Board of Directors

Business Unit Leaders

Executive Council

Leadership Council

Leroy Ball is Chief Executive Officer of Koppers and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Under Leroy’s leadership, Koppers is focused on creating, protecting and preserving key elements of our global infrastructure. Additionally, he has placed special emphasis on anchoring the company’s culture in its values of People, Planet and Performance.

Leroy joined Koppers in September 2010 as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, providing oversight for the Finance, Treasury, Information Technology and Investor Relations functions. From May to December 2014, he held the role of Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for the company’s global business operations. He was elected President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2015.

Prior to Koppers, Leroy spent 10 years with Calgon Carbon Corporation, an international chemical company. During this time, he served as Controller before being named Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2002. He also served as President of the company’s majority-owned Japanese joint venture. Previously, Leroy held several positions in finance with Carmeuse Lime Co./Dravo Corporation.

Leroy serves as Lead Director of the Board of Directors for ATI Inc., a global specialty materials company, and as a member of the Board of Directors for Highmark Health, a national, blended health organization. Active in supporting community causes, he serves on the Boards of Directors for Blood Cancer United, The Advanced Leadership Initiative (TALI) and the Hillman Family Foundations.

In 2024, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Three Rivers Chapter honored Leroy with the Director of the Year Award for Leadership in Company Governance. In 2020, he received the Chuck Cooper Foundation Leadership Award for his commitment to promoting diversity and making a positive community impact. In 2019, DEKRA Organizational Safety and Reliability recognized him with its Safety in Action ICON Award.

Leroy received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Florida International University and earned an MBA from Robert Morris University.

Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair

Stephanie Apostolou is Chief Legal and Strategy Officer, responsible for overseeing all aspects of our Transformation, Engineering, Strategy, Legal, Risk, Zero Harm and Sustainability functions.

Stephanie joined Koppers in 2011 as Corporate Counsel and subsequently served as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary before being named General Counsel and Secretary in 2020. In 2024, she was appointed Chief Legal and Sustainability Officer and Secretary, overseeing Legal, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Sustainability and Zero Harm while continuing to serve as liaison to the Board of Directors.

Prior to her career at Koppers, she served as an associate in the Corporate and Securities practice group at Reed Smith LLP and held various finance roles at Lincoln Financial Group.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania and the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Stephanie earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance and French from the University of Notre Dame, and a juris doctor from the University of Notre Dame Law School.

Chief Legal and Strategy Officer

Jason Bakk is Vice President, Utility and Industrial Products (UIP) at Koppers. In this role, he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the business including growing market share, strengthening customer relationships, optimizing production capabilities, and promoting safety and sustainability in the UIP business.

Jason joined Koppers in 2012 as the Phthalic Anhydride Plant Superintendent at the company’s Stickney, Illinois, facility. He was promoted to Plant Manager in 2014 and then to Operations Manager in 2018 before moving into the role of Vice President, North American Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) in 2020. In this role, he directed commercial, financial and production activities and helped manage the long-term capital plan for the CMC business segment. Prior to Koppers, Jason worked at Cristal Global as an Operations Manager for a titanium metal production facility. He has also held the roles of Process Engineer, Papermill Supervisor and Pulp Mill Process Engineer at various companies.

Jason earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Ontario. He also has an MBA from Benedictine University.

Vice President, Utility and Industrial Products

Doug Fenwick serves as President, Performance Chemicals (PC), responsible for overseeing all aspects of the business. Previously, he served as Vice President of Performance Chemicals following the company’s acquisition of Osmose, Inc. in August 2014.

Prior to joining Koppers, Doug was employed by Osmose from 2007 to 2014, holding various leadership roles, including Vice President, Customer Services. From 1993 to 2007, he served in a number of sales and operations positions with Brite Manufacturing in Toronto, Canada.

Doug graduated from Lakehead University in Ontario, Canada, with a bachelor’s degree in political science and business.

He currently volunteers with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Toronto and is an advisory board member of the Southern Conservation Trust in Georgia.

President, Koppers Performance Chemicals 

Travis Gross is the Vice President of Railroad Products and Services (RPS), responsible for all aspects of the company’s legacy crosstie and maintenance-of-way businesses.

Travis joined Koppers in 2007 as a Sales Administrator in RPS, and in 2011, moved into the position of Northeast Commercial Sales Manager of RPS, where he was responsible for a $35M sales territory covering 14 states and two Canadian provinces. He was promoted to Class I Sales Manager in 2015, handling accounts such as Norfolk Southern, Canadian Pacific and Canadian National, before advancing to Vice President, Commercial Sales in 2016.

Travis holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and sales management from the University of Akron, as well as an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business.

Vice President, Railroad Products and Services 

Tushar Lovalekar is Vice President, Information and Digital Services at Koppers. In this role, Tushar oversees the company’s global IT operations, including stakeholder relations, strategy, governance, and digital transformation.

During his 20-year tenure at Koppers, Tushar has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the IT function, working on initiatives related to ERP systems, mobile computing, data analytics, SOX compliance, and cybersecurity.

In 2024, Tushar earned the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s CIO of the Year award. He is a governing body member of the Pittsburgh CIO Executive Summit and serves on the Board of Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh (BVRS).

Tushar earned a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering from the University of Mumbai and a diploma in Business Management from NMIMS School of Business Management. His certifications include ITIL Foundations, Management Essentials from Katz Graduate School of Business, and a Post-Graduate Program in Artificial Intelligence for Leaders from McCombs School of Business.

Vice President, Information and Digital Services

Stephen G. Lucas is Chief Human Resources Officer. He is responsible for leading all aspects of driving the organization’s people-first culture by ensuring the recruitment, development and retention of top talent, advancing the organization’s inclusion and diversity efforts, and finding new ways to enhance overall employee experience.

Stephen joined Koppers in April 2022. Prior to joining Koppers, he spent eight years with AMETEK, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices, serving as Global Vice President of Human Resources. Previously he spent two years at Hartzell Industries, manufacturer of axial and centrifugal fans and processor of hardwood lumber, serving as Vice President Human Resources. He also spent 14 years at Illinois Tool Works (ITW), in their Food Equipment and Welding manufacturing divisions, serving as Group Human Resources Director.

Stephen received his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Marycrest College and earned an MBA from Wright State University. He is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR). He currently serves on Raj Soin College of Business advisory board at Wright State University.

Stephen resides in Naperville, IL, with his wife Amy. He has two daughters, Erica and Natasha.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Quynh McGuire is Vice President, Investor Relations for Koppers. In this role since January 2020, she serves as the company’s primary liaison to inform and engage the investment community, while also ensuring compliance with financial disclosure regulations. Additionally, she is also actively involved in messaging and branding efforts to enhance engagement of employees and other stakeholder audiences.

Quynh brings more than 25 years of experience in finance, communications, treasury and accounting roles. She joined Koppers in 2015 as Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Prior to joining Koppers, Quynh held positions of increasing responsibility, which included leading Investor Relations at Kennametal Inc. and Duquesne Light Holdings and developing best-practice programs that strengthened relationships with the investment community.

Quynh is active in the local community, currently serving as a board member of The National Aviary, Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. and the Pittsburgh Schweitzer Fellows Program.

Quynh earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Quynh McGuire, Vice President, Investor Relations | Koppers, Inc.

Vice President, Investor Relations

Stacey McKinney is the Vice President, Technical Services at Koppers, overseeing research and development, product development, and quality assurance across the CMC, UIP, and RPS divisions.

Stacey joined Koppers in 1993 and has advanced through a series of progressively responsible roles. She began as an analytical chemist before taking on operational leadership as a plant operations superintendent. She also served as the global director of product safety. These experiences have equipped her with a unique blend of regulatory, technical, and business acumen that she brings to her current role.

Stacey serves as the STEM advisor to various elementary and middle school learning programs throughout Western Pennsylvania and served as an executive board member of the American Wood Protection Association.

Stacey obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Gannon University and a master’s degree from SUNY at Buffalo.

Vice President, Technical Services

Christian Nielsen is Senior Vice President, Global Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC). He is responsible for driving efficiencies throughout the Global CMC organization, implementing best practices across the operational network, and leading innovative manufacturing practices to improve Koppers market position.

Most recently, Christian served as Vice President, North American and European CMC. Before that, he held the position of Vice President, European Operations and Operations Manager, European Operations. Christian is based out of the Nyborg, Denmark, facility.

Senior Vice President, Global Carbon Materials and Chemicals 

As Vice President of Purchasing and Strategic Marketing at Koppers, Dave Schoen leads a team that manages North American raw material procurement for the Performance Chemicals (PC) business. He also oversees indirect and capital expenditures, along with logistics, across all North American business units.

Dave started with Koppers in 2008 as Capital Procurement Manager for the Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS) and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) businesses. He moved on to posts as Manager, then Director, of CMC Raw Material Purchasing for North America. Dave later added overall responsibility for CMC sales and logistics as Commercial Director, North America, before assuming his current duties.

Prior to joining Koppers, Dave served a Senior Associate at Alaris Consulting in Chicago, engaging with clients to implement sourcing strategies and supply chain solutions across a variety of industries.

Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in business logistics from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Duquesne University. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the Pittsburgh area, where he enjoys coaching multiple youth sports teams and completing home improvement projects.

Vice President of Purchasing and Strategic Marketing

Timothy Shannon serves as Vice President, Transformation, and is responsible for leading Koppers transformation efforts, partnering with leaders across the organization to drive sustainable change, strengthen capabilities, and translating opportunities into measurable business value.​

Prior to this role, Tim was Vice President of Engineering and Business Support at Koppers Inc., a position he assumed in January 2024. In this role, he led the company’s global engineering initiatives and business support functions, driving operational excellence and innovation across Koppers diverse portfolio.

Mr. Shannon brings over 27 years of experience with Koppers, having held a variety of leadership roles with increasing responsibility. Prior to his current position, he served as Director of Corporate Engineering at Koppers from 2015 to 2023, where he oversaw major capital projects and advanced the company’s engineering capabilities. Earlier roles include Process Optimization Manager, where he implemented OSHA-based process safety programs and introduced new technological solutions to enhance operational performance, and Plant Manager of the Clairton Plant, where he managed the production of liquid pitch, creosote, and chemical oil.

Mr. Shannon began his career at Koppers in 1998 as an Operations Engineer and progressed through roles including Plant Superintendent, gaining deep expertise in chemical processing and plant operations.

He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Vice President, Transformation

From our company-wide Zero Harm commitment to the sustainability-based practices and products we undertake, everything we stand for at Koppers starts with our leadership teams.

Meet Our Leaders

Leadership Council

Leroy Ball

Stephanie Apostolou

Jason Bakk

Douglas Fenwick

Travis Gross

Tushar Lovalekar

Stephen Lucas

Quynh McGuire

Stacey McKinney

Christian Nielsen

David Schoen

Timothy Shannon

Follow us:

© 2026 Koppers Inc.