Thomas Schneider, the founder of ISA TanTec™, is now the Executive Chairman of the group. With a background in Tanning Engineering and Science, he dedicated his career to the leather industry. He founded ISA TanTec™ in 1993 and initiated the LITE manufacturing concept in 2003.
 

Outside of the company, Tom is the Co-Chairman of the Ecological Development Union International. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of Leather Working Group, as well as the Chairman of Foreign Tanners of China. He has been dedicated to charitable work, and a loud voice for social responsibility, and environmental protection.

 

Uwe Hutzler is Chief Executive Officer of ISA TanTec™ Group. He joined the company in 2011 as our CFO. Uwe brought, at that time, more than 10 years of financial and management experience to ISA TanTec™.
 

During his 10 years tenure at ISA TanTec™, he has not only managed the corporate direction and strategy of the group, but he has created a strong footprint in all other areas, such as sales, marketing, compliance, and procurement.
 

His leadership at ISA has led to strong company revenue growth, and it’s now positioned us for the future.
 

Uwe is a graduate of the University Erlangen-Nuremberg in Business Administration and has worked previously at two German multinational groups in different positions in Germany, China, and other Asian countries.

 

Kenneth Yu is our Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for all of ISA TanTec™ ’s financial controls, compliance, administration, human resources, IT, local affairs, and local purchasing operations. Kenneth holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting. He started his career as a Certified Public Accountant and worked for companies like Inchcape Pacific, Price Waterhouse Management Consulting, Asia Pacific Breweries, and public companies such as Hutchison. He has expertise operating in different regions and locations including China, Hong Kong, Macau, US Guam, UK, and India.

 

Tiago Horn started his Leather Technologist career in ISA Group in the early days of Guangzhou TanTec facility. During his over 25 years’ service, he has been positioned in different significant areas - Research and Development for footwear, Automotive Leather division and was the first employee deployed to Vietnam in 2007 to set up Saigon TanTec to name a few. Tiago has been involved in Saigon TanTec from its initial soil analysis to its ramp up into a state-of-the-art facility producing 6 million square feet per month. He also contributed to the set up of the group’s second facility in Vietnam, TransAsia TanTec. In his latest assignment as Chief Operating Officer Asia, since 2016, he leads the capacity ramp-up in Asia.

Jens Kaufhold has been with the ISA Group for 10 years and is currently serving as Chief Financial Officer of our Vietnamese and U.S. operations.
 

Milestones of his career are the establishment and ramp up of Mississippi TanTec Leather Inc., establishment of TransAsia TanTec Ltd. and his leadership in cost engineering for Saigon TanTec Leather Ltd. to improve the competitiveness of the entity.
 

Jens obtained several financial and management accreditations from the Harvard Business School, Corporate Finance Institute, Institute of Management Accountants, INSEAD Executive Education and is currently participating in the digital MBA course of the HKUST Business School.

Ronda de Bie, Senior Vice President of Sales, is responsible for all of our global sales and marketing activities, including Product Management. Prior to joining ISA TanTec™, Ronda held various other positions in the leather industry, including Sales Manager at Tyche Leather and Sales and Product Development Manager at Shanghai Richina. Ronda began her career in the tanning business in 1994 as a Customer Service Representative at Pfister & Vogel Leather in Milwaukee, US.
 

Ronda started at ISA TanTec™ in 2012 as Sales Director US and Product Manager.
 

Ronda’s creativity in Line Building, anticipating seasonal and long-term trends did not just change ISA’s product range itself, but also customer perception of ISA in the marketplace. No longer considered only a “Men’s Outdoor Leather” tannery, ISA now offers a more complete product range with various looks.

 

Keith Hill joined ISA TanTec™ in December 2013 and is Vice President Sustainable Business Development. Keith was Senior Vice President Sales for the group for more than 6 years before transitioning into his current position. Prior to joining ISA TanTec™, Keith has held other senior positions in the leather industry including Chief Operating Officer of Simona Tanning, and President of Shanghai Richina Shoe Leather Division.
 

Keith first encountered the tanning industry when he was 8 years old at SB Foot Tanning in Red Wing, Minnesota in the 1960s where his father worked in sales management. Traveling with his father in his teenage years to customers and trade shows sparked a passionate interest in the leather business.

 

Carl Flach joined ISA Group in 2007, and he is currently the Senior Director for Operational Strategies, overseeing strategic initiatives and global operations.

As a sixth-generation tanner from Denmark, Carl has built a distinguished career in the leather industry. Educated at the prestigious tanning schools in Reutlingen, Germany, Carl has gained extensive experience across Europe, the USA, and Asia, following the closure of his family's tannery in the late eighties.

At ISA Group, Carl has been pivotal in driving operational excellence and expanding production capabilities. He managed the successful production relocation of ISA’s China facility from Guangzhou to Heshan in 2012 and led the launch of operations at Mississippi TanTec in 2015/2016.

Carl’s leadership extends beyond ISA and he is a proactive member of industry groups:

• Elected member of the Leather Working Group (LWG), working on protocol development, auditor issues etc.

• Active member of the Supervisory Council of Leather Naturally (LN), focusing on education and the promotion of leather.

• Involvement in the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for preparation of the guidelines for environmental Footprint of leather under UNIDO.