Senior Leadership

David M. Maura was appointed our Executive Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer in July 2018. Previously, he had served as the Executive Chairman, effective as of January 2016, and as Chief Executive Officer, effective as of April 2018, of SPB Legacy. Prior to such appointment, Mr. Maura served several roles at SPB Legacy, including Executive Chairman, non-Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Maura was a Managing Director and the Executive Vice President of Investments at HRG Group from October 2011 until November 2016 and had been a member of HRG Group’s board of directors from May 2011 until December 2017. Mr. Maura previously served as a Vice President and Director of Investments of Harbinger Capital Partners LLC from 2006 until 2012. Prior to joining Harbinger Capital in 2006, Mr. Maura was a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst at First Albany Capital, Inc., where he focused on distressed debt and special situations, primarily in the consumer products and retail sectors. Prior to First Albany, Mr. Maura was a Director and Senior High Yield Research Analyst in Global High Yield Research at Merrill Lynch & Co. Previously, Mr. Maura was a Vice President and Senior Analyst in the High Yield Group at Wachovia Securities, where he covered various consumer product, service and retail companies. Mr. Maura began his career at ZPR Investment Management as a Financial Analyst.

Mr. Maura served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mosaic Acquisition Corp. (“Mosaic”) from October 2017 to January 2020, and served as outside director of Vivint Smart Home, Inc. (Mosaic’s successor) from January 2020 until March 2020. He previously served on the boards of directors of Ferrous Resources, Ltd., Russell Hobbs and Applica. Mr. Maura received a B.S. degree in business administration from Stetson University and is a CFA charter holder.

Jeremy W. Smeltser was appointed our Executive Vice President on October 1, 2019 and was appointed our Chief Financial Officer on November 17, 2019. He previously served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SPX Flow, Inc. (“SPX Flow”). Prior to his role at SPX Flow, he served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of SPX Corporation, where he served in various roles, including as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Flow Technology, and became an officer of SPX Corporation in April 2009. Mr. Smeltser joined SPX Corporation in 2002 from Ernst & Young LLP, where he was an audit manager in Tampa, Florida. Prior to that, he held various positions with Arthur Andersen LLP, in Tampa, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois, focused primarily on assurance services for global manufacturing clients. Mr. Smeltser earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Northern Illinois University.

Ehsan Zargar was appointed our Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary on October 1, 2018. Mr. Zargar is responsible for the Company’s legal, environmental, social and governance, health and safety, insurance and real estate functions. In addition, Mr. Zargar takes a leading role in negotiating and implementing the Company’s M&A, capital markets and other strategic activities. Previously, Mr. Zargar also led the Company’s executive compensation program. From June 2011 until July 2018, Mr. Zargar held a number of increasingly senior positions with HRG Group, a publicly-listed acquisition company, including serving as its Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from January 2017 until July 2018, as its General Counsel since April 2015 and as Corporate Secretary since February 2012. During his time at HRG Group, Mr. Zargar took a leading role in setting, negotiating and implementing HRG Group’s M&A, capital markets and other strategic activities. Mr. Zargar has extensive experience serving on private and public boards and committees of portfolio companies, including setting and overseeing senior management compensation programs. From August 2017 until July 2018, Mr. Zargar served as a director of SPB Legacy. From November 2006 to June 2011, Mr. Zargar worked in the New York office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Previously, Mr. Zargar practiced law at another major law firm focusing on general corporate matters. Mr. Zargar received a law degree from Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto and a B.A. from the University of Toronto.

John Pailthorp was appointed President of the Global Pet Care (GPC) Division of Spectrum Brands in October 2019. He previously was the Senior Vice President and General Manager of GPC since December of 2018. Prior to that, Mr. Pailthorp was the Vice President of Global Marketing for the company’s former Pet, Home & Garden division since May of 2015.

Mr. Pailthorp began his career with Spectrum Brands in 2002 in Brand Management for lawn & garden products in the company’s Home & Garden division and moved on to hold a number of Marketing leadership roles, eventually taking on the role of Division Vice President of Home & Garden Marketing in 2010.

Mr. Pailthorp earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Baltimore and a Master’s degree in Marketing from Johns Hopkins University.

Javier Andrade-Marin was appointed President of the Home & Garden (H&G) Division of Spectrum Brands in November 2022. Mr. Andrade-Marin previously served as General Manager, Retail Brands US at Henkel North America from 2020 to 2022. Prior to that, he served as Vice President Marketing for Laundry and Home Care at Henkel North America between 2018 and 2020. Before Henkel, Mr. Andrade-Marin held a number of operational and marketing roles across Europe, Latin America and the United States at Reckitt Benckiser, Verizon Communications and The Walt Disney Company.

Mr. Andrade-Marin earned an MBA from the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business and a BA in Marketing form the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.