Richmond's TemperPack makes a change at the top, naming Peter Wells its new CEO

TemperPack, a Richmond company that specializes in environmentally friendly packaging materials for temperature-sensitive products, has a new CEO.

The company announced Thursday it has appointed Peter Wells, most recently chief executive at Durham, North Carolina, grid optimization company Smart Wires Inc., as its new leader. He replaces Bob Beckler, who left the company in June, according to his LinkedIn profile.

A TemperPack spokesperson said Beckler and the company's board began discussing a CEO transition in late 2022, and TemperPack launched a CEO search.

Beckler had served as board chair since 2016 and CEO since 2021. Brian Powers, a company co-founder, has been CEO prior to Beckler.

The change comes as TemperPack continues to grow following a massive $140 million equity financing round led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management in March 2022. Other investors in the round included San Francisco’s Tao Capital Partners, D.C.’s Revolution Growth and Chevy Chase, Maryland’s Arborview Capital, among others.

TemperPack also last year acquired Michigan’s KTM Industries, the maker of Green Cell Foam, a packaging supply made from U.S.-grown corn. It is not recyclable but can dissolve in water, be composted, burned or even used as plant food.

TemperPack’s flagship product, called ClimaCell, is an insulation material that replaces Styrofoam coolers for use in shipping food and life sciences products. Earlier this year, it debuted WaveKraft, a customizable insulation material for cold chain logistics and storage it says can reduce dedicated warehouse space and inbound insulation freight.

The company’s clients include or have included meal companies HelloFresh and Marley Spoon, life sciences company Cytiva and UPS Healthcare.

“Peter is the ideal person to lead TemperPack during this exciting time,” Jeff Possick, managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and a member of TemperPack’s board, said in a statement. “We conducted a wide-ranging, extensive search, and after careful consideration, Peter rose to the top. He’s been successful leading startup, venture-backed companies and large public enterprises. He has great vision as well as the ability to roll up his sleeves in the day-to-day business.”

Wells was previously CEO of General Electric Co.’s onshore wind energy division in Europe. He also formerly held leadership roles at GE in nuclear and wind energy, as well as at turbine manufacturing company Vestas.

Founded in 2015, TemperPack now counts more than 700 employees across five U.S. locations. The purchase of KTM brought manufacturing sites in Reno, Nevada, and Holt, Michigan, into its fold. TemperPack is headquartered at a facility on Carolina Avenue in Henrico County. It also has a proving ground location on Maury Street in Richmond and a manufacturing site in Las Vegas.