About Ei

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Essential Ingredients is a 100% employee-owned company servicing customers across the United States since 1996.

Authentic Ownership

Who Before What

100-Year Mindset

In the Arena

Do the Right Thing

Our Certifications

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Responsible Distribution

Leaders in the chemical industry have a shared responsibility to ensure wellbeing, safety, and security of our employees and the communities in which we live and work; ensure consistent, high-quality products; and innovate to grow sustainability — all while staying at the forefront of complex regulations and requirements. As a verified member of the Alliance for Chemical Distribution, Essential Ingredients demonstrates our commitment to best-in-class standards in every phase of chemical storage, handling, transportation, and disposal through implementation of ACD’s Responsible Distribution.

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Certified Evergreen

Certified Evergreen

Essential Ingredients has been recognized by the Tugboat Institute as a Certified Evergreen company. Companies that are awarded Certified Evergreen status have undergone an extensive, rigorous assessment as part of the selection process and are committed to continual improvement and enduring excellence around values, practices, and people.

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Ecovadis

EcoVadis Silver

Essential Ingredients has been awarded a Silver EcoVadis medal in recognition of sustainability achievement, which puts us among the top 13% of companies assessed by EcoVadis. The EcoVadis platform is designed to help companies better manage and communicate their company's sustainability performance in a clear and actionable way.

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Leadership Team

April Yeager
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April Yeager, SVP and General Manager

April Yeager is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina and has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina. April is also a graduate of the two-year Queens College Management Program in Finance, Accounting, Ethics and Logistics. April is an accomplished specialty chemicals professional, spending over thirty years with Clariant serving in various roles. Most recently she served as the Head of North America Procurement for Clariant. Joining Essential Ingredients in 2020, April is responsible for leading the Operations team as the Senior Vice President of Operations.

Currently, April resides in The Woodlands, Texas. She has two adult sons, Zach and Dillon. In her free time, she enjoys running, reading, cooking and spending time with her family.

Mark Chilton
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Mark Chilton, SVP Business Development

Mark Chilton graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in Marketing. He received his M.B.A. from Mercer University. He worked in several industries including commercial real estate, telecommunications and consulting prior to joining Essential Ingredients in 2006.

At Essential Ingredients, Mark is responsible for the marketing efforts of the company as well as the relationships with major suppliers. His team provides a high degree of transparency on sales activity to suppliers, which affords them an unparalleled view of their business through the distribution channel.

Mark and his wife, Jan, have two adult children and enjoy reading, visiting new places, and relaxing with friends.

Erin Murray
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Erin Murray, VP Sales

Erin Murray graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. She joined Essential Ingredients in 2017 following 4+ years at Evonik, 11+ years at Clariant, and 2+ years at OSi Specialties. In addition to her role as the Midwest Sales Director, Erin is responsible for the state of Indiana and key accounts. She is based in Indianapolis where she lives with her husband John and her two kids, Penelope and Teddy. While busy cheering on her kids at various sporting events, Erin also enjoys spending time boating, reading, exercising, traveling, and watching Nebraska and Colts football.

Mary Mroczkowski
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Mary Mroczkowski, Product Management Director

Mary Mroczkowski graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a B.S. in Environmental Public Health. She worked for 10 years for an aluminum distributor where she managed the customer service team. Mary joined Essential Ingredients in 1999. Since that time she has been responsible for a variety of functions including customer service, purchasing, warehouse operations, logistics, and third-party warehouses.

Mary loves to solve problems and enjoys the challenge of analyzing the problem and finding the solution. Mary enjoys taking walks with her husband and two dogs. She also enjoys meeting new people, being inspired by their stories, watching movies, and hiking.

Huzefa Alibhai
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Huzefa Alibhai, Product Management Director

Huzefa Alibhai is originally from Tanzania, immigrating to Canada in 1998. He has a Bachelors Degree in Biopharmaceutical Science from the University of Ottawa, and has spent nearly two decades in the personal care industry, first as a formulation chemist, then in sales and marketing.

Huzefa has two children, Qasim and Naqiyah. He loves life and tries to live every day to its fullest, often spending it with family being outdoors and travelling to different places. His family loves to explore different cultures and traditions. Huzefa speaks many languages: Gujrati, Swahili, English, Hindi & Urdu, basic French, and is currently learning Spanish.

Bob Potts
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Bob Potts, Sales Director- East Region

Bob Potts graduated from Miami University with a B.A. in Chemistry. He has worked in the industrial chemical and personal care industry for over 30 years in technical, sales, global account management and distribution management roles. Prior to his time at Essential Ingredients, he was employed by Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Cognis Corp. (now BASF), Lambent Technologies (now Vantage), and Unichema (now Croda). Joining the Essential Ingredients team in 2018, Bob is responsible for leading the Northeast Sales Team.

Bob currently resides in Cincinnati, OH with his wife, Marcia, and two sons, Trey and Trevor. Among Bob’s hobbies are traveling, spending time with friends and family, and watching/playing most any sport.

Jeremy Hosler
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Jeremy Hosler, Sales Director- Central Region

Jeremy Hosler is Essential Ingredient’s purpose-driven Sales Director for the Midwest region. Raised in Cedarburg, Jeremy is a long-time Wisconsin resident who graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. Prior to joining the Ei team, Jeremy served in numerous positions within the chemical industry, working as a Pharmaceutical R&D Specialist at Cedarburg Pharmaceuticals as well as an Account Manager for two different companies – Brenntag and Purolite.

Equipped with a warm personality and the ability to build genuine, lasting relationships, Jeremy consistently drives territory growth for Ei through bold innovation and collaborative teamwork efforts. As a leader, Jeremy intends to maintain this people-first approach in support of Ei’s Evergreen aspirations to be a blessing to others, inspiring them to be a blessing in return. This makes Jeremy a most committed teammate to those around him, allowing others to grow, develop, and flourish both personally and professionally under his care – much in the same way that he has during his time under his own leaders at Ei.

When off the clock, Jeremy can be found outdoors with his family as they enjoy activities like boating, skiing, swimming, and playing all kinds of sports in the beautiful city of Delafield, Wisconsin where they currently reside.

Molly Bishop White
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Molly Bishop White, Sales Director- West Region

Molly was born and raised in Michigan and graduated from Michigan State University with a BS in Physiology. Upon graduating from college Molly moved to Southern California.

Molly began her career in the chemical industry with Ashland Distribution. Molly has also worked for Lipscomb Chemical, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Cognis Corporation and most recently with BASF Corporation. Molly’s primary focus has been in the Personal Care industry but also has experience in the Food and Beverage and Home Care markets. Molly has been an active member of the California SCC since 2003.

Molly lives in Carlsbad, California with her husband, and two kids, Hayden and Bryson. Hayden enjoys playing soccer, basketball, football and golf. Bryson enjoys soccer, football and swimming. Molly enjoys traveling, running, hiking and spending time with her family and friends.

Tanya Baksh
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Tanya Baksh, Sales Manager Canada

Tanya Baksh was born and raised in Northern Ontario and graduated with a Bachelor in Science in Chemistry from University of British Columbia. Before joining Essential Ingredients in 2019 for our Canadian expansion, Tanya spent over 20 years in the functions of sales and product management in the distribution industry focused on Industrial Chemicals, Personal Care, Food and Pharmaceutical markets.

Tanya currently resides in Toronto with her husband Andre and their two children, Keegan and Maya. Tanya enjoys spending time up north at the lake, spending time as a family, downhill skiing, and traveling.

Tom Grimaldi
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Tom Grimaldi, Business Development Director

Tom was born and raised in Saginaw Michigan and received his B.A. in Business Administration from Alma College. Prior to joining Essential Ingredients in 1999 Tom had spent 15 years with Ashland Chemical in various sales, product management and sales management roles. Tom and his wife Lynette have been married since 1984 and have two sons: Michael and Justin. Tom’s hobbies include running, lifting weights, reading and spending time with his family.

Mike Davies
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Mike Davies, Technical Fellow

Mike Davies has been in the personal care industry for over twenty years, working previously at Chattem, Inc. and Amway, Inc. Mike joined Essential Ingredients in 2003. He has a B.A. in Chemistry from Kenyon College, M.B.A. from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Cincinnati.

Mike is married to Sharon Davies and they have two daughters, McKenzie and Ansleigh. He likes to spend time with his family, being outdoors for any reason, and reading.

Kody Carr
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Kody Carr, Director of Supply Chain

Kody was born in Florida but grew up outside of Columbus in Dublin, OH. He attended Ohio University in Athens, Ohio on a football scholarship and graduated with Bachelor of Science in Recreation Management.

Kody has spent his entire career in chemical distribution and has participated in every market from personal care, oil and gas, coatings, pharma, agriculture, and food. Kody worked for Ashland, Nexeo and Univar prior to joining Essential Ingredients in 2017. He began his career at Ei as an Account Manager in the Northeast Region and now serves as the Director of Supply Chain.

Kody currently lives near Suwanee, Georgia with his wife Kelsie and two kids. They enjoy walking their dog Theo in the nearby parks, exploring local restaurants, and an occasional vacation or ski trip.

Julie Vibert
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Julie Vibert, Director of Customer Experience

Julie Vibert was born in Central Florida and has lived in Georgia since 1981. She graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a degree in Fashion Merchandising. She has held several positions in retail and district sales management. Her background also includes customer service, teaching, medical transcription, and being mom to two children. Julie started her career with Essential Ingredients as a Customer Service Representative in 2010 and transitioned to the Purchasing Department in 2016. She and her husband Steve are avid baseball fans, and are season ticket holders to the local Atlanta Braves affiliate, The Gwinnett Stripers.

Brittney Wells
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Brittney Wells, Regulatory and Quality Manager

Brittney Wells graduated with a major in Chemistry and minor in Biology from Lander University. She also recently received a master’s degree in Management from Lander. Prior to joining Essential Ingredients, Brittney worked in various roles in Quality Control, Regulatory, and Quality Assurance, at Capsugel®, Now a Lonza Company. Brittney currently resides in Greenwood, SC and serves on the boards of local non-profits such as Greenwood Area Habitat for Humanity and Community Initiatives, Inc. She is also a steering committee member of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce Women’s Leadership Council. Brittney’s hobbies include spending quality time with her family, being an active member of CrossFit Greenwood, and photography.

Dan Korman
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Dan Korman, Technical Manager

Dan Korman brings extensive formulation and technical experience in both the personal care and home care markets. Dan got his start at a large multi-national brand under Estee Lauder, before moving to a fast-paced third-party contract packer, heading up the R&D department. Dan joined the technical services team at Essential Ingredients in 2015, his prior experience giving him a unique insight to our customers' challenges and pain points.

Dan and his wife Eileen live in Broookhaven, with their two dogs (Loki and Goose), and they enjoy getting outside and traveling together whenever possible.

Join Our Team Amanda Pershey, Isaac Bostrom,
Roger Minter, Cindi Stanesic

Join Our Team

Interested in joining the team of employee owners at Essential Ingredients?

We are always on the lookout for great talent and for those that have a genuine interest in serving others. We say that we "hire character and train skills". If you think you meet this description, please reach out to our Talent Director and share your story!

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