Executive Management Team
With a shared commitment to growth, innovation and continued excellence at Chatsworth Products (CPI), the Executive Management Team leads by example. The combined executive experience, guidance and knowledge of CPI leadership ensures the successful operations of day-to-day business, as well as laying the foundation for future success.
Ted Behrens
CEO and President
Ted Behrens oversees the direction and management of CPI globally. He is responsible for ensuring the company continues its growth in the global ICT and industrial enclosure markets and maintains the core value of “Delighting the Customer” with CPI’s products and services.
Prior to being appointed to this position, Ted successfully served as CPI’s Executive Vice President of Product Management, Hyperscale, IT & Marketing. He has held various roles in his 14-year tenure with CPI, including Director of Product Management, Vice President of Operations, and Executive Vice President of Global Engineering and Product Management.
In addition to his extensive data center and product development experience, Ted provides comprehensive product sales assistance and leads new market identification projects and product positioning. Ted also carries this experience over to serve as one of CPI’s expert speakers, presenting at various events to educate attendees about power and infrastructure management solutions.
Before joining CPI, Ted was the Chief Executive Officer and a co-founder of Epicenter Inc. (acquired by CPI in 2009), a leading provider of data center infrastructure management tools to the enterprise and managed services market. Prior to founding Epicenter, Ted served as Vice President of Sales for Carrera Computers, a manufacturer of Alpha-based servers and workstations.
Ted received a BSEE from Bucknell University.
Melissa Aleman
Chief Human Resources Officer
Melissa Aleman is responsible for global Human Resources services including workforce planning, human resources policy development, performance and compensation management, supporting the organization in securing talent that will lead CPI into the future, and fostering CPI's ownership culture of shared risks and rewards. Melissa's expertise in employee relations, coaching and organizational development is key to CPI's organizational health. She is also a member of the CPI ESOP Board of Trustees.
Melissa joined CPI's Georgetown, Texas, team in 2010 as a Human Resources manager. In 2015 she was promoted to Director of Human Resources to assume companywide Human Resources oversight. Prior to CPI, she spent 19 years at Cypress Semiconductor, in Round Rock, Texas, where she held various Human Resources leadership positions. Melissa began her career as a Consumer Affairs advocate for Exxon Co., in Houston.
Melissa holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management/Human Resources from Park University as well as professional certifications from both the Human Resources Certification Institute and the Society for Human Resources Management. She is a member of the Williamson County HR Management Association, the Society for Human Resources Management and the Central Texas Compensation and Benefits Association.
Jeff Steen
Executive Vice President of Global Sales
Jeff Steen is responsible for companywide leadership and coordination of all sales strategies, plans, and programs. Jeff directly leads the Global Sales organization across the six key regions of the world: United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. He develops sales and channel strategies to further improve CPI’s product line penetration, expansion of customer base and product market share.
Jeff has held various sales positions within the organization since joining the company in February 1996. His roles include: Regional Sales Manager – Western Region, National Account Manager, Area Sales Director - Southeast and Director of Sales. Jeff’s most recent position as Area Vice President – Corporate & Strategic Accounts, included leading CPI’s corporate partnerships with their distribution network and managing teams further pursuing key global accounts.
Prior to joining CPI, Jeff held a regional sales position with Valcom Inc. for more than 8 years and held an Account Executive sales position with US West Cellular earlier in his career.
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Iowa State University.
Larry Varblow
Chief Financial Officer
As the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Larry Varblow is responsible for the development and administration of companywide accounting systems, practices, controls and procedures, as well as financial reporting and planning, risk management, treasury, taxation and ESOP administration.
Larry has been with CPI since its inception in 1991. He has held the roles of Corporate Secretary and Treasurer, in addition to managing acquisitions and financing for all CPI domestic locations.
Prior to joining CPI, Larry worked for the Dracon Division of Harris Corp. (CPI’s predecessor company), where he managed accounts and finance functions, as well as was involved in the transitional acquisition and employee buyout process that created and established CPI and its ESOP accreditation.
Larry holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from California State University Northridge. He is also a company resident expert in ESOP administration.
Ron Orris
Executive VP of Operations, Engineering, and IT
Ron Orris is responsible for CPI’s centralized operations, engineering, quality, and IT teams. Ron’s focus on capacity build out in advance to market demands and institutionalization of quality improvements works in unison across all business units at CPI to deliver customized infrastructure solutions quickly and precisely.
Ron joined CPI in 2009 after the acquisition of Epicenter Inc. to integrate a new line of data center power and infrastructure management tools. As Sr. Director of Electronics and Software, he built a team that developed and launched CPI’s highly successful eConnect® power distribution unit (PDU) product line in 2011 with manufacturing operations within the Georgetown, TX facility. As the Managing Director of Electronics, Ron oversaw the expansion of CPI’s power business through product line refreshes, accessory development, and strategic partnerships that resulted in expanding CPI’s power portfolio with DCIM software, asset management, and UPS battery backup.
Prior to CPI, Ron spent 10 years at Staktek & Entorian Technologies, leading providers of proprietary, high-density stacked memory solutions, managing engineering and product development teams where he earned several patents related to memory circuit construction.
Ron holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Packaging Engineering from Michigan State University.