Greenville industrial solutions firm names new CEO, other C-suite appointments

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A Greenville-based industrial solutions firm has named a new CEO and revealed a new corporate growth structure.

The executive appointments and the new structure at aeSolutions, an applied engineering solutions development and delivery company that assesses industrial process risk and implements risk response plans through critical systems, are designed to drive client success and position the company for growth in client services and offerings, according to a news release.

“At aeSolutions, the pursuit of client success in tandem with employee development is foundational,” said Ken O’Malley, founder, who is now stepping into the position of CEO, in the release. “It’s not enough just to win business today; our long-term success must be built on that foundation. We believe this so strongly that we recently reorganized our corporate structure around our unique client success model. We have an exciting vision of our future, and now we have the leadership and structure to get us there.”

Here are the executive appointments:

• O’Malley, CEO: O’Malley started aeSolutions with two partners in 1998 and most recently served as aeSolutions’ president. He has proven to be a leader capable of transitioning from a startup with five employees to a mid-sized consulting and engineering company that has locations in multiple states executing critical projects for international, Fortune 100 clients, the release stated.
• Joel Read, chief financial officer: As aeSolutions’ first CFO and member of the executive Leadership team, Read leverages his history of elevating company performances while navigating through periods of significant change, the release stated. Read’s previous roles include serving as the president of Executive Interim Management LLC and as division chief financial officer, division controller and global HQ business planner at IBM Global Services.
• Chris Neff, chief operating officer: Neff has more than 25 years of experience developing and executing complex projects to create value for customers in diverse industries including refining, chemicals, onshore and offshore oil and gas, LNG, syngas/methanol, utilities, infrastructure, power, metals, mining, food, and pharmaceuticals, the release stated.
• David Ivester, chief commercial officer: Prior to joining aeSolutions in January 2024, Ivester accumulated more than 30 years of experience in a variety of leadership positions in sales and marketing in the process automation space, the release stated. During his previous tenure at Emerson, Ivester held a range of roles, from sales representative to vice president of global accounts. His most recent role at aeSolutions was as senior vice president for sales and marketing.

In addition, Ken Whittle has been promoted to vice president of solutions development. Whittle’s 30-plus years of leadership roles in environment, health, safety, and sustainability (EHS&S)/operations comprise experience with mechanical integrity, maintenance excellence, mergers and acquisitions, and leadership coaching and mentoring, according to the release.

New business units/branches

To streamline and more tightly focus operations at aeSolutions, the company consolidated multiple business units into two: Solutions Development and Solutions Delivery, each overlaying four organizational branches focused on the company’s sales and service, its people, deployment, and its projects, the release stated.

“With these updates, aeSolutions has created a structure that includes a C-suite to lead our forecasted rapid growth as we head towards our 2027 vision with a strategic plan in mind,” added O’Malley. “Our growth will create an abundance of opportunities for our employees as well, propelling them to increasingly contribute to the success of our clients. This new structure is a win-win-win for our clients, our employees, and our company.”

In business since 1998, aeSolutions is an applied engineering solutions development and delivery company that assesses industrial process risk and implements risk response plans through critical systems.