Genera Appoints Industrial Manufacturing Executive Mark Ushpol as Chief Executive Officer

VONORE, Tenn., May 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Genera, North America's largest vertically integrated manufacturer of sustainable molded fiber packaging products, today announced the appointment of Mark Ushpol as Chief Executive Officer. Ushpol will lead Genera through a period of commercial acceleration and innovation as the company ramps production following completion of the Vonore expansion project.

Ushpol joins Genera with extensive experience leading global manufacturing organizations through growth, transformation, and operational scale-up. His career has included high-impact leadership roles at Suominen, Ahlstrom, DS Smith, and Mondi, where he has consistently driven value through operational optimization, commercial growth initiatives, and cultural transformation, that enhanced profitability and strengthened market positions.

"I am honored to join a company at the forefront of the circular bioeconomy," Ushpol said. "Genera's unique farm-to-finished-product model is a gamechanger for sustainable manufacturing. I look forward to working with this talented team to accelerate our growth, deliver superior performance for our customers, and help advance a more regenerative and sustainable all-American manufacturing economy."

At Genera, Ushpol will oversee the company's fully integrated biorefining and thermoforming operations in Vonore, Tennessee. The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility utilizes advanced biorefining and thermoforming technologies to transform locally grown perennial grasses into compostable packaging, high-quality non-wood pulp and biomaterials.

"Mark's deep expertise in the paper and packaging sectors, combined with his proven track record of operational excellence, innovation, and cultural leadership, makes him the ideal person to guide Genera's next chapter," said Peter Saldarriaga, Managing Director at Ara Partners. "As we continue expanding our domestic manufacturing footprint and advancing new solutions, Mark's vision will be instrumental in scaling our impact for farmers, customers, and consumers."

Ushpol succeeds Ben Mascarello, who led the company through a transformational period. The $340+ million expansion of Genera's Tennessee campus has created unrivaled capacity among molded fiber manufacturers in North America and added a deep bench of talent. Over the past three years, Genera has evolved into a scaled manufacturing platform with stronger operations, broader market reach, and significantly higher production capacity.

Genera is a portfolio company of Ara Partners, a global private equity and infrastructure firm that is decarbonizing the industrial economy.

About Genera

Genera is a circular bioeconomy company transforming regenerative perennial grasses into sustainable packaging, pulp, and biomaterials through advanced biorefining and manufacturing technologies. Headquartered in Vonore, Tennessee, Genera operates North America's largest vertically integrated non-wood fiber manufacturing platform, helping accelerate the transition to regenerative, American-made materials solutions.

About Ara Partners

 Founded in 2017, Ara Partners is a global private markets firm focused on decarbonizing the industrial economy. The firm invests in the middle market across three strategies: Private Equity, Infrastructure, and Energy. The firm scales commercially demonstrated decarbonization solutions, supports the businesses and infrastructure that enable their adoption, and reduces emissions at the source across the conventional energy value chain. Ara's model combines investing, market and policy expertise, project execution and operational optimization, and rigorous carbon accounting to reduce emissions economically and unlock growth at an industrial scale. The firm operates from Houston, Boston, Dublin and Washington D.C., and, as of September 30, 2025, had approximately $6.6 billion in assets under management.

For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.

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SOURCE Genera