Stu Kemper is a Senior Sector Specialist in the Building Materials practice at Daybreak Capital Partners. He has been involved in the building materials industry for over 25 years, including 15 years of executive experience as President and CEO of TimberTech, a manufacturer of outdoor living building materials and a subsidiary of Crane Group.
Stu joined Crane Plastics in 1993 as a Product Manager where he used his strong technical, entrepreneurial, and leadership skills to help develop and commercialize a new composite decking product. He successfully grew TimberTech from a new, proprietary product into a stand-alone business with top two market share in the category. He was named President of TimberTech in 1999, President of Crane Building Products in 2007 and promoted to CEO of TimberTech in 2009.
During his leadership tenure at TimberTech and Crane, Stu successfully developed a national and international wholesale distribution network from the ground up and provided thought leadership for many composite decking and railing industry firsts including new product designs and enhanced product performance technology. He was also the first to brand and integrate other complementary outdoor living products under the growing TimberTech brand including fastener systems for deck boards and lighting systems for railing.
In 2012, TimberTech was sold to CPG International. At this time, Stu joined CPG International as CEO of TimberTech, a division of CPG. He played an integral role in both Crane’s sale of TimberTech to CPG, as well as the subsequent 2013 sale of CPG International, by its owners (AEA Investors), to Ares/ Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. In August 2013, Stu was named Senior Vice President New Business Development for CPG International.
After leaving TimberTech/CPG in 2014, Stu began to develop the Columbus, OH market for multiple locations of the School of Rock music school franchise. He also provides business development consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses.
Stu holds a B.B.A. in Finance and Management, with honors, from Ohio University and a MBA, summa cum laude, from Capital University. He currently serves on the nonprofit board of Franklin County Residential Services, the Executive Advisory Board of the College of Business at Ohio University, is a recipient of the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and served as a CEO member of Vistage, an advisory group for business owners, for over ten years.