RED BANK, NJ – January 27, 2015 – Brand & Oppenheimer Co., Inc. (B&O), a leading textile converter, today announced that it has appointed Edward Ricci, Ben Galpen, and Bryan Boulis, known for their work under the 1947 llc aegis, to the Office of the CEO, effective immediately. Ricci, Galpen, and Boulis were recruited by Praesidian Capital, B&O’s controlling shareholder.
The three industry veterans are known for their innovative, high-energy management styles. Ricci, who will serve as CEO and oversee all B&O operations, is a third- generation textile executive who served as CEO of Duro, the textile company his grandfather founded in 1947. During his 22-year career in the industry, he has had responsibility for more than 3,000 textile workers worldwide. Galpen brings an additional 17 years of experience in the industry, while Boulis has more than three decades of broad woven textile experience sourcing fabrics both domestically and globally for a wide variety of end users.
“We are very excited to have attracted three outstanding textile executives to B&O,” stated Jason Drattell, Praesidian’s Founder.
Jon Mansfield, Praesidian Partner, added “In addition to their deep textile expertise, they have especially strong relationships with domestic weavers of nylon, polyester, nylon/cotton and cotton substrates which should be extremely beneficial to the company in its future work.”
Ricci noted “We have known both B&O and Performance Textiles for many years and see a multitude of interesting synergies that will benefit all stakeholders. As part of our work, we will bring new MultiCam® fabric development in the U.S. to B&O, as well as international MultiCam fabric sales on an exclusive basis. We are equally pleased to have a chance to work with the B&O and the Praesidian teams as we accelerate the company’s growth opportunities.”
Wow! Congrats to all involved! An inquiry to 1947 LLC revealed that it will continue to function as a separate entity, independent from this announcement.