DMC Global Inc. announced Kevin Longe has stepped down as chief executive officer, effective immediately. DMC's board of directors has named chief financial officer Michael Kuta and the company's chairman, David Aldous, as interim co-CEOs. Mr. Kuta has agreed to postpone his previously announced retirement and will remain on DMC's leadership team to ensure a smooth transition.

He will also retain the title of CFO until his successor is named. Aldous joined the DMC board of directors in 2013 and became chairman in 2018. He has over 35 years of corporate leadership experience in the energy, alternative energy, chemical and petrochemical industries.

Most recently, he was the CEO and director of Rive Technology Inc., a privately held nanotechnology company providing solutions for diffusion-limited reactions to the refining, chemical, and petrochemical industries. Prior to joining Rive Technology in 2012, Aldous served as CEO and director of Range Fuels Inc., a clean energy and biofuels company from 2009 to 2012. Aldous also spent more than 20 years with Royal Dutch Shell where he held the roles of executive vice president of portfolio and strategy, president of Shell Canada Products, and president and CEO of CRI/Criterion, a global portfolio of technology, licensing, and manufacturing companies.

Additionally, he served as director and chairman of several Shell joint ventures and as a director of Lanzatech. Aldous holds a Bachelor of Science in fuels engineering from the University of Utah and an MBA with distinction from Northwestern University. During his 25-year financial career, Kuta has gained extensive experience managing complex financing transactions, developing long-range strategic business-unit growth plans, integrating mergers and acquisitions, managing capital structure, debt and equity financing, building and developing financial teams, and providing financial and operational leadership.

His industry experience spans industrial, energy, and petrochemical sectors. Prior to joining DMC as CFO in 2014, Kuta was Corporate Controller of the Lubrizol Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, where he was responsible for corporate accounting, consolidation and financial reporting functions, and oversight of internal controls. Prior to Berkshire Hathaway's 2011 acquisition of Lubrizol, Kuta held a variety of financial roles at Lubrizol, where he gained extensive experience in business partnering, financial planning and analysis, treasury and capital markets, and leading finance and accounting organizations.

Kuta also held several roles of increasing responsibility at other diversified manufacturing companies, including Lincoln Electric. He earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Kent State University and an MBA in finance from Case Western Reserve University. He also is a CPA.