Our leadership team

Mike Shippel leads Elevate Solutions Group with a background spanning finance, operations, sales, and program management. He has spent more than two decades building and scaling manufacturing organizations supporting complex, regulated markets. Prior to founding Elevate Solutions Group, he held leadership roles with CIBA Vision (Alcon) and worked closely with national consumer brands, healthcare companies, and major retailers. Mike holds a degree in Finance from the University of Maryland and completed executive finance and marketing programs at the Wharton School.

Michael Sinclair brings more than 25 years of global leadership experience across brand strategy, operations, and commercial growth. He leads client development and strategic initiatives that align manufacturing capabilities with long-term customer needs. Michael has served as a CMO, consulting partner, and senior marketing leader for organizations ranging from Fortune 100 companies to mid-sized manufacturers. He holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the University of Georgia.

Fred Howery oversees manufacturing operations with extensive experience in injection molding, assembly, packaging, and regulated manufacturing environments. His background includes senior leadership roles with Gerresheimer, Comar, Columbia Dentoform, and MedPlast. Fred has led facility expansions, equipment qualification, cleanroom installations, and FDA-registered manufacturing operations. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland.

Paul Larate manages day-to-day operations with more than 20 years of experience in operations management, logistics, production planning, and quality assurance. He previously spent over a decade with Alcon in distribution and process engineering roles, including Six Sigma Black Belt certification. Paul holds a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

David Mathenge leads quality assurance and process improvement initiatives. His background includes quality engineering, process engineering, and continuous improvement across manufacturing environments. He brings hands-on experience with root cause analysis and Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. David holds degrees in Industrial Engineering and Industrial Engineering Technology from Kennesaw State University and Southern Polytechnic State University.

Jim Casavant’s extensive mold design and tool-building experience, particularly in the medical device space, has positioned him to be a valued hands-on, cost-effective problem solver. Over more than 30 years, he has held leadership positions in Quality, Program Management, and Tooling Engineering. Jim is a team player who learned his trade working closely with his father and eventually completing an 8,000-hour tool shop program at Vermont State.

Chris Gardner leads sales and marketing efforts at Elevate Solutions Group, bringing more than 25 years of experience guiding products from concept through commercialization. Earlier in his career, he founded and later sold a consumer products company, then spent nearly a decade leading product and commercial initiatives within plastic injection molding organizations. Chris holds a degree in Industrial Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology.