The appointment of Mitchell Tatar to General Manager of CJB Applied Technologies and Director of Innovation for CJB Companies, combined with the promotions of Sims Turner to Vice President of Sales and Business Development and Amanda Lupo to Sales and Operations Planning Manager, reinforces the commitment of CJB Companies to sustain an environment centered around elevating capabilities and services to deliver added value to customers. Tatar replaces Jim Loar as General Manager; however, Loar will support the transition to Tatar while maintaining his role as Chief Commercial Officer for CJB Companies where he will deepen his focus on managing CJB’s commercial operations and drive commercial strategies across the CJB family of companies.
Together with the existing CJB Applied Technologies team, Tatar, Turner and Lupo will deploy a hands-on approach to capitalize on technology, grow relationships, and ensure service excellence. “We are excited for the future of CJB Applied Technologies. With Mitchell’s expertise in analytics and AI, Sims’ strengths in understanding market priorities and developing customer relationships, and Amanda’s deep knowledge of our current capabilities and customers, the business is poised to push the boundaries of how technology, digital advancements, and elevated services can add value for our current and future customers,” said Clinton Beeland, Founder and CEO of CJB Companies.
Elevating Capabilities and Services
Tatar recently completed the Executive MBA Leadership Academy and Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma while earning her EMBA, specializing in Global Business, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Tatar also has extensive experience in analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) developed as Industrial and Systems Engineer at CJB Industries, where she spent the past two years transforming operational data to support increased productivity, expanded capacity, and reduced quality concerns.
In her role as General Manager, Tatar will marry the knowledge gained during her EMBA with her expertise in digital advancements and innovative technologies to elevate the capabilities and services at CJB Applied Technologies. “Automation and AI present many opportunities in the world of formulation development, process optimization, and pilot plant procedures. I’m thrilled to work with our talented team across these three areas to identify how we can deploy technology to the benefit of our customers and our teams,” Tatar said.
“We’ll assess pain points of our current customers, as well as our team, and determine how we can best address them. Our intent is to continue pushing boundaries so we can deliver added value to our customers. That could mean new services and capabilities, which also fosters career growth within our team. Or it could mean implementing initiatives that streamline workflows, improve connectivity, enhance efficiency, and drive decision-making. These all allow us to elevate the service we provide our current and future customers,” Tatar elaborated.
Enhancing Customer Experience
Turner has been instrumental in nurturing customer and industry relationships across the agricultural and specialty chemical markets since joining CJB Industries more than a decade ago. He gained hands-on experience across the business that gave him valuable insight into CJB’s commitment to working with all customers and their product requirements. As VP of Sales and Business Development, Turner will tap into this expertise to strengthen current customer relationships and develop new market and customer opportunities for CJB Applied Technologies, as well as CJB Industries.
Lupo has been a key contributor to the success of CJB Applied Technologies since joining the company five years ago. She’s become a familiar face at industry events, and customers have come to rely on her professionalism and can-do mentality. In her new role as Sales and Operations Planning Manager, she will more deeply impact the customer experience by serving as a liaison across project stakeholders to ensure service excellence and on-time delivery while also supporting opportunities in new markets and cross-functional services for both CJB Applied Technologies and CJB Industries.
Together, Turner and Lupo will build upon the strengths and capabilities of CJB Applied Technologies in the agricultural market, assess opportunities in additional chemistry-centric markets, and dive deeper into understanding current and prospective customer needs. They’ll work closely with Tatar and the rest of the team to identify and highlight how digital advancements and innovative technologies will enhance the customer experience, while leaning into the CJB values, or R.I.T.E.S, of respect, integrity, trust, excellence, and stewardship.
“We are deeply committed to upholding our CJB RITES in all our interactions, and I believe that and our ability to deploy technology where it makes sense are key differentiators. I’m excited to work with Mitchell, Amanda and the team to uncover new opportunities for us and share how we can make a difference in the business of current and new customers,” Turner said.
