Mary Zappone Joins BRACE Industrial Group as Chief Executive Officer

Versatile Leader with Industrial Background will focus on Growth, Safety and Efficiency

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BRACE Industrial Group, a leading provider of industrial construction services known for its world-class safety and efficient execution, announced today the appointment of Mary Zappone as Chief Executive Officer. Zappone, who has maintenance and industrial services expertise and a background in engineering, will work with BRACE leadership to drive profitable organic growth while continuing to enhance the employee and customer experiences. Her official start date is October 2, 2017.

With her new role, Zappone makes a welcome return to the industrials sector and to Houston, where she has resided twice before. Prior to BRACE, Zappone worked at Exxon’s Baytown Refinery, where she led quality maintenance and reliability efforts, and at General Electric’s plastics division, where she implemented global reliability and cost metrics, benchmarking, and best practice sharing across 30 plastics plants in multiple geographies. Most recently, Zappone was President and CEO of Service Champ, a large specialty distributor of automotive aftermarket maintenance parts and accessories.

“BRACE’S reputation for industry-best safety and performance, its employees’ expertise, and a return to my roots, so to say, makes BRACE such an exciting place to work,” said Zappone. “I look forward to working closely with employees, customers, and suppliers to better understand where we’re excelling, what we can improve through shared best practices, and how we can grow while preserving BRACE’s core values.”

With a passion for mentoring, Zappone is active in organizations that encourage women and girls to pursue careers in math and science and speaks frequently on the topic at major events, including the Women’s Global Leadership Conference in Energy and Technology and the National Math and Science Initiative Young Leaders Program.

Alan Macksey, Managing Director at Sterling Partners, said, “Mary has an unsurpassed track record of driving growth while creating an environment that fosters collaboration and high performance from multi-level teams. She’s a top-tier strategist with a strong skillset in operational excellence, and we are eager to follow Mary as she leads BRACE to the next level.”

BRACE, a Sterling Partners portfolio company since 2013, provides industrial construction services that include scaffolding, insulation, fireproofing, industrial siding and decking, and lead/asbestos abatement and refractory across a wide variety of industries, such as power generation, oil and gas, chemical, petrochemical, and manufacturing. BRACE operates union and open-shop companies.

About BRACE

BRACE Industrial Group (BRACE) is a leading provider of industrial construction services – including scaffolding, insulation, fireproofing, heat tracing, industrial siding and decking, painting and coatings, lead/asbestos abatement and refractory. BRACE owns both BRACE Integrated Services, the open-shop division of BRACE Industrial Group, and PLATINUM Scaffolding Services, the union division of BRACE Industrial Group. For more information, visit: http://www.brace.com/.

About Sterling Partners

Sterling Partners is a private equity firm with a distinct point of view on how to build great companies. Founded in 1983 and having invested billions of dollars, Sterling is guided by its stated purpose, INSPIRED GROWTH®, which describes Sterling’s approach to investing in differentiated businesses and growing them in inspired ways. Sterling provides valuable support to the management teams of the companies in which the firm invests through a deep and dedicated team of professionals, including a strong network of outside directors and advisors. The people at Sterling believe in ideas and ideals, in people and in partnerships that drive long-term success. For more information, visit: www.sterlingpartners.com.

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