherukuri brings a wealth of expertise to his role. Prior to joining AMG, he was a Sr. Project Manager at Center Street Technologies, managing a $20M Department of Defense additive manufacturing project. He also held key technical roles at Howmet Aerospace (formerly Alcoa Corporation and RTI Internation Metals), including Metallurgy Manager and Sr. Program Manager, overseeing premium rotor quality and Electron Beam Furnace operations and qualifications.
Dr. Cherukuri holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Materials Science and Engineering from Wright State University and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt, specializing in process optimization, cross-functional team leadership, and project management. He is also a reviewer for top industry journals, including the Journal of Materials Science (Springer), Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A (Springer), and Materials Letters (Elsevier).
Mark Anderson
Vice President Marketing & Sales
Mr. Mark Anderson is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales and has nearly 20 years experience in the steel and vanadium industries. Prior to joining AMG Vanadium, Mr. Anderson worked at Aristech Chemical Corporation where he held several positions including Plant Manager. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Ohio Dominican University. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the Ohio Steel Council, Vanitec Marketing Development Committee, and Vanitec Energy Storage Committee.
Meredith Cumbow
Vice President of Human Resources
Ms. Meredith Cumbow is the Vice President of Human Resources (HR) for AMG Vanadium, where she leads the HR and Organizational Development (OD) functions at the Cambridge and Zanesville facilities. Ms. Cumbow was previously serving AMG Vanadium as the Director of Organizational Development, where her primary focus was on talent management including leadership and employee training and development. Prior to that, Ms. Cumbow was with Plymouth Tube Company, SYGMA Network, and Thyssenkrupp Presta in HR/OD leadership roles.
She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Theatre and Drama from Indiana University and a Master of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism from Indiana State University. Ms. Cumbow is a Society of Human Resources Management Senior Certified Professional and a Human Resource Certification Institute Senior Certified Professional. She currently serves as a board member of the Muskingum Valley Human Resource Management Association.