Pioneer Metal Finishing Names New CEO

Pioneer Metal Finishing LLC (Green Bay, Wisc.), a portfolio company of Aterian Investment Partners, has announced that Stephen Smith will assume the role of CEO of Pioneer. Scott Kettler, Pioneer’s current President/COO, will retire Feb. 3, 2022.

Brandon Bethea, Co-Founder & Partner with Aterian says, “[Smith] brings extensive executive leadership experience spanning all corporate functions including strategy, operations, leadership, talent identification, sales and marketing.” 

Since 2019, Smith was CEO of Stewart Tubular Products in Houston, TX, a manufacturer, distributor and threader of down-hole tubing and casing accessories. Prior to that, he was President of BrightFlare Performance Solutions in Houston, a business consulting practice, for 11 years.

“Steve’s proven strategic and visionary leadership will help the entire Pioneer team build upon our strong foundation today while preparing for continued growth in the years ahead,” adds Bethea.

“While looking to the future, it’s equally important to thank Scott [Kettler] and recognize his significant contributions to Pioneer over the past four years,” remarked Bethea. “Along with his business acumen, we appreciate Scott’s personal integrity managing Pioneer with the highest ethical standards.”

Since 2018, Kettler provided leadership to the Pioneer operations team as the Chief Operating Officer and to the broader organization as the President role was added last year.  In the past two years, he led the expansion of Pioneer’s geographic footprint and diversification of its capabilities through the strategic acquisitions of three new divisions: Salt Lake City, UT; Chippewa Falls, WI; and Union City, CA. In addition, Kettler spearheaded key profit-improvement initiatives at several locations and facilitated ongoing strategic repositioning of Pioneer’s customer engagement practices.

Reflecting on his tenure, Kettler expressed pride in the entire Pioneer team. “All our employees possess a relentless desire to meet our customers’ needs,” he stated. “It’s exciting to come to work every day.”