Executive Team

Mr. Niew is the President & CEO (since 2013) of Knowles. He was formerly the Vice President of Dover Corporation and President and CEO (from 2011 to February 2014) of Dover Communication Technologies. Mr. Niew joined Knowles Electronics LLC in 2000, and became Chief Operating Officer in 2007, President in 2008 and President and CEO in 2010. Prior to joining Knowles Electronics, Mr. Niew was employed by Littelfuse, Inc. (from 1995 to 2000) where he held various positions in product management, sales and engineering in the Electronic Products group, and by Hewlett-Packard Company (from 1988 to 1994) where he served in various engineering and product management roles in the Optoelectronics Group. Mr. Niew is a director of Commercial Vehicle Group, Inc. (“CVG”) (since 2024) and Syntiant Corp. (since 2024), and is chairman and a member of the Advisory Board of the University of Illinois College of Engineering. Mr. Niew previously served as a director of Advanced Diamond Technologies, Inc. 

 

John Anderson manages all financial functions at Knowles Corporation. He plays a key role in developing, monitoring and evaluating Knowles’ overall capital structure and capital allocation strategy. Working closely with the CEO and leaders of the business units, John’s proven track record and commitment ensures Knowles consistently achieves bottom line performance, working capital, and ultimately, enhancing shareholder value.

John joins Knowles after more than four years at Dover Corporation, where he held several positions. Most recently he was vice president and chief financial officer of Dover Energy, where he increased the company's profitability through a number of acquisitions and successful integrations. 

Previously, John held a number of leadership titles at Sauer Danfoss, Borg Warner Turbosystems and Borg Warner Automotive. At Borg Warner, he worked in Germany for two years. He started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers. A certified public accountant, he is member of the Illinois CPA Society and former board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago. He graduated in 1986 from Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. He also received an MBA degree in business administration from the University of Chicago in 2000.

John lives in Elmhurst with his wife and three children.

Robert J. Perna is our senior vice president, general counsel and secretary and manages the company’s global legal affairs, as well as all corporate governance and compliance functions at Knowles Corporation. He advises and counsels the Board of Directors and the leadership team on a broad range of legal, business, governance, compliance, policy and strategic matters, including key operational initiatives, risk assessment and mitigation, major transactions, litigation and corporate citizenship.

Before joining Knowles, Bob served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary at Rockwell Collins from 2014 to 2018, where he oversaw global legal support, import/export compliance, and the office of ethics and business conduct for the $8 billion aerospace and defense company. As a member of the senior leadership team, he also provided counsel to the Board of Directors on securities law, corporate governance and other legal matters.

Previously, Bob was vice president, general counsel and secretary at A.M. Castle & Co., a specialty metals and plastics distributor and value-added processor. He also held various in-house counsel positions of increasing responsibility at CNH Global, Navistar International and GE Capital Rail Services.  Bob started his law practice as an associate at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson in Washington, D.C., providing legal advice to private and publicly held corporations and financial institutions.

A Pennsylvania native, Bob earned his BS degree in Finance from Penn State University and his JD degree from George Washington University.  He is a member of the Association of Corporate Counsel, Society for Corporate Governance, and other professional associations.  He has served on a number of not-for-profit boards and commissions, including the Iowa Access to Justice Commission, the Rockwell Collins Charitable Corporation, and the United Way of West Cook/DuPage County (Illinois).   

Bob and his family live in Hinsdale, Illinois.

Ray Cabrera manages the company’s human capital strategy including talent acquisition, organizational development, talent management and total rewards for Knowles, and oversees human resources for a global employee base of more than 13,000 employees. Through Ray’s focus on attracting talent with a passion for innovation and a drive for success, Knowles repeatedly has received recognition as a top workplace. 

Ray joined Knowles in 1997 and has played a key role in acquiring the competencies to position Knowles as the technology leader –recruiting and developing the senior leadership team and helping the company expand its operational footprint in Asia.

Ray graduated from Loyola University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and also holds an MBA from DePaul University.

Ray resides in St. Charles, Illinois with his wife and three sons. He and his family are active in the community and serve and support several local charities.

Brian Crannell is senior vice president, corporate development, responsible for developing and driving Knowles’ strategic growth plans and merger and acquisition activities. His track record in developing growth strategies, executing acquisitions, and implementing product and technology initiatives are key enablers to Knowles’ growth goals.

Prior to his current role, Brian led the marketing and business development activities for Knowles’ Specialty Components – Acoustics and Hearing Health business units for four years. He successfully implemented growth strategies for MEMS in hearing health and performance audio segments, respectively, which continue to deliver strong results.

Before joining Knowles, Brian was with Littelfuse, Inc. from 1997 to 2011. He held corporate development, financial planning, marketing and product management roles, and resided for a period in China with his family. He successfully completed acquisitions in China, Taiwan, Germany, Canada and the US. Prior to Littlefuse, Brian held design engineering and product management roles at Masco Corporation.

Brian received his Juris Doctor law degree from Loyola University, Chicago, and Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Dayton in Ohio. He holds a legal license in Illinois, and is registered with the USPTO as a patent attorney.

Brian and his family live in the Chicago area. He is a former board member of the Association for Corporate Growth, where he continues to be active, and donates his time to multiple community organizations.

Daniel Giesecke is senior vice president and chief operating officer and manages the company’s operational strategy.  He is responsible for global operations, advanced manufacturing engineering, quality assurance, and supply chain management that includes sourcing and procurement, planning, inventory, and global order fulfillment at Knowles. Daniel’s leadership creates value by delivering innovative processes and automation to achieve and best-in-class quality and delivery of products, which has positioned Knowles as a world-class manufacturer.

Daniel joined Knowles in 1995 and has held positions with increasing responsibility in engineering, supply chain and operations. Throughout his time at the company, Daniel led the start-up of multiple manufacturing sites throughout Asia as well as the transfer of operations between facilities. Under his leadership, his team developed the manufacturing process for the first surface-mounted MEMs microphone, the SiSonic™ Series and scaled into High Volume Manufacturing. Through his work in enhancing global value creation processes, Daniel has helped improve the company’s efficiency and profitability.

Previously, he was at Ohmite Manufacturing Co. for three years, where he developed and scaled into production, high-power, thick film resistors.

Daniel graduated from Northern Illinois University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. He also received his Master of Engineering Management degree from Northwestern University.

A member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and International Microelectronics Assembly and Packaging Society, he also volunteers and supports various wildlife and conservation organizations.

Daniel lives in the Chicago area with his wife and three children.

Amit is our Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer, leading the Enterprise transformation office to design and execute large cross-functional initiatives to drive performance improvement and accelerate sustainable long-term growth.

Amit also leads the CIO organization focusing on technology strategy and execution at scale to drive agility and optimizing operating efficiency. Firmly centered on driving customer value, Amit is integrating aspects of process design, data analytics, technology, capability building and change management to deliver superior outcomes.

Further, Amit has responsibilities for M&A Integration, driving synergy realization and accelerating value creation.

Amit brings over 21 years of experience across multiple industry sectors such as Consumer Goods, Aerospace, Electronics, Semiconductor and Medical Devices. Most recently, Amit was with o9 Solutions, a pre-IPO enterprise SaaS provider for Supply-chain planning. He has held progressive operational and leadership roles across Operations, Supply-Chain, Mergers & Acquisitions, Sales, and Engineering with Stanley Black & Decker, Lockheed Martin, United Technologies, IBM and Philips Medical Systems. 

Amit earned his Bachelor’s in Computer & Electrical Engineering from Drexel University and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University. Amit and his family live in New Jersey where he is active in the community, plays sports and coaches youth soccer.  

Jon Kiachian, President, MSA Segment, joined Knowles in 2017 as a Vice President, Product Marketing, MSA. He was later promoted to General Manager in 2020, and President in 2023. Jon has led MSA to record earnings by driving new product introductions, gaining market share, increasing margins and proliferating MEMS microphone adoption within the Hearing Health industry. Prior to Knowles, Jon spent 20+ years in the semiconductor industry in sales, marketing, and product line management positions with increasing responsibility. 

Jon holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara, and a M.S. in Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Additionally, he is a Board Member for the Consumer Technology Association-Audio Division.

Shehab Albahri is Vice President of Global R&D and Product Application for Knowles Corporation's MSA business unit. In this role, Shehab is responsible for overseeing engineering, research, and product development activities across multiple locations globally. With over 40 granted US utility patents to his name, Shehab is a recognized expert in his field.

Shehab's key responsibilities include the development of Knowles’ technology and product roadmaps. He collaborates closely with customers on complex challenges in order to design and implement differentiated solutions, drive new products and push the boundaries of technology.

Shehab joined Knowles in 2011 and has held various research, engineering and leadership roles. During his time at the company, he played a significant role in establishing R&D sites in the Philippines and China and has helped establish Knowles as a world-class transducers supplier.

Prior to joining Knowles, Shehab worked at the Research Foundation for SUNY, where he focused on novel MEMS microphone research and development. Shehab holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Jordan, a MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from SUNY Binghamton, and a Master of Engineering Management from Northwestern University. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Audio Engineering Society (AES).

Shehab resides in the Chicago area with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys participating in sports and is an avid runner.

Rick Belin is the VP and General Manager for the Cornell Dubilier capacitor brand, responsible for overseeing the development of new products, defining product strategies, and working with engineering, sales, and manufacturing teams to ensure products are meeting customer needs and achieving business objectives.

Rick joined Knowles in 2024 with extensive experience in strategy development, product marketing and overall P&L management.  Most recently, he worked at AMETEK as a Vice President, Business Unit Manager of their Thermal Process Management segment.  Rick brings proven expertise in product management, new product development, market expansion, operational excellence, and strategic acquisitions. His experience includes leadership positions within organizations ranging from large multi-national to private, family-owned companies. 

Rick holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and an MBA from Purdue University.

Amrita Khemchandani serves as VP/GM of High-Performance Ceramic Capacitors at Knowles Precision Devices. Amrita brings over 20 years’ experience in strategy-based transformation and performance improvement across Industrials, Technology, and Aerospace sectors to Knowles. She joined the company in 2023 and leads growth and profitability for a wide variety of highly engineered specialty components including multi-layer ceramic, high-reliability and precision variable capacitors, and EMI filters.

Before joining Knowles, she led the Building Automation Systems portfolio at Johnson Controls where she drove digital transformation and a wide range of commercial and operational excellence initiatives. Prior to that, she served as Chief Marketing Officer of the Sensing business for Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, and held various other leadership roles in strategy and P&L management within Honeywell Aerospace.

Early in her career she held roles of increasing responsibility across engineering, product management and business development at United Technologies, Infineon Technologies, and IBM.

Amrita earned a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and an MBA from Columbia University.

Darron Lacey is the Vice President of Engineering for the Precision Devices group, where he leads the business in launching transformational new products and customer focused custom engineered products that drive top line growth and margin expansion.

Darron brings over 35 years of diverse experience across multiple industry sectors such as Industrial, Military, Aerospace, Electronics, Semiconductor and Medical Devices. Most recently, Darron came from Eaton Corporation where he progressed from the Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement to the VP of Operations and then to the VP of Engineering. Prior to Eaton, Darron worked for Gardner Denver where he was the division of Finance Director and Plant Manager.

Darron earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Georgia where he studied artificial intelligence during its infancy, and an MBA from Emory University where he studied finance.

Sam Vinci is Global Vice President of Sales & Marketing for the Precision Devices group, responsible for developing and driving Knowles’ go-to-market strategy for the Capacitor and Microwave RF product groups.  His track record in channel management, distribution and customer engagement initiatives are key enablers to Knowles’ growth goals.

Before joining Knowles, Sam was at E-T-A Engineering Technology where he held Sales, Marketing and Business Development leadership roles for the North American market.

Sam received his Masters in Business Administration from Northeastern University and Bachelor of Science, Engineering & Management, from Clarkson University.

Sam and his family reside in Skaneateles, NY. 

Robert is the Vice President, RF and Microwave Products for the Precision Devices group. He is responsible for the RF and Microwave business including product management, new product introduction and product line strategy. With over 30 years of experience in wireless and wired products and technology, he has held leadership positions at several technology companies in product marketing and product line management.

Robert has an MBA from University of Texas at Austin and BSEE from Cal Poly Pomona.