Management

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Rick Heller

Chief Executive Officer

Rick Heller began as Chief Executive Officer for C&D Technologies and Trojan Battery Company in January 2020 and is responsible for running all facets of the business.
With a proven track record of leading companies to enhanced profitability and strategic growth, Mr. Heller brings over 20 years of CEO experience and strong leadership to the organization. He has extensive familiarity and involvement in numerous industrial markets as well as consumer products, including Motor Coach Industries, Frito-Lay, Inc. and Sleep Innovations. He has served on several boards including Neenah Enterprises, CE Star, and Oneida Group.

Mr. Heller received his Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor of Science in business from Boston University.

Jon Anderson

Chief Technology Officer

Jon Anderson began with C&D Technologies in December 2006. As Chief Technology Officer, he is responsible for the leadership, management and vision to ensure that C&D Technologies and Trojan Battery Company have the proper technology initiatives in place to effectively grow the organization.

Mr. Anderson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Materials and Science Engineering from the University of Minnesota and a degree in Japanese Language from the University of Osaka.

Mara Williams

Chief Legal Officer

On February 1, 2018, Mara Williams joined C&D Technologies as Chief Legal Officer and also became Trojan Battery Company’s Chief Legal Officer after C&D’s acquisition of Trojan in December 2018. In this role, Ms. Williams is responsible for determining and directing all legal, compliance and governmental statutory or regulatory issues; monitoring, coordinating and directing all litigation; managing outside legal counsel and providing in-house guidance and counsel.
Ms. Williams comes to C&D Technologies and Trojan Battery with over 22 years’ experience; most recently as the Head of Legal Affairs and Compliance with Edmund Optics, Inc. a global organization supporting the R&D, electronics, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, biomedical and military markets around the globe. Prior positions include Assistant General Counsel at Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global, publicly traded, specialty chemical / coatings company where she assisted with a successful transformation and IPO. Prior to joining Axalta, Ms. Williams was a Senior Attorney at CSL Behring, a global leader in the pharmaceutical / plasma protein biotherapeutic industry.
Prior to joining CSL Behring, Ms. Williams was an associate at Ballard Spahr LLP and Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker. She has successfully teamed with corporate and business unit leaders to provide business-actionable advice focused on strategic and tactical business planning and leading operational teams to fully support revenue generation efforts.

Ms. Williams holds a Juris Doctor from Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia, PA and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Administration from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA.

Chris Litras

Chief Human Resources Officer

Chris Litras joined C&D Technologies and Trojan Battery Company in October 2019. Mr. Litras is responsible for providing leadership and guidance in the development and execution of human resources initiatives, policies, and best practices to foster an employee-oriented, high-performance culture across the organization.
Known for high integrity and commitment to service, Mr. Litras has more than three decades of extensive manufacturing experience in the steel, aluminum, copper, electronics, communications, and furniture industries. He has a diverse background in human resources, labor relations, operations, systems and project management.

Mr. Litras holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in management from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business Administration in human resources management from the University of Phoenix. He holds a Lean Manufacturing Manager Certificate from the Ohio State University.

Frederik Klaarenbeek

Chief Marketing Officer

Frederik Klaarenbeek is Chief Marketing Officer of C&D Technologies and Trojan Battery Company, bringing with him more than 20 years of global marketing experience. Most recently, he served as Vice President, Product Management and Marketing, for Cambridge Technology, a Novanta company.
Both in the U.S. and his native Netherlands, Klaarenbeek has directed high-performing marketing, sales, and operations efforts and led business units for worldwide leaders like Danaher, Fortive, Philips and GE.

Laurie Oswald

Chief Sales Officer

Laurie Oswald joined the C&D Technologies/Trojan Battery Company organization on February 1, 2022. Ms. Oswald leads the C&D/Trojan Sales organization and is responsible for our global sales, and growth initiatives focusing on strategic planning, sales strategy development, forecasting, sales resource planning, and aligning sales objectives with the overall business strategy.
Ms. Oswald comes to C&D/Trojan with over 20 years of experience supporting critical and digital infrastructure solutions. Prior to C&D/Trojan, she held a number of strategic sales and leadership roles which included Senior Vice President, Global Sales at Vertiv as well as Vice President Sales, Enterprise Strategic Accounts and Vice President of Enterprise Sales, North America at CommScope. In addition, she has been recognized globally as a Top 100 Global Sales Leader, was selected to the Mission Critical Top 25 Women in Technology and is a recipient of the IM100 Award for her contribution to the digital infrastructure industry.

Ms. Oswald holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Ohio University and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant having served in the Air National Guard and US Air Force Active Guard Reserve.