ProVia announced two key promotions within the company’s corporate leadership team.
Effective January 1, 2025, Phil Wengerd is stepping into the role of vice president of innovation and strategy. He will lead ProVia’s newly created innovation team, which will be responsible for identifying, developing and launching new products and services, along with building and growing innovation capabilities.
Wengerd previously held the position of vice president of market strategies for ProVia and has been with the company for more than 35 years.
“Phil’s gifts, skillset and decades of experience at ProVia make him the perfect person to jumpstart our new Innovation Team. ProVia’s value of continuous improvement states, ‘We have a relentless discomfort with the status quo.’ This exciting new endeavor will undoubtedly launch us into a new frontier of building products innovation, that will further position ProVia as the premier building products manufacturer, providing unmatched quality and service,” said Brian Miller, president and CEO of ProVia.
Also effective January 1, 2025, Jake Calhoun is being promoted to vice president of marketing. Calhoun will lead the company’s product management and creative and design teams, along with product marketing, content development, social media, advertising, public relations and oversight of the ProVia brand and positioning in the marketplace. Calhoun joined ProVia in 2021 as group product manager before being promoted to director of product marketing, then to his current role as executive director of marketing in 2023.
Calhoun has a marketing background that includes two nationally recognized food companies. Prior to joining ProVia, he was director of brand strategy for Jif Peanut Butter at the J.M. Smucker Company. Before that, he held the title of senior brand manager of K-Cups and director of marketing for Smucker Natural Foods. Calhoun gained experience in marketing, consumer research, and sales at Hormel Foods.
“Jake came to ProVia with a wealth of experience with major consumer brands, and quickly proved to be an expert marketer and professional leader,” said Miller. “During his tenure with ProVia, to-date he has expanded the capabilities of and grown our marketing team substantially. We look forward to his continued leadership as he moves forward in evolving our strategic marketing programs to support company growth.”