Tower Leaders Embrace the Future
Our Approach: Growth, Shaping the Future, Listening to our Customers, Building Long-Term Partnerships.
James Veltrie
PRESIDENT & CEO
James joined Tower in 1987 and was promoted to Vice President after five years with the company. During the next 25 years, he was named Director & Corporate Secretary, as well as being promoted to Senior Vice President and CFO. In 2016, James was named President and CEO. Also during this time, James was instrumental in the development and management of the Corporate Community Action fund – supporting over 30 nonprofit agencies (shelters, food pantries, etc.) and a key coordinator for a “think tank” workshop for local businesses.
Throughout his career, James has been active in his community by coaching youth sports programs, and together with Hope, his wife of over 34 years, continue to support after school programs and homeless/domestic violence shelters. James and Hope have 3 children, Joshua, Lucas and Rebecca along with 3 grandchildren, Addison, Jack and Cooper.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide the best in broadcast solutions around the world. Innovation through collaboration, we specialize in custom value-added services when conventional solutions simply are not enough. We continuously develop and maintain a wide range of strategic products and supplier partnerships which displays our passion to the industry we love. At Tower Products, we connect the future.
We are Proud to be 100% Employee Owned.
At Tower Products Incorporated, we have always done things differently than the rest of the industry! That is why we decided in 2016 to make our employees actual equity stake owners in 100% of the company.
We believe our employees should share in the success of our company in a tangible manner. This is the ultimate way to reward employees for their contributions to our ongoing success and growth. That’s why we created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”). Participating in the ESOP program means employees are actual part owners of the company and benefit financially from a job well done. In this way, there is direct incentive for employees to work hard and take pride in what they do. It is also why we lead the broadcasting industry with the most energetic and knowledgeable employee-owners under the sun!
Chris Whitehead
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER & GENERAL MANAGER
Chris has been with Tower since 2014, where he started off as an Inbound Sales Representative and was later promoted to a Customer Relationship Manager in our TecNec Distributing division.
Chris’ background in Computer Science and Networking made him a strong candidate when the IT Project Manager position became available. At that point, He was promoted to Project Manager to assist the IT team with organizing project requests from all departments and to balance the available IT resources to successfully complete those projects.
In January of 2018, Chris was promoted to General Manager and became an integral part of the Executive team, managing key operations of the company as well as balancing interdepartmental resources. He works closely with the Vice Presidents and other department heads to ensure Tower’s growth while adhering to the Corporate Vision and Core Values being upheld by President and CEO, James Veltrie.
Chris played soccer growing up and is an avid fan that enjoys watching the Brazilian soccer league. He is also a car and motorcycle enthusiast... although anything with a motor will draw his attention, he has a passion for Volkswagens, Audis, and Yamahas.
Andy Barth
CHIEF SALES OFFICER
A can do, people before profits attitude coupled with a strong desire to see others succeed is what drives Andrew. He began his career with Tower Products as a Markertek sales person in April of 1994 and rose to the position of National Sales Manager of Technical Necessities, now TecNec Distributing, in 1997. He quickly expanded TecNec's dealer network across the US, managed outside sales rep firms, and forged relationships which still remain to this day. From both our customer side and supplier side, he considers himself blessed to have worked with a number of mentors in navigating the industry. He was named Vice President of Sales in 2004 Near the end of 2009, Tower founder Mark Braunstein asked him to become the Sales Director for the company. Andrew played a key role in the the creation of Tower's Communication Committee, formed to educate fellow employee owners on the intricacies of an ESOP company.
AB, as he likes to be called, is very active in the community. He enjoys traveling to beaches, camping in the family RV, golf and spending time with his family with poolside barbecues. He and his wife Stacie are very proud of their three children and two granddaughters.
Vince Baldwin
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Vincent was hired by Tower in 2012 just after receiving his BA in Finance from Clarkson University. He was promoted to Financial Controller and then to his current position as VP of Finance. During his time at Tower, Vincent has helped introduce multiple solutions to the accounting office, including an AP automated system.
Since becoming Employee Owned, he also helped usher in Open-Book Management practices into our company culture which has vastly engaged employees to our operations and financial performances. Vincent’s favorite things about working for Tower are the opportunities to work with our high-level experience professionals in the AV distribution industry, and the collaboration across all departments to always improve our ability to serve our customers and grow our company.
Having just grown up a town over, Vincent is no stranger to what the beautiful Hudson Valley has to offer. He enjoys kayaking in the Hudson River and hiking in the Catskill Mountains on the weekends. During the week, you can find him reliving his baseball glory days with a weekly softball league, while summer golf league reminds him why he should stay in the Accounting field. Vincent also enjoys woodworking in his small basement set up, as well as working up a sweat at the local gym.
Greg DeCelle
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
A broadcast industry veteran, Greg celebrated his 30th year in 2023 with his tenure at Tower beginning in the Markertek sales department. He soon shifted to marketing to work under company founder, Mark Braunstein, where they worked side-by-side for over 20 years. He brought the original 160 page Markertek Catalog into the digital age expanding it to a 368 page offering. He also created the original data base that became the Markertek ecommerce website in 1997.
In 2004, he was promoted to Vice President of Marketing. The marketing team has grown to double digits from its humble two person beginnings to now include digital marketing, content marketing and web development segments. The team is at the forefront of keeping the TecNec Distributing, Markertek and other Tower brands alive and well in the industries they serve.
Greg is very active in the Saugerties youth sports community as a volunteer where he serves as a board member and coach in the Basketball, Flag Football and Little League. He enjoys running, Sunday morning hoop, golf and volleyball as well as gardening. He resides in the place known as the coolest small town in America with his wife and family.
Mike Farrell
VICE PRESIDENT PURCHASING
I lead a team of professionals toward best practices in purchasing and inventory management, and I’m constantly working toward self-improvement. Purchasing involves sourcing products that fulfill the needs of our core customer base, at prices that ensure profitability for our employee owned company (ESOP), while providing competitive prices to our customers.
Building relationships with vendors plays a strong role in my department and I encourage the buyers to work closely with our vendors. Close bonds and clear communication between my team, vendors and the sales department also allow us to ensure the best customer service experience, as we are on the forefront of product delivery and pricing details.
“Work hard, play hard” is a motto that I find myself following. I’m happy to do plenty of in office, at home and trade show work for our company but make sure to decompress on my time off. Some of the ways I get away from the work stresses are gardening, skiing, golf, hiking in the Catskills, attending concerts and travel with my family. I’ve also been known to conduct research on micro-brewed beers!
Charles Wagor III
DIRECTOR WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Charles joined Tower in 1995 fulfilling many roles during his career starting as a Cable Shop intern and moving on to become the first full-time employee in our Metal Shop. He was promoted to Engineering Department Manager and progressed to the role of Director of Operations for our Laird Digital Cinema Division.
As industry trends evolved, he accepted a role of Marketing Manager working directly under the Vice President of Marketing and the Founder / CEO. His role included learning the emerging Pay-Per-Click advertising landscape which quickly became a major source of ecommerce business. His role expanded into trade show and print publication mailing list management as well as the creation of our first & subsequent mobile websites.
In 2016, Charles became Web Manager and in 2019 was promoted to his current role of handling Tower’s responsive ecommerce websites, analytics, and content management. His trade show management caught the eyes of the NAB Show Exhibitor Advisory Committee where he currently sits as the elected Chair.
In his free time Chuck roots for the New York Jets and is an avid theme park enthusiast. He’s always looking to check out the latest thrill ride or roller coaster. You might even see him on YouTube featured in some on-ride POV’s!
Dan Coscarella
PRODUCT DIRECTOR
Dan Coscarella is the Director of Products at Tower Products Incorporated and is tasked with guiding and managing Camplex, Sescom, Laird, Delvcam, My Custom Shop and Ocean Matrix. Initially hired in 2008 as an outbound sales rep where he excelled at building trust and strong bonds with his clients across the country, Dan was quickly recognized for his success and rose through the ranks as a sales trainer, trade show lead and Brand Manager. He has been instrumental to the success and growth of our brands, has led the organization of products and people, and a major contributor in the launch of Camplex fiber and rebranding of our other lines. He takes great pride in seeing his team members grow and succeed within the team and often beyond as they themselves grow into new positions within Tower.
Dan was born and raised in the Hudson valley leaving only for his education and considers himself lucky to have returned to what he calls home and to have found a career in such a beautiful community. His education began with Electrical Engineering and a Computer Science Minor, before transitioning to Architectural Engineering and finally finding his place pursuing his Business Administration degree. He is a proud parent, a steadfast NY Giants fan, and remains connected to his college and childhood friends through Friday night game night.
Vikki Cutrone
DIRECTOR IT
Vikki provides leadership for the continued development of an innovative, robust, and secure information technology environment throughout Tower.
The primary responsibilities for her office encompass a wide variety of strategic technology issues:
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Operational uptime and Service Availability
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IT Security and Compliance
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IT Governance and policy
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Information technology protocols
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Project Management
Tower Information Technology provides support for delivery of IT infrastructure and services, information security systems and compliance, administrative systems, and client support services.
Prior to joining Tower, Vikki spent 30 years in information technology, much of which in networking technologies such as- routing/switching VoIP wireless. She has worked on and managed complex multi-year, multimillion dollar infrastructure projects, as well as provides technical leadership for and mentoring to build teams in complex environment.
Josh Vazquez
DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING
& COMPLIANCE
Joshua J Vazquez is the Director of Engineering and Manufacturing for Tower Products and their great employee owned manufacturing team.
Josh has a multifaceted role that includes:
• Compliance Regulations
• Creating Standard Operating Procedures
• Product Design & Development
• Training and Production Control System Development
He enjoys troubleshooting and engaging with anyone who may have an idea. By empowering the team, they have stood strong over COVID, implemented cost-cutting measures, and have updated processes to speed up work and reduce the impact on fellow employee-owners.
Tim Smith
DIRECTOR of WAREHOUSE OPERATIONS
As the Director of Warehouse Operations, Tim leads a team of diligent and highly motivated employees. He started with the company in 2022 and has since become an invaluable member of the team. Tim truly believes that where there is a will, there is a way, and his creative problem solving has followed him throughout his life. His adaptability and dedication to continuous improvement, along with his diverse professional background and experience in warehousing, has equipped him to manage the responsibility of a fast-paced environment.
Having lived in several places along the East Coast, Tim has chosen to settle down in the Hudson Valley with his family and enjoys all it has to offer. When not ensuring that warehouse operations run smoothly at Tower, he enjoys fishing, hunting, gardening and camping: a true outdoorsman. He is also a golfer, a great cook and a loving family man. He treasures quality time spent with his wife, daughter and rescue dog, Wylie. All Tim has to offer makes him a well-rounded leader whose impact extends beyond the warehouse floor.