Our leadership

Bill Christensen is the chief executive officer of JELD-WEN, a leading global manufacturer of building products with operations in 15 countries and approximately 18,000 employees across North America and Europe.

With more than 25 years of multinational business leadership, Bill has a proven track record for driving business and cultural transformations within the manufacturing sector.

He joined JELD-WEN in April 2022 as executive vice president and president, Europe and was named global CEO in December 2022.

Before joining JELD-WEN, Bill spearheaded transformative initiatives as CEO and group executive board chair at REHAU AG, where he architected a multi-million-dollar transformation to improve profitability that included restructuring, selling non-core businesses, streamlining production assets and defining strategic growth priorities. Prior to REHAU AG, Bill was the CEO of AFG Holding, a Swiss-based global building products manufacturer. He spent a decade at Geberit International AG, holding various executive positions, including the group executive board member and head of international sales, and the president and CEO of The Chicago Faucets Company. Bill began his career at J.P. Morgan Securities.

Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Rollins College and an MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Jas Hayes is the executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for JELD-WEN, a leading global manufacturer of building products with operations in 15 countries and approximately 18,000 employees across North America and Europe.

Jas brings more than 20 years of legal experience as in-house counsel for publicly traded global companies. He joined JELD-WEN in 2018 as the vice president, deputy general counsel and was promoted to senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary in 2022 before being named to his current role in 2023.

Before joining JELD-WEN, he worked at Axalta Coating Systems as the assistant general counsel for corporate and global operations and the North America general counsel and chief compliance officer. He also spent 11 years at Ricoh USA, Inc. (formerly IKON Office Solutions), ultimately serving as the vice president and associate general counsel. Jas began his legal career at the law firm Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

Jas received his bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a J.D. from Villanova University. He also served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard for more than eight years.

Wendy Livingston is the executive vice president and chief human resources officer for JELD-WEN, a leading global manufacturer of building products with operations in 15 countries and approximately 18,000 employees across North America and Europe.

Wendy is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years of deep human resources and global business experience. Wendy Livingston joined JELD-WEN in June 2023. Before joining the company, she worked as the chief people officer for Spreetail, a privately held multinational e-commerce company. Before Spreetail, she served as the senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Harsco, a publicly traded environmental services company with more than 13,000 employees in 30 countries. During her tenure, she led a comprehensive people strategy to support business transformation goals and culture growth.

Wendy spent more than 20 years at The Boeing Company in positions of increasing responsibility, including vice president, corporate human resources, and vice president, talent & leadership development. She began her career in finance at Boeing.

Wendy earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Peru State College, a master’s degree in human resource management from Lindenwood University and is certified by the Society for Human Resource Management.

Matt Meier is the executive vice president and chief digital and information officer at JELD-WEN, a leading global manufacturer of building products with operations in 15 countries and approximately 18,000 employees across North America and Europe.

Matt joined JELD-WEN in January 2024 and brings more than 25 years of experience leading teams through digital technology transformations in multinational companies across several industries.

Prior to JELD-WEN, Matt was the EVP and chief digital and data officer at Driven Brand Holdings, Inc., where he was responsible for all digital, data and technology outcomes for the largest automotive aftermarket services provider in North America. Prior to Driven Brands, Matt spent over five years at Whirlpool Corporation, where he led global digital transformation as the VP of global technology value streams and as the VP and CIO for Whirlpool North America, Whirlpool’s largest business unit. Additionally, Matt served as global chief information officer at the Crosby Group and held technology leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Dana Corporation, Rolls Royce, General Motors and PwC (formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers).

Matt earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University, an MS in information technology from Carnegie Mellon University and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Samantha Stoddard is the executive vice president and chief financial officer for JELD-WEN, a leading global manufacturer of building products with operations in 15 countries and approximately 18,000 employees across North American and Europe.

Samantha joined JELD-WEN in 2020 as vice president of finance for operations. In 2022, she was named CFO for North America operations and expanded her responsibilities to include leading global Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) in early 2024. She is a proven leader and partner across organizational functions. Samantha is an active mentor to young professionals and dedicated member of the JELD-WEN Women’s Employee Resource Group.

Before joining JELD-WEN, Samantha was CFO for the personal protection equipment business unit at Honeywell. Prior to joining Honeywell, Stoddard was a finance executive at Industrial Timber, LLC; TEOCO; Penson Financial Services, Inc.; and Flagship Capital Partners, LLC.

She holds a master’s degree in accounting from The University of Texas at Dallas and a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from Wake Forest University.

Dan Valenti is the executive vice president and president of JELD-WEN North America where he leads all operations, product managements, sales and distribution for the region. Dan joined JELD-WEN in 2024 as the Executive Vice President of North America Doors and Distribution. Later that year, he assumed his current role to lead the North America region. 

Before he joined JELD-WEN in 2024, Dan worked at Whirlpool Corporation, where he spent nearly 13 years in leadership roles of increasing responsibility, most recently as the SVP and general manager of KitchenAid Small Appliances. Prior to that, he was the VP of sales, retail and builder channel. Dan also held leadership roles in the cooking, refrigeration and dishwasher business units. Before joining Whirlpool, Dan worked at Stanley Black & Decker in various management roles including marketing, product management and sales.

Dan earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Gustavo Vianna is the executive vice president and president of JELD-WEN Europe where he leads all sales, product management and operations in the region.

Bringing over three decades of experience from various multinational companies to JELD-WEN, Gustavo is noted for his profound skills in executing operational and commercial transformations as well as promoting cultural change within the organization.

Before his pivotal role at JELD-WEN, Gustavo was the CEO of EMEA for Aliaxis, a worldwide leader in advanced plastic piping systems. His responsibilities at Aliaxis included overseeing a workforce of 4,500, managing 17 manufacturing sites and coordinating 24 distribution centers throughout Europe. Gustavo's extensive background also includes a 14-year tenure with Saint-Gobain Pipe Business, where he operated across Brazil, China, and Europe, ultimately ascending to the position of global division CEO based in France. Additionally, Gustavo was the chief operating officer for Conbras Engenharia, a Brazilian family-owned facilities management services company. Gustavo started his career at Johnson Controls in Brazil, where he worked for 14 years.

Gustavo holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and an MBA from Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil.

Nigel joined JELD-WEN in 2016 as vice president of operations, Europe.

Prior to being named SVP & GM of Europe, he served as senior vice president of product & operations, overseeing product management and strategy, operations and sourcing for the European business.

Previously, Nigel was global operations director at Eaton Crouse-Hinds for the Hazardous Area Communications and MTL Instruments business units. He spent 10 years with Eaton Crouse-Hinds in positions of increasing responsibility.

Nigel has also held operations roles with Cooper Safety, including 18 months as acting vice president of operations for sites across the Americas, Europe and Asia. He has also held operations positions with Tyco Electronics and Raychem (a Tyco Electronics company). He began his career as a project manager at Pirelli Cables.

Nigel holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Warwick, and an M.S. in manufacturing management & technology from the Open University.

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