First announced on Wednesday in a PPB Newslink Breaking News announcement, Proforma (PPAI 196835) has promoted Doug Kordel to president, effective immediately. He previously served as the chief operating officer and general counsel for the Cleveland, Ohio-headquartered distributor.

When Brian Smith, the former president and CEO left Proforma in 2016, Kordel took over Smith’s role and the day-to-day operations as chief operating officer. As president, Kordel will form and lead the company’s leadership and management teams in addition to handling high-level operational issues and spearheading the development, communication and implementation of effective growth strategies and processes.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce the well-deserved promotion of Doug Kordel to president,” says Greg Muzzillo, founder of Proforma. “We are confident Doug will continue to provide the leadership and direction needed to support our entire Proforma family. Doug’s experience and dedication has been instrumental in achieving our system-wide sales growth and success as one of the largest distributors in the industry.”

Joining Proforma in 2003 as the compliance officer and general counsel, Kordel has held various roles within Proforma including director of human resources, chief business development officer, chief strategic development officer and chief operating officer.

“It’s an honor to be able to work with such a talented group of people throughout the Proforma family network,” says Kordel. “I look forward to continuing to support Proforma’s mission to help our owners’ and support center team members’ dreams come true.”

A graduate of The University of Dayton School of Law, Kordel was named the winner of Crain’s Cleveland Business magazine’s General & In-House Counsel Summit Award in 2013. Prior to joining Proforma, he served as both in-house and outside legal counsel. He also holds a bachelor of business administration from the University of Toledo, majoring in information systems and operations management.