Lower-middle-market private equity firm Huron Capital announced that David Brunori has been named Executive Vice President and General Manager of Jacksonville, Arkansas-based PoloPlaz, Inc. to lead the next phase of the company’s growth.
Founded in 1961, PoloPlaz is well known for high performance wood floor coatings used for gymnasium and residential applications. The company is a division of Valentus Specialty Chemicals, a Huron Capital ExecFactor® platform formed in 2015 to pursue a buy-and-build investment strategy in the protective coatings industry.
“PoloPlaz is an exciting company that has earned respect across the sports arena industry because of its proprietary wood floor coatings,” Brunori said. “I am excited to be joining PoloPlaz and I am eager to build on the company’s nearly six decades of success.”
Brunori, 55, previously served as CEO of Brudner Polymer Corporation, an initiative he co-founded with Huron Capital. Prior to Brudner, he was in charge of business strategy as Business Director (Americas) for Valspar Automotive and also served as President of Quest Automotive during a period of rapid sales growth. Quest was a portfolio company of Huron Capital from 2004 until 2011.
At PoloPlaz, Brunori will seek to deepen the management team and expand the company’s leadership in wood floor coatings for basketball arenas, dance floor, malls, museums and homes. He will report to Raymond Chlodney, President, Chief Executive Officer of Valentus Specialty Chemicals. Chad Baker, who has played an integral role in the day-to-day operations of PoloPlaz since 2002, will be leaving effective February 15, 2019 to pursue other interests. Brunori has also been appointed to the Board of Directors for Valentus.
“We want to thank Chad for everything he has done for PoloPlaz while simultaneously welcoming David. David has a track record as an industry leader capable of jumpstarting sales growth, developing strong management teams and integrating acquisitions. We are confident that he is the right executive at the right time to lead PoloPlaz as it pursues market share growth,” Chlodney said.
Said Huron Capital Vice President Mike Zukas, “The appointment of David is part of Huron Capital’s ExecFactor® investment model, our proprietary program that identifies seasoned, talented leaders and places them in charge of our portfolio companies and their business units. We have known him for many years and are excited about the future of PoloPlaz under his direction.”