About Us

We Are Piston Group

About Us

We Are
Piston Group

Who We Are

Building Value

Piston Group wasn’t just founded to make things. It was founded with a vision to make things better. And that begins with building better teams solely dedicated to achieving excellence at every level of execution through a combination of experience, expertise, and a deep seeded passion for what we do. Our companies consistently set the standard because our people consistently raise the bar.

We create solutions and breakthroughs. But at the end of the day, what we really create is value. And that has become the purpose that our entire Piston Group family lives and breathes every day — to not just build, but to build value.



Our Story

We Are Piston Group




Piston Group is a private investment platform founded by industry magnate and NBA champion Vinnie Johnson, to build value by creating, operating, and growing world-class manufacturing and design companies. With investments beginning in 1996 and a strong entrepreneurial culture, today’s platform has grown to include Piston Automotive, Piston Interiors, Detroit Thermal Systems, and A.Lava.

An Evolution of
Growth & Performance


1996
$1 Million

2010
$326 Million

2015
$1.2 Billion

2017
$1.75 Billion

2019
$2.88 Billion
2020
$2.9 Billion
2021
$2.9 Billion
2022
$3.2 Billion

Our People

Our Culture


We believe in creating the spark. We focus on igniting progress and charging forward to solve challenges and embrace opportunities.

Diversity + Inclusion


We depend on diversity in our planning, strategy, and processes. We understand, accept, and value differences because this is what leads to innovation. It all starts with diverse thinking. It all starts with our people.

Inclusion is the power of people, connected by a common purpose. At Piston Group we embrace inclusion as a means to connect inspired ideas from every individual within our extended employee, customer and supplier enterprise.


Leadership

Leading with Energy


Vinnie Johnson

Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

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Vicki Richardson

Chief Administrative Officer
& Executive Assistant to Vinnie Johnson

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Bob Holloway

Chief Operating Officer

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Hughey Newsome

Chief Financial Officer
 

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Ericka Stephens

Chief Human Resources Officer
 

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Rob Fisher

Group VP Marketing & Sales
 

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Rosana Moura Garbacik

General Counsel
 

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Jana Rosenmann

President, Piston Automotive

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Tim Mann

President, Piston Interiors

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Justin Szerlong

President, A Lava

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Bobby Nelon

President, DTS

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Growth
0,000

Team Members

Join Our Team

Minority-Owned
Business


2017 MBE of the Year

We were named the Minority Business Enterprise of the year in 2017 by FCA Group.

#1 Crain's Fast 50

Fastest Growing Companies
2018

#1 Crain's

Largest
Minority-Owned Business
2020

#5 Crain's

Private 200
2018

Certifications

ISO 14001:2015
IATF 16949:2016

Ford Approved Q1

For all sites supplying Ford Motor Company

Automotive News

All-Star Minority Business
2017

#24

Largest North American
OEM Supplier
2020
Locations

We Have 23 Facilities with Over 3.5 Million Square Feet


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Suppliers

Teamwork is Part of Our DNA


At Piston Group we recognize that supplier diversity can be powerful. Our companies demonstrate a commitment to supplier diversity through our ongoing efforts to recruit and develop diverse businesses and provide them opportunities.
Diversity forges new avenues to promote inclusiveness, expand partner opportunities, offer a variety of perspectives, and access to new and additional experiences needed to answer today’s intricate challenges.

To be defined as a diverse business at least 51 percent ownership must be by a member of one of eight historically disadvantaged groups. These groups are headquartered in the United States and identified by the U.S. government as such:

  • Woman-Owned Businesses,
  • Minority-Owned Businesses,
  • Veteran-Owned Businesses,
  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses,
  • Businesses in Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zones, and
  • Small Businesses

Our desire is to build a better tomorrow. We welcome all supplier partners that share this vision to connect with our brands to explore any and all opportunities.

Passion to Innovate

Together we develop new technologies and build exciting products that touch people’s lives in a positive way. Part passion and part engineering marvel, every solution is nurtured from discovery to invention and manufacturing creation.