NGK announced a new position for one member of the executive team. Kent Howard has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Strategic Growth and Partnerships. In this newly created role, Howard is tasked to develop new partnerships and pathways to strategically grow the NGK business into four key business fields – Environment & Energy, Mobility, Medical and Communications. He will be working closely with Dirk Schapeler, Senior Vice President of NGK’s Global Innovation Division.

Howard was most recently Senior Vice President, OEM, Cutting Tools and Tech Center. He has been with NGK for 23 years.

“We must embrace the global conditions and trends that will shape the future economy and business world. We are structuring our executive team to maximize our growth and transform our company’’, stated Mike Schwab, President and CEO. “This change is led by a desire to prepare for a rapidly changing business environment. This way, we can continue the implementation of our performance culture plan and shape our future.”

Howard, who has held positions in numerous disciplines during his 23 years with NGK, holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University and an MBA from Michigan State University. He will continue to reside in Michigan and work out of NGK USA headquarters in Wixom.