Tennant Company, one of the world leaders in cleaning equipment and solutions, announced on June 17th that Richard H. (Rusty) Zay has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Zay, currently serving as the organisation’s Chief Commercial Officer, has been on the company’s leadership team since 2010. An industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, and operations, he previously held leadership roles in other companies, including Whirlpool Corporation and Maytag Corporation.
In his new role, Zay will expand his leadership of Tennant’s global customer-facing business units, supply chain, manufacturing operations, R&D, and marketing. He will be tasked with driving strong financial results and value creation through rigorous execution, continuously improving cross-functional interaction, and driving efficiency throughout the business.
“Rusty has a proven track record of creating alignment across our business units to drive execution of new and existing strategies,” said Dave Huml, Tennant Company President and Chief Executive Officer. “He is a strategic and innovative thinker who is committed to finding new ways to leverage technology to enhance our organisational efficiency. Importantly, he is deeply committed to customer satisfaction and to ensuring that Tennant remains a market leader through differentiated service to our customers in every interaction.”
Zay joined Tennant Company in June of 2010, initially serving as Vice President, Global Marketing. In 2014, he was promoted to Vice President of Americas Sales and Service. Following that, he served as the Senior Vice President, Innovation & Technology, before assuming his current role as Chief Commercial Officer.
Throughout his career with Tennant, Zay has been instrumental in driving growth and adding value to the company’s performance. Most notably, he has led efforts focused on advancing new channels and customer expansion, increasing adoption of new technology like robotics in the market, scaling enterprise operating models to support growth and profitability, and enhancing the organisation’s capabilities to deliver a superior customer experience.
“Tennant’s leadership position in the industry provides unique opportunities to serve more customers in new and existing markets as we continue to reinvent how the world cleans,” said Zay. “I’m honoured to lead a very talented team that is focused on leveraging our recognised capabilities and scale, along with innovative ideas about how to reach and serve our customers, to continue driving our growth strategy.”
Zay holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Purdue University. Zay’s leadership has extended beyond Tennant Company through his service as President and Secretary of the Association of American Cleaning Equipment Manufacturers, where he has contributed to broader industry leadership and advancement. He also served on the Holy Family Catholic High School Board of Directors and Finance Committee, reflecting his commitment to community leadership, governance, and financial stewardship.
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