Velcro Companies Executive Leadership Team

Gabriella Parisse was named CEO of Velcro Companies in November 2021. She brings a wealth of international experience in consumer goods and B2B with a track record in accelerating growth, brand building and innovation.

She served as Chief Growth Officer at Velcro Companies before assuming her current role and held various marketing and operations leadership roles over 26 years at Johnson & Johnson and five years at Tate & Lyle PLC, a global food ingredients business. She serves on the New England Advisory Council (NEAC), advising the Boston Federal Reserve Bank about underlying trends in the economy. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Glanbia Plc, a global nutrition company.

Born and raised in Italy, Gabriella holds a master’s degree in Statistic & Demographic Sciences from La Sapienza University in Rome and was awarded the Order of Merit for Labor title (“Cavaliere del Lavoro”) by the President of the Italian Republic.

Bill Hamilton joined Velcro Companies as Chief Financial Officer in 2022. He leads the company’s Finance and Information Technology (IT) teams.

With more than 22 years of experience working with leading global manufacturing companies, he has a strong background in every aspect of finance. He has held senior leadership roles supporting key manufacturing industries, including automotive, specialty chemicals and performance materials, and consumer and corrugated packaging. Bill spent nine years at Ingevity where he served as Treasurer & VP of Investor Relations and Vice President, Treasury & FP&A (Financial Planning & Analytics). He also held senior Finance roles during his four years at MeadWestvaco/Rock-Tenn, a global consumer and corrugated packaging maker, and eight years with Federal-Mogul (now Tenneco), an industry-leading global automotive company.

Hamilton earned an MBA from the University of Michigan Dearborn and a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Michigan State University.

John Deitrich was named Chief Supply Chain Officer in 2022 and leads the company’s end-to-end global Operations, including Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Logistics, Procurement, Engineering and Quality. He brings significant breadth and depth of manufacturing and supply chain experience inside key markets, including Consumer and Personal Care, to the role.

John spent nearly 30 years at Kimberly-Clark and has deep technical knowledge and experience in nonwoven and sustainable manufacturing. Prior to joining the company, he served as Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Nice-Pak Products and Vice President of Operations at C3 Corporation.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis.

Andrew Ellis became Chief Commercial Officer – Americas in November 2021 and leads Commercials sales in North and South America.

Andrew brings a vast knowledge of our business and strong leadership credentials across B2B and Consumer to the role. Over more than 20 years with Velcro Companies, he has served in a variety of global sales and marketing leadership roles, including leading the Global Consumer organization and Global Personal Care category before being named President of our APAC Commercial organization while living in China.

Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Windsor and an MBA from the University of New Hampshire Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics.

Roberto Travella joined Velcro Companies in 2020 to lead our EMEA Commercial organization. Based in the company’s Argentona, Spain, facility, he was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer – EMEA & APAC in 2021 and brings more than 30 years of experience in business development, sales and marketing to the role.

Prior to joining Velcro Companies, Roberto spent more than 26 years at 3M, serving the Consumer and B2B markets in a variety of business development, sales and marketing leadership roles, including Country and Regional Manager and Division Leader.

Roberto earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from L. Bocconi University in Italy.

James Seidl was appointed Chief Product & Innovation Officer in 2022. He leads the company’s Research & Development (R&D) and Product and Category Marketing teams, focused on driving innovation and accelerating new product development.

He brings more than 20 years of experience in new product development, brand management and strategic planning as well as a passion for consumers and innovation. He spent nearly 11 years with McCormick & Company and more than 10 years at Procter & Gamble serving in senior leadership roles supporting product management, marketing and innovation for these multinational consumer goods companies.

James earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude in Business Administration with a major in International Business and Marketing from the American University Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C.

Chitra Ebenezer joined Velcro Companies in 2019 and was promoted to Chief Marketing Officer in 2021. She brings more than 25 years of marketing, brand building and communications leadership expertise to the role.

Prior to Velcro Companies, she served as Senior Director, USA Marketing, for the global fresh pasta company, Rana Meal Solutions. Chitra previously served as Global Communication Director at Tate & Lyle PLC and also held a variety of leadership positions at Kraft Foods Group, where she worked for 11 years. She started her marketing career at Kimberly-Clark, working on the iconic HUGGIES Brand.

She earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.