Management Team
Ray Sharpe
Chief Executive Officer
Ray is CEO of Isola Group S.a.r.l. with worldwide responsibility for Isola which has offices and manufacturing in Europe, Asia and the U.S. His strategic vision is to increase Isola's investment in technology, focusing on the high performance laminate products, as well as to build a strong operating performance based on Lean and 6 Sigma methods. The strategy for investment in new and high performance materials was further strengthened by the recent acquisition of a fiberglass cloth manufacturer. The new company is now called Isola Fabrics S.r.l. and is located in Milan, Italy.
Before assuming his current position in June of 2004, Ray was CEO of Cookson Electronics and a board Director of Cookson Group Plc for over ten years. In his position at Cookson, Sharpe built the company into a leading global supplier of materials and equipment servicing the PWB, PWB Assembly and Semiconductor packaging markets.
Manufacturing in over 20 countries sales exceeded one billion dollars. Prior to the CEO position, and during his 27 years with Cookson, he held several sector and divisional positions in Cookson.
Ray also served 10 years as Director for SPS Technologies a NYSE listed manufacturer of specialty materials for the aerospace industry. He is now a director of Cytec a specialty chemicals company listed on the NYSE.
Ray is a graduate of East Carolina University and has over 27 years of experience in the electronics industry.
Gordon Bitter
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Gordon joined Isola in January 2008 as its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Isola, Gordon spent five years as Sr. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Plexus Corp located in Neenah, Wisconsin. Plexus is a publicly traded, $1.6 billion contract manufacturer of high-end technology products servicing the wireless infrastructure, networking, medical and industrial/aerospace markets. Prior to his tenure at Plexus, Gordon was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Hadco, a printed circuit board manufacturer.
Gordon received his MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics from Bucknell University.
Tarun Amla
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Tarun is Vice President and Chief Technology officer for the Isola Group. He is responsible for global Research & Technology and global OEM marketing. His primary focus is managing New Product development and their Introduction and Marketing.
During his 22 years in the electronics industry, Tarun has gained extensive experience in General management, Manufacturing Operations, Engineering, Product Technology, Marketing and Sales. His areas of specific technical expertise include Operations Research, simulation and Modeling, Process design and Material science.
Prior to his current role Tarun was Vice President Operations and Technology for Isola Laminate systems. His previous assignments include working as Vice President Marketing and Technology and Director Specialty products for Isola and Director Operations for AlliedSignal Laminate Systems Singapore.
Tarun holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology Calicut. India, a Masters Degree in Engineering from Arizona State University in Modeling and Simulation and a MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management
Matt LaRont
President, North America
and Global Supply Chain Officer
Matt LaRont joined Isola in 2004 and was named President of Isola Group, North America in February of 2007. He assumed additional responsibilities as Global Supply Chain Officer in July of 2009. Matt is a member of the Company’s Global Leadership Group and Executive Committee.
In his current role, Matt is responsible for all aspects of North American Operations and oversees the strategic supply chain for Isola Group, managing global supply contracts and supplier licensing. He also works closely with R&D to ensure that the introduction of new products is not supply-constrained.
With over 23 years of industry-related experience, Matt brings a broad range of expertise to Isola, having held prior positions in Global Supply Chain, Sales, Marketing, and Operations. He has traveled extensively throughout the Asia-Pacific region and lived in Taiwan and Hong Kong from 2002 to 2007.
Prior to joining Isola, Matt held various positions with Solectron Corporation, including Director of Global Materials and General Manager (IPO) Taiwan. He has also worked at Sanmina (HADCO) as Director of Sales and Operations, and at Praegitzer Industries as Financial Controller and Regional Sales Manager for the West Coast.
Matt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from Trinity University, Texas and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Willamette University, Oregon. Matt holds a Six-Sigma Green Belt. Matt is committed to the unsurpassed safety of our employees, providing a competitive advantage to our customers, and being environmentally responsible.
Bob Haskins
President, Asia Pacific
Bob joined Isola in April 2006 with the acquisition of Polyclad Laminates. As President of Isola Asia Pacific, Bob is responsible for managing all operations for the Isola business in the Asia Pacific Region.
Prior to joining Isola, Bob served as Managing Director for Polyclad Asia managing all aspects of the Asian operations. During his tenure, he helped to grow the business from US$2.5million to more than US$130 million in sales. Bob transferred to Polyclad in 1996 as the Director of Sales and Marketing for Asia and later became responsible for managing the sales and service of the Enthone(R) PWB chemistry business throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining Polyclad, Bob was part of the Alpha Fry group, which he joined in 1988. He held various key positions in operations, sales and business development in the Americas as well as Europe where he held positions in both the UK and France.
Bob earned an MS in Management and Business Administration from the University of Texas and he graduated with honors earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College. Bob currently serves as a member of the Board of Governors for the American Club in Hong Kong.
Richard Caron
Chief Information Officer
Rich joined Isola in April 2006 with the acquisition of Polyclad Laminates. As CIO of Isola Group, Rich is responsible for global information technology for the company.
Prior to joining Isola, Rich was responsible for global information technology at Polyclad Laminates. During this time, he adopted additional responsibilities for Enthone® PWB chemistry business in directing system ERP consolidation, B2B strategy and the adoption of global IT controls. Prior to joining Polyclad, Rich was part of Schneider Automation, which he joined in 1988. He held various technical and managerial positions in information technology.
Rich has over twenty years experience in the IT field, and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Computer Science and Business from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH.
Rich has training in lean operations, is a Six Sigma Green Belt and Champion, and is Certified in Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT). Rich is focused on bringing business value through IT governance, IT alignment, and the disciplines of global consolidation.