Jason W. Borgstahl
CEO
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Jason Borgstahl is a 3rd Generation jewelry manufacturer and
caster. Over the past two decades, Jason has perfected his skills and has become a recognized
industry authority, caster, master mold cutter and expert in jewelry production techniques.
As beta-tester for HD Patterns, winner of the MJSA Innovation of the Year Award, he supported
its inventor Vic Joyner. Jason perfected casting parameters and material composition to create
durable, workable and astonishingly detailed, castable patterns. Jason Borgstahl is passionate
in the application of new technology and seizes upon technological solutions from other
industries to achieve the exquisite quality and consistent product Casting House provides.
In his own words: “I am dedicated to providing our clients with the best product and
service and am always on the lookout for the next thing we can do to make their life easier.
I can really get going in a discussion about the technical aspects of jewelry manufacturing;
so when you see me at a trade show I am pretty much always talking technology — Let's talk!”
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Bernie F. Czerwinski
President and COO
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Bernie Czerwinski has been President, Chief Operations Officer and Board
Director of Casting House since March 2006. He began his career at Allstate
Insurance and then joined Morgan Stanley to manage the U.S. based audit team,
where he headed up major product development. Mr. Czerwinski and Casting
House CEO Jason Borgstahl partnered on various projects starting in 2000-2001.
Mr. Czerwinski is also Board Director at Northport Private Equity, a private
equity firm specializing in late stage technology investments out of Silicon Valley.
Mr. Czerwinski earned a B.S. in Accountancy from Northern Illinois University.
In his own words: “Casting House remains a small enough company to offer
individual attention to each customer, which is key to creating high quality
custom jewelry, but large enough to handle mass production and large scale
projects. My vision for Casting House is to become the platinum standard by
which other casting company's and jewelry manufactures are measured. In fact,
its more than just my vision, it's my passion.”
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Merle Mixell
Director of Finance
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Merle Mixell recently joined Casting House as the Director of Finance, bringing nearly a decade of finance experience with him. Prior to joining Casting House, Merle held financial and operational roles at Citigroup, DHL Worldwide Express and most recently American Airlines, where Merle was responsible for a regional multi million dollar budget. A proven multi-tasker with the ability to plan, prioritize, and manage projects under aggressive timelines, Merle earned his MBA in finance from the Graduate School of Business at Loyola University-Chicago after completing his undergrad work at University of Illinois, Chicago.
In his own words: “It is exciting to work in a company like Casting House after being with large corporations for such a long time. Casting House has been growing steadily for many years now and is positioned for significant advancement during the next couple of years. It is our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction that keeps us trending upward. It is great to have a hand in that kind of growth.”
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Kim Ouellette
Director of Operations
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Kim joined the jewelry industry in 1998 in retail sales after completing the
Certified Sales Associate program at the American Gem Society and receiving her
Counter Sketching Certificate from GIA. In November of 2004 she officially
became part of the Casting House team; bringing to the table nearly a decade
of experience working with many of the most talented wax carvers, metal smiths
and setters in the industry. Kim has the knowledge and natural ability needed to
successfully direct the infinite details found in the countless custom projects
she manages on a weekly basis. From beginning to end, the jobs run like clockwork
thanks to her solution-based thinking and understanding of what each client needs.
In her own words: “The greatest challenge is to take something that is
only an idea in someone's mind, and make that idea a reality. I am lucky to be
a part of creating someone's dreams.”
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Troy Agler
Sales Manager
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Troy Agler joined Casting House in 2007. A native Ohioan, Troy played for his home team earning a B.A. in Communications from The Ohio State University. After six years in the wireless industry where he earned top honors with Verizon’s consumer division and US Cellular’s B2B sector, Troy made the move to jewelry. Now on the Casting House team, Troy heads up the outside sales department and coordinates all trade show efforts. Perfectly comfortable as the “go to guy” for any customer request, Troy thrives on providing the best solution for whatever is brought his way; matching the resources to the challenge at hand. Please stop by our booth and say hello when he comes to a trade show near you.
In his own words: “I like providing a manufacturing or design service that the customer can’t find anywhere else. I get to wake up every day and promote a product that is the best in the business and work with a team of professionals that is second to none. How great is that?”
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John Reicher
Manager of Jewelry Manufacturing
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John got his start in large-scale stainless steel fabrication. With a background
and interest in all things technical, he installs, modifies or overhauls advanced
computerized systems and electronics; maximizing the Casting House equipment and
casting machines. John has an extraordinary, hands-on background and in his eight
years in jewelry industry, has leveraged that diverse experience delivering innovative
solutions on a daily basis.
In his own words: “I've always been great at training people and making a shop,
machine or a team, run its best. And because I have owned businesses and understand what
business owners need, I naturally think from there. Simply put, I'm known as the guy that
can pull anything apart and put it back together again so it works better, faster or more
efficiently.”
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Lily Moreno
San Francisco
Front Office
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Lily Moreno is JA certified Bench Jeweler Technician and graduate of the Revere Academy of Jewelry Arts. As such, she is proficient in jewelry finishing, repair and fabrication. With a BA from the University of California Riverside and additional work experience in business operations, Lily is ideally suited to her task supervising our west coast office in San Francisco.
In her own words: “What I enjoy most is the one on one interaction with seasoned jewelers and jewelry designers. I am also extremely pleased when we can provide them with a product that exceeds their expectations and ensures their return.”
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Josh G. Shelby
Co-chair,
Casting House Board
of Directors
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Josh Shelby began his career in Corporate Finance for Bear Stearns, an
investment-banking firm, and has since started a number of companies,
including Northport Private Equity and Casting House, now the largest
contract jewelry manufacturer in the Midwest. Josh is pleased to be both
part-owner of Casting House and Co-chair of its Board of Directors. He
earned a B.A. in Economics and Psychology from Georgetown University and
an MBA in finance from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
In his own words: “I've seen our company grow from being a small regional firm to the largest custom jewelry manufacturer in the Midwest to now a national player. Casting House is a very innovative, service-oriented company. We are constantly looking for ways to improve the company with better alloys, better manufacturing techniques and better customer service. That, in my opinion, is the only way to become best-in-class and then stay there as the standard bearer. It certainly has resonated well with our customers. The last thing I'd add is that you won't find a more dedicated, friendly group of employees than our team; they work hard to make every customer experience at Casting House a very positive one.”
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David T. Shelby
Co-chair,
Casting House Board
of Directors
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Mr. David Shelby is the former CFO of Ford Motor Company's $60B Truck Division.
Mr. Shelby also served in several executive and general management positions at
International Harvester (now Navistar) prior to co-founding ICM Industries, which
bought, improved and sold companies during the 1980's and 1990's. Mr. Shelby holds
both a BA and MBA degree from the University of Michigan. In addition to having
ownership in Casting House Mr. Shelby has been on the Board of Directors since the
merger of Casting House and GM Casting in June 2003.
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