Chuck Herak

CEO, Board Director, and Angel Investor

Atlanta, Georgia

chuckherak@gmail.com

Chuck Herak

President, CEO and Board Director
Transformational, high impact, global leader with a consistent track record for achieving superior revenue and profit growth.
Proven ability to develop and execute new strategies, lead change, and build motivated, high-performance teams in Fortune 500, private equity-owned and family-owned businesses. 
Angel Investor and Advisor to Early-Stage Companies.

Broad Experience
Strategy Development and Execution, Mergers & Acquisitions, Restructuring, Sales Leadership, Manufacturing, Board Member, High-growth start-ups

Professional Experience

Robinhill Senior Advisory Group

Senior Advisor 2024 - Present
Robinhill Senior Advisory Group provides high impact project support and interim C-suite talent to operating companies. Our team of industry executives and former professional service partners help clients address significant opportunities to improve performance and accelerate growth. A trusted firm of Senior Advisors addressing significant opportunities to improve client performance and accelerate growth

DCL Corporation

Chief Executive Officer 2019-2023
DCL Corporation is a leading manufacturer and supplier of high-quality color pigments and dispersions to the coatings, plastics, and specialty inks markets. Based in Toronto, Canada, DCL was formed by the combination of Dominion Colour Corporation and Lansco Colors and had six manufacturing facilities in US, Canada and Europe. DCL was owned by H.I.G. Capital until its sale in 2023.

JM Huber

President, Huber Engineered Materials 2015-2017

A leader in acquiring, scaling and operating a global portfolio company of premium functional ingredient businesses. Portfolio included Fire retardants, Silica and Calcium Carbonate with $830 million revenue, 1850 employees and 17 plants. Preferred supplier to thousands of B2B customers in personal care, food, coatings, rubber, plastics, wire and cable, electronics, oilfield, and other markets.

Delivered three consecutive years of record profitability.
Led a highly engaged workforce - selected as a top workplace by Atlanta Constitution Journal

Vice President & General Manager, Silica 2009-2014

Responsible for profitability and strategic direction of Silica business ($280 million & 700 people). Global leader in dental silica and also serving food, paper and industrial markets.

Led business to record profitability, increasing EBITDA by $35 million through growth and manufacturing improvements.
Developed and executed new strategy to expand growth via increased capacity investments while diversifying sales into new markets.

Ashland (bought Hercules in 2008)

Vice President, Coatings Additives 2006-2009

Global responsibility for profitability and strategic direction of the Coatings Additives business unit ($270 million), serving the paints, coatings, adhesives and related industries.

Developed & executed new growth strategy to build on the strong core by adding adjacent products.
Achieved revenue and profit growth of 35% and 26%, respectively.
Led team for establishing a new $100 million Hydroxyethylcellulose plant in Nanjing, China, including negotiations with Chinese government.

Global Business Director, CMC 2003-2006

Responsible for profitability and strategic direction of the Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) business with sales of $140 million to the food, personal care, paper, and oilfield industries

Turned around declining business, increasing EBITDA $8 million by increasing sales volume and pricing while reducing manufacturing and procurement costs.

Regional Sales Director, Asia Pacific 1998-2003

Transformed Asia Pacific business from opportunistic to $60 million strategic growth platform. Responsible for sales, technical support, customer service, supply chain, distributors, and strategic initiatives.

Various Engineering, Research and Business Management Positions until 1998

Board Member Experience

Excellent communicator & relationship builder with executive presence from board room to employee meetings. More than a decade of experience working with public company and private company boards.

Board Member, Atlanta Technology Angels, Atlanta, GA
Advisory Board Member, iFOLIO, Atlanta, GA
CEO and Board Director, DCL Corporation, Toronto, Canada
Board Director, Huber Engineered Materials, Atlanta, Georgia
Board Director, Magnifin GmbH, Vienna, Austria - Joint Venture between RHI Magnesita and JM Huber
Chairman, Huber Chemicals India Limited, Mumbai, India
Chairman, Huber Engineered Materials Qingdao, China
Chairman, Huber Engineered Materials, Belgium
Chairman, Hercules Chemicals Jiangmen, China

Mergers & Acquisitions

Led successful acquisition and integration of Albermarle’s $200M fire retardant business at HEM.
Led successful $630 million sale of Silica business from JM Huber to Evonik along with comprehensive transition services agreement.
Negotiated and completed Joint Venture with the leading producers of Methylcellulose in China, Feixiang Chemicals.
Acquired and successfully integrated Dexter Chemicals $15 million specialty surfactants business at Ashland.
Led the successful acquisition & integration of the leading Chinese CMC producer, Jiangmen Quantum.
Led acquisition of a $40 million guar polymer business and related 20% equity position in Benchmark Performance Group for oil and gas market.

International Experience

Conducted business across six continents
Traveled to over 50 countries
Lived and worked in Singapore for 5 years.
Lived and worked in Canada for 4 years.
Strong understanding of different cultures and ability to build relationships with people of diverse backgrounds.

Investor in Early-Stage Companies

Veritas Investments, LLC

Managing Director - 2017 to present

Veritas provides funding and advice to early-stage companies. Veritas looks for innovative companies with transformative technologies to address significant market opportunities. Particular areas of interest include clean technology, advanced materials, SaaS, financial technology and health care.

Atlanta Technology Angels

Board Member - 2018-2019 and 2025 to present

The Atlanta Technology Angels is one of the nation’s top angel investing networks. Its members invest in top tier early-stage companies in the Southeast. The investments and ATA support serve as a catalyst that helps young companies achieve success and make a positive impact on society.

iFOLIO

Investor and Advisory Board Member

iFOLIO modernizes digital engagement across sales, marketing, and service with 1-to-1 customer experiences, customizable landing pages, and personalized SMS Campaigns. iFOLIO is powering over 5,000 clients including Madison Square Garden, Atlanta Falcons, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Clemson.

Oncolens

Investor

Oncolens is empowering a new generation of cancer centers. OncoLens delivers innovative solutions for tumor board management, survivorship care planning, accreditation and quality improvement.

Piersica

Investor

Piersica is focused on developing cutting-edge materials and innovative technology to engineer a next-generation battery that can achieve three times the energy density of existing lithium-ion batteries.

Qure4u

Investor

Qure4u is an all-in-one patient app bringing healthcare into the 21st century. It eliminates paperwork and improves communication after visits with digital technology and telehealth for better patient outcomes.

Trellis

Investor

Trellis is focused on helping farmers reduce water consumption and improve crop yields. A unique combination of moisture sensors and software connected via the IoT makes it simple and convenient for farmers to make better decisions.

PrizePicks

Investor

PrizePicks is the fastest-growing sports company in North America according to the 2022 Inc. 5000 rankings and the largest skill-based fantasy sports operator in North America.

mPATH

mPATH uses cloud-based automation to close care gaps and empower patients. It is an automated program that identifies individuals who need a preventative care service, provides personalized education, and connects them to needed care.

FlyFlat

FlyFlat is a flight concierge service that guarantees beating every price on the market for business and first class tickets.

mPATH

Infinite Giving

Infinite Giving helps nonprofits leverage modern financial technology to grow and serve their consituents.

DropStat

Dropstat is a nurse-founded company that utilizes AI to help healthcare providers communicate, schedule, and manage staff efficiently and cost-effectively. It uses technology to create products and systems that enable safe care and safe staffing.

Skoop

Skoop has developed software that supercharges digital signage for restaurants, retail, transportation, healthcare and more. Skoop drastically improves customer experience, automatically updates inventory, and improves the effectiveness of promotions.

Personal Life

Education

University of Delaware - MBA, Business Administration
Massachusetts Institute of Technology - PhD, Chemical Engineering
University of Delaware - BS, Chemical Engineering, Men's Varsity Tennis Team
Kellogg Executive Education - Governing Family Enterprises
The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, Executive Education, Leadership and Strategic Impact
University of Michigan - Ross School of Business, Executive Education, Landscape of Positive Leadership

Volunteer Service

Must Ministries - Poverty Alleviation

Mission: Serving our neighbors in need … transforming lives and communities in response to Christ's call.
Vision: To become Georgia's most respected Servant Leader -- Restoring lives one person and one community at a time.

Urban Promise - Transforming at-risk youth

The mission of UrbanPromise is to equip children and young adults with the skills necessary for academic achievement, life management, personal growth and servant leadership

Chuck Herak

CEO, Board Director and Angel Investor

Three-time, Delaware Men's Singles State Tennis Champion, Inducted into Delaware Tennis Hall of Fame

chuckherak@gmail.com