EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM (ELT)

Jim Sliker

Chief Executive Officer

See it, believe it and work for it – that theme propels Central States Manufacturing CEO Jim Sliker in the meeting room and on the playing field.

A true believer in working, learning and playing in a community environment, Jim has encouraged the organization to challenge the status quo and find new opportunities which has resulted in revenue growth that outpaces the competition. He is a servant leader always setting the company and its employee-owners up for success.  Establishing ambitious goals and providing support that helps the teams deliver on those commitments through a contagious sense of enthusiasm and inclusion is Jim’s recipe for success.

Previously, Jim was the President of Valeo Thermal Systems North America, providing air conditioning and engine cooling systems to most of the OEM automotive companies. During his tenure, he held positions in Project Management, Sales and Operations.

The Rochester, New York native earned a BSME from Kettering University along with an MBA from the University of Michigan. He serves on the Make-A-Wish Mid-South board and the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter board of directors. Above all, Jim’s favorite and most passion-driven hobby is spending quality time with his wife and their two daughters. An avid golfer and multi-sport endurance athlete, Jim enjoys playing just about any sport to fuel his competitive spirit while enjoying fellowship and maintaining fitness.

Chad Ware

Chief Financial Officer

Fulfilling the Company purpose of providing financial freedom to all our employee owners is what drives Chad each day.  This is accomplished through the success of the Central States Manufacturing Employee Stock Ownership Plan (or ESOP).  Chad’s role in accomplishing this purpose is to help Central States become more agile and to empower our employee owners to make well-informed, data backed decisions to drive the business forward.

The native Arkansan began his career in public accounting at HoganTaylor in its audit practice, focusing on manufacturing, retail and not-for-profit industries. He then moved to Tyson Foods, Inc. holding various roles in internal audit and corporate accounting, including Director of Financial Reporting.  Chad is a graduate of Harding University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and is a certified public accountant (inactive) in Arkansas.

Snow skiing, golfing and exploring new experiences and places with his wife Amanda and their two children is where Chad feels most at home. An accomplished college basketball player while at Harding, Chad was inducted into the Harding University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022.

Tim Ruger

President

Through life experiences and 25-plus years of expertise in a professional setting, there are things learned from both sides of life that apply across the board. One of those is that you cannot do everything.  Trusting your team with the autonomy to do their job well is so important. If you try to do everything – you will never succeed. Another valuable learning is that people react in different ways to good and not so good circumstances. The notion that everyone needs to be treated differently to suit their personality has been a core way of doing business.

The Battle Creek, Michigan native has an extensive background in the automotive industry and has served in roles such as Test Engineer, Lab manager, Engineering Manager, IT/IS Director, Director of Research and Development and Executive Vice President of Operations before his current role at Central States.

Tim majored in mechanical engineering at Western Michigan University and continued his education in business management at the University of Wisconsin. Traveling with his wife Mary and their three sons is a passion. Hunting and shooting are also favorite past times of the Detroit Lions fan.

Steve Langston

Vice President, Human Resources

Steve Langston joined the Central States Manufacturing family as Vice President of Human Resources in November of 2022. His talent management career has spanned twenty-plus years.

The phrase “it’s all about the people” is one that rings true to Langston and guides his philosophy in managing Human Resources.

“Human capital philosophy is the ability to get every employee to reach their fullest potential. I want everyone to reach the highest they want to go in their profession, personal life or business. From the organization standpoint, you have to start off with your company values in order to implement your HR operating systems. It really goes to attracting, developing and engaging with people meaning that they have the right resources and empowerment to do the job.”

A construction and building product industry veteran with a bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Arkansas, as well as an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management and a PhD in Organizational Development from Capella University, Langston and his wife Susan have five children and are coming back “home” to Arkansas after moving from northern Virginia.

When spending time away from the office, you’ll find Langston riding his motorcycle or appearing on Court TV and other news services serving as a behavioral, handwriting and body language expert.

Andrew Wilson

Vice President, Innovation

What started out as a three-year business commitment to come to the United States from the United Kingdom has now stretched into 20-plus years for Andrew, who became a U.S. citizen in 2018. With the goal to anticipate the needs of Central States, our customers and our partners, Andrew and his team are ready to react quickly to market trends and changes all the while looking to the future.

The Newcastle, England native holds a BEng (hons) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Leeds and believes in allowing his team to make decisions as well as mistakes just so those missteps aren’t repeated. That ideology has been crafted after having worked in several different manufacturing sectors over the past 30 years, including roles in logistics, manufacturing, quality, research and development, purchasing and forensic engineering.

Giving back activities is something near and dear to Andrew and his wife Mary’s hearts (they were high school sweethearts). He currently serves in multiple areas at his local church, supports several charitable organizations and holds a position on the Bentonville High School Lacrosse board.

In his spare time, you can find Andrew watching his kids play lacrosse or yelling, “Toon, Toon, Black and White Army!” as he cheers on his beloved Newcastle United in the English Premiere League.

Adam Haynes

Vice President, Sales

Adam began his employee-owner career as an intern in 2004.  He believes that what Central States does best is putting the customer’s needs before the company’s needs.  Ultimately, the goal is to make lives easier by improving customers’ business. The ability for customers to take advantage of the scale of Central States without being bogged down by bureaucracy, makes it easy to do business. That is the key for everyone to be successful.

The Rogers, Arkansas native has a degree in Finance from Arkansas Tech University and later completed his Master’s at the University of Arkansas.  In his career, Adam has played different roles at Central States culminating in 2019, when he was named Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

Adam has a multitude of interests including being a huge NETFLIX fan, being active in his local church community, playing drums (since he was 10-years old) as well as biking and hiking with his wife Olivia and their three children.

Tim Stevens

Vice President, Information Systems

Tim serves as the organization’s technology thought leader, ensuring Central States Manufacturing has a complete, integrated process and systems strategy. This includes flexibility to innovate and improve speed-to-market by introducing new capabilities driven by technology. He believes in empowering the people he works with while enabling them to innovate.

Currently, Stevens and team are working on continuing the innovation that has been a hallmark of Central States Manufacturing, thinking outside of the box not only for the company itself but for the betterment of relationships with partners and customers alike.

Prior to joining Central States, Stevens spent 21 years with Walmart Inc. in increasing leadership roles, ultimately serving as Senior Director II in the technology division serving Walmart International.  In this role Stevens was responsible for engineering execution spanning store associate technology and e-commerce platforms across the international markets.

Stevens holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.

He and his wife, Michelle, have four children. The Red Cloud, Nebraska native enjoys fishing, hunting, gardening or doing any other outdoor activity during the weekend.