Gabriel® (Ride Control LLC), appointed Curt Huston general manager. Huston brings more than 25 years of automotive and aftermarket industry expertise to his new role including positions at Continental Structural Plastics, Hayes-Lemmerz, Allied Signal (Honeywell) and Azure Dynamics.
“We welcome Curt’s experience as he leads Gabriel in its strategic and aggressive growth plan,” said George Ruhl, president, MAT Holdings, Gabriel’s parent company. “In his role as general manager, he will be responsible for the Gabriel product portfolio, including engineering, manufacturing, sales, and distribution. Gabriel has become an important business for MAT Holdings since it was acquired in December 10, 2012.
“Gabriel has many growth opportunities. I am excited to aggressively pursue these with the support of the Gabriel leadership team and MAT Holdings,” said Huston. “Gabriel is one of the longest-standing brands in the aftermarket industry and I look forward to expanding and strengthening our customer relationships.”
Huston has experience in leading, developing and growing small to large cap multinational organizations and was most recently executive director of business development at Continental Structural Plastics. Prior to that, he was chief operating officer of Azure Dynamics where he increased revenue by a factor of 15 in four short years. He held a number of leadership positions at Hayes Lemmerz during key turnaround years for the company. While at AlliedSignal (Honeywell International), he was manager of operations for Fram/Autolite for both OE and aftermarket products as well as brand manager. He began his career with General Motors/Delphi Chassis Systems as an industrial engineer and manufacturing engineer for shock absorbers and struts.
Huston earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from GMI Engineering and Management Institute (now Kettering University) and his master’s degree in Management Science from the University of Dayton. He resides in Commerce Township, Mich., with his wife and two sons.
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