Richard Kobor
Mr. Kobor is a senior executive with 30 years of experience in engineering-driven industrial companies. His background includes a mix of general management, financial oversight, and engineering positions at domestic and international businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, as well as smaller privately-held enterprises.
Mr. Kobor was named CEO of Colson Group in 2021. Mr. Kobor was also the former CEO of Edge Industrial Technologies and former CEO of Petrosmith, LLC, both Blue Wolf portfolio companies as well as served on the Board of Directors for both. Mr. Kobor also serves on the Board of Directors for Blue Wolf portfolio company, Colson Group. Immediately prior to joining Blue Wolf, Mr. Kobor served in succession as President, Power and Specialty Tools and President, Equipment Worldwide at Snap-on Inc. In those roles, he drove strong growth via targeted acquisitions, developed new products, and reduced costs through standardizing design and rationalizing the supply chain. He also previously served as a Managing Director at Bitzer SE in Sindlefingen, Germany, where he helped to steer a $700M global company through the recession. Before that, he was president of Bitzer’s North America division. He has also been EVP of Operations at Harbour Group-ACS Group/AEC, Inc., and Director of Operations in the Carlyle Compressor Division of United Technologies-Carrier Corporation. He began his career as a Welding and Shipfitting Supervisor at General Dynamics- Electric Boat.
Mr. Kobor holds an M.B.A. and M.S. in Engineering with Distinction from Northwestern University, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management/Robert McCormick School of Engineering, and a B.S. in Structural Engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo, College of Engineering.
Christophe Boucherie
Christophe Boucherie serves as general manager of Rhombus SAS, a Colson Group brand in France and the oldest industrial manufacturer of wheels and castors in Europe. With more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in international sales management, business development, and product management.
Boucherie joined Colson Group USA in 1985 and held a number of positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to his most recent role as general manager, he helped implement Colson Italy, focusing on developing business in southern Europe and leading sales activities in international locations such as France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Maghreb. In 2011, he helped develop Shepherd France. In 2009, when Colson acquired Rhombus SAS, Boucherie helped to develop the business and operations and doubled sales turnover in less than 10 years. He was promoted to sales director, was appointed general manager in 1993, and became a sales representative for southeast France in 1989. In 1985, Boucherie joined Colson Group USA as a purchaser, where his responsibilities included setting up supplier services and developing product ranges in Italy and Asia.
Prior to joining Colson, Boucherie served at Credit Agricole Consumer Finance, a consumer credit provider in Europe, as a futures manager.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in economy and mathematics at Paris Nanterre University.
John Smithies
John Smithies joined Colson Europe in 2014 as the European finance director and earned the additional role of general manager of Colson UK Limited in 2017. Leading the UK and finance team within the European market with more than 20 years of manufacturing experience, Smithies specializes in finance and commercial activities, with strong inventory and working capital management skills.
Prior to joining Colson, he served as chief financial officer at Gardner Group, a manufacturing business in the aerospace sector based in The Midlands, UK. In this role, Smithies managed the business’ Global Finance function and financing activities. He also served as strategy planning manager for MG Rover Group, where he was responsible for budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management.
Smithies earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Sheffield University in South Yorkshire, England.
Mike Titizian
Mike Titizian joined Colson Group Canada, Inc. in 1997 as president and general manager of Colson’s Canadian operations. In this role, his responsibilities include positioning the operations for strategic growth and profitability through four distribution facilities located in Cambridge, Ontario; Toronto, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia; and Montreal, Quebec. With over 35 years in the manufacturing industry, he specializes in market and product development strategies to penetrate target markets, global sourcing and supply chain management, and business process improvements to facilitate customer service experience excellence.
Prior to joining Colson, Titizian served as general manager at Tampa Hall Limited, a manufacturer of pre-fabricated, engineered building components in Ayr, Ontario. His role focused on the operational profitability of the business through a wide network of dealers and distributors of its products in Ontario. Titizian also served as the entrepreneurial owner of AGM Carpet Products Inc., a manufacturer and distributor of floor covering installation materials and products, servicing commercial, institutional, and residential trades in the housing market. Prior to entering the private sector, Titizian spent three years working for the Federal Government in Ottawa, Ontario.
Titizian has authored many market-specific articles related to the caster industry in the following publications: Ontario Business; Animal Laboratory News, USA; Healthcare Purchasing News, USA; MRO Magazine; Kinecor (Wajax) Connections; and Plant Engineering & Maintenance (PEM) Magazine.
Titizian currently volunteers as an advisor on the Executive Council of the Armenian Prelacy of Canada, and is an active member of the Armenian Community Centre of Cambridge, Ontario. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, a Master of Arts from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and earned his Honors in Bachelor of Arts from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.
Tomasz Wilczynski
Tomasz Wilczynski joined Colson Group Poland in 2002 and advanced to a general manager in 2013, where he focuses on developing international business in Central and Eastern Europe and leads sales activities in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Eastland, Czech, and Hungary. With 15 years in the castors industry, he oversees all functions of the organization and specializes in business and strategic planning, product development, marketing strategy, account management, forecasting, and P&L and inventory management.
Wilczynski joined Colson Group Poland as a branch manager, where his responsibilities included setting up a company from scratch, building up a sales network, product and inventory management, business analysis, book-keeping, and controlling functions. Prior to joining Colson, he served as sales and marketing manager at Belet, one of the largest material handling companies in Poland, where he focused on leading sales and marketing activities and driving global sales in the East of Europe to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and the Baltic States.
Wilczynski earned his master’s degree in marketing and management from the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan Law School.
Gabriel J. Gonzalez
Gabriel J. Gonzalez has served as a general manager of Colson Group- IMSA since November 1990. With 35 years in the manufacturing industry, he specializes in product and process design, plant administration, product costing, and sales.
Gonzalez joined Colson Group-IMSA in March 1988 as a project engineer focusing on design, installation and startup of a complete pneumatic industrial wheels manufacturing line. Prior to Colson- IMSA, Gonzalez served as a process engineer at Dana Corporation, where he was a company leader in auto parts and engine components manufacturing at the Medellin, Colombia, facility. His role also consisted of aluminum piston design and piston plant management.
Gonzalez serves on the board of directors of the Medellin, Colombia, Convention Center and various volunteer groups. He earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from The Pontificia University in Medellin, Colombia, and a Master of Science degree from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California.