Ms. Carus is Chairman of Carus LLC, a role which she has held since 2013.  She served as President from 2005 until 2013 and as Chief Executive Officer from 2005 – 2016.  Ms. Carus joined Carus in 1992 as European Sales Manager and returned to the U.S. in 1993 to become Director of Marketing.  She was Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing from 2001 – 2005.  Prior to joining Carus, Ms. Carus worked for Air Products and Chemicals Inc. from 1987 – 1992, primarily serving in commercial positions in Europe, where she had responsibility for specialty chemicals for the German speaking regions.  She received a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, and and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Chicago.  Ms. Carus is co-founder, with her husband Peter Limberger, of CL Enterprises, a holding company of various businesses, which range from farming to aviation, and includes CL Real Estate, a business whose tag line is “Small Towns.  Big Ideas”.   Ms. Carus serves on the boards of the American Chemistry Council, the Hegeler Carus Foundation,  and the Starved Rock Country Community Foundation.  Ms. Carus lives in Ottawa, Il and has two daughters. 

Mr. Carus is Chairman Emeritus and Chief Technical Advisor. Mr. Carus served (by Presidential appointment) as a member of the National Council on Education Research, which established policy for the National Institute of Education of the U. S. Department of Education. He was instrumental in establishing the International Baccalaureate North America (IBNA) in 1973 and was Chairman of the IBNA until June 1985.  Mr. Carus was also a Council member for the International Baccalaureate in Geneva, Switzerland from 1977 to 1994 and subsequently rejoined the International Baccalaureate Organization to strengthen the curricula and the infrastructure. In 2001, Mr. Carus was named Man of the Year by the Manufacturing Technology and Management Program of the Illinois Institute of Technology. He received the national Vanguard Award from the Chemical Education Foundation in 2002, and an honorary doctorate from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Carus received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Caltech. In 2006, he and his wife, Marianne, were inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Association of Educational Publishers, and in 2007 Mr. Carus received the SRA McGraw-Hill Lifetime Achievement Award in Education. In 2013, Mr. Carus was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Illinois Valley Community College and received the Living Out the Vision Award from the Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions. Mr. Carus holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1949, after having served from 1945-1946 in the U.S. Navy. He studied foreign languages and chemistry at Mexico City College, the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the Sorbonne, Paris. He joined Carus in 1951 as a Development Engineer and holds seven U.S. patents for his work during that period.

Mr. Bye is currently a Senior Advisor to Morgan Stanley, having previously served for 13 years as a Managing Director and partner in their Private Equity and Energy Capital Funds. He joined Morgan Stanley in 2008 in London, assuming leadership responsibilities for the European private equity team and globally for the industrials, basic materials, and energy sectors. Mr. Bye has successfully led and delivered profitable growth for a diverse set of enterprises over the course of his 40+ year career. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Mr. Bye served as President and CEO of DyStar, GmbH, a 1B€ German-based private equity-owned leading global provider of dyes, chemicals, and services to the textile, leather, and fashion industries. Prior to moving into private equity, Mr. Bye spent 23 years with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. At Air Products, he held numerous positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as Group Executive of the $7 billion industrial gases and equipment group. His breadth and depth of experience with the company included leadership positions based in Asia, Europe, and the United States, as well as extensive representation of the firm with external constituencies in the investment community, government, and media. He is an active investor in technology based start-ups and provides consulting and advisory services to companies in chemicals and industrials through his company, The Bye Group, LLC.  Mr. Bye holds a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is a graduate of INSEAD’s Advanced Management Program. He serves on several industry, corporate, and not-for-profit boards.

Mr. Leitten is a member of the investment team at Seidler Equity Partners (SEP), a private investment firm headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, which entered into a strategic partnership with Carus in 2019. Mr. Leitten is involved in all SEP activities, including sourcing and executing new investments, advising partner companies on strategic planning, and evaluating and implementing growth initiatives. He currently serves as a board member for several SEP partner companies. Prior to joining SEP, Mr. Leitten was an investment banker at DBO Partners, a San Francisco-based boutique, where he advised companies on mergers and acquisitions, private capital raises, and board-level matters. Mr. Leitten graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and a double major in Theology.

Mr. Lorraine most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Eastman Chemical Company, from which he retired in 2010. Mr. Lorraine began his career with Westinghouse Electric Corporation in 1963. In 1978, he joined Clark Equipment Company where he held various financial positions.  In 1980 Lorraine joined ITT Corporation as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company’s Fluid Technology Group, and over the next four years, he rose to the position of Chief Financial Officer of ITT’s Automotive Group. In 1990, he was named president of ITT Automotive Aftermarket Group. In 1995, Mr. Lorraine joined Occidental Chemical Corporation as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Occidental Chemical Corporation, OxyChem, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation and is a chemical manufacturer, with interests in basic chemicals, vinyls, and performance products. In addition to his finance responsibilities, Lorraine also led the purchasing, logistics, and e-business functions of the $3 billion chemical company. He held these positions until joining Eastman in 2003. A native of New York City, Lorraine graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. 

Mr. Nusterer most recently served as President of Cummins’ Power Systems Business Unit and also oversaw the company’s activities in India before retiring in 2022.  Mr. Nusterer joined Cummins in 1996 and held a number of progressive roles in supply chain and operations in the US and in Europe.  After turning around Cummins Spare Parts operations, Mr. Nusterer successfully led Cummins global New and ReCon Parts business as a general manager.  Under his leadership, the business doubled in size and assumed the role of shared service provider to the entire corporation. In 2016, Mr. Nusterer was asked to lead Cummins Power Systems which grew to $5B as a global leader in industrial engine and power generation equipment to many of the world’s leading OEMs, commercial and industrial end users. 

Over the last two decades Mr. Nusterer represented Cummins on several Joint Venture boards both internationally and in the US.  He served on the Board of Cummins India Limited, a public company listed on the Sensex.  Outside of work, Mr. Nusterer was a board member on the Bartholomew County Heritage Foundation in Columbus, IN. A native of Austria, Mr. Nusterer holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor Degree from Vienna University of Economics.

Mr. Ryan is a Partner at Seidler Equity Partners (SEP), a private investment firm headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California, which entered into a strategic partnership with Carus in 2019. Mr. Ryan is involved in all SEP investment activities, including assisting partner companies with strategy development, process improvement, performance measurement and decision support analysis. Prior to joining SEP in 2009, he served as COO of Tomah Products, a former partner company of SEP. Prior to Tomah, Mr. Ryan held positions with Bain Consulting and General Electric. Mr. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Harvard University.

Mr. Shropshire is Chairman of the Board of American Chemet Corporation. He began his career with the International Nickel Company of Canada (now owned by Vale) at its Huntington, WV rolling mill in 1961. Commissioned in the U.S. Army in 1959, he entered active duty in 1961, returning to Inco in 1962 in a Sales capacity. In 1970 he was transferred to Boston as New England District Sales Manager. In 1973, Mr. Shropshire joined the corporate staff in New York city as Manager, Ventures Development, where he was responsible for evaluating mining opportunities and startups in Latin America, the U.S., and Australia. In 1976, he joined American Chemet Corporation, a copper and zinc-based chemicals processing company, as its President and CEO. He retired from executive responsibility in June 2010 and was elected Chairman of the Board. Mr. Shropshire was a founder of Peninsula Copper Industries in 1982 and also served as its CEO for 20 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from Purdue University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.  For 20 years he served ABET as an accreditation visitor to Materials Engineering Programs and currently serves on the Advisory Committee for the Engineering Programs at Carroll College in Helena, MT and for the school of Materials Engineering at Purdue. 

Mr. Venegoni most recently served as Vice President & General Manager of Stepan Company, from which he retired in 2014.  Mr. Venegoni joined Stepan in 1982 and held a number of progressive roles, from Product Development Engineer to Global Business Director.  At Stepan, Mr. Venegoni successfully led and managed a $1 billion global surfactant business, which achieved record income performance during his tenure.  He was a member of Stepan’s Operating Committee and a contributor to the overall strategic direction of the company. Mr. Venegoni assumed responsibility for Stepan’s Personal Care business in 1990.  He went on to hold numerous positions in Business Management.  Mr. Venegoni had a one-year leave from Stepan, during which he worked at American Hoechst and was responsible for production and quality improvements in a PVC manufacturing facility. Mr. Venegoni served on the Board of Directors for the Chemical Specialty Products Association from 2003 to 2006.  He served on the Board of Directors of the American Cleaning Institute from 2007 to 2014.  He currently sits on the Board at Sironix Renewables as well as on an Advisory Board for Cargill’s bio industrial business.  Mr. Venegoni holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemical Engineering, both from the University of Illinois.