President and CEO

Rob Helwick

Rob has over 30 years of experience in the chemicals and pine chemicals industries. He has held various leadership roles in manufacturing, supply chain, sales, marketing, and business development for both chemical manufacturers and distributors. Prior to joining Mainstream Rob was General Manager for Univar’s Industrial Chemicals business in the Gulf region. Prior to that he served as Director of Business Development for Nexeo Solutions and as Commercial Director for Arizona Chemical for their Pine Chemicals business in the Americas region. Rob also spent 20 years with Huntsman, last serving as Commercial Director for Huntsman’s Rigid Polyurethane Foam business. Rob has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University and an M.B.A. from University of Delaware.

 Chief Financial Officer

Rudy Jones

Rudy has over 10 years of experience in finance and accounting. Before joining Mainstream, Rudy worked for both Grant Thornton and KPMG where he performed financial statement and internal control audits of both large public and privately owned entities. Primarily, Rudy served companies in the consumer and industrial products industry, but also has experience in the asset management industry where he performed audits of investment companies, including both private equity funds and hedge funds. Rudy also has experience serving clients in a transaction advisory capacity where he gained experience in buy and sell side due diligence. Rudy is a Certified Public Accountant and obtained a B.S. in Accountancy as well as a Master’s in Accountancy from the University of Missouri.

Commercial Consultant

Mike Roberts

Mike has over 30 years of experience in the chemicals industry. He has held various leadership, commercial and marketing roles in large public and private organizations and is experienced in procurement, commercial strategy development, business reorganization and divestitures. Mike most recently worked at Georgia-Pacific Chemicals where his last role was Global Vice President – Pine Chemicals, Mining and Oilfield. He managed all commercial, business development and R&D activities with full P&L responsibility. He was the company representative on the Board of Directors in a joint venture with AECI in South Africa and later was part of the divestiture team for the Pine Chemicals business. Mike spent many years on the Pine Chemicals Association Board of Directors serving multiple times as Board Chairman. Mike has a B.S. in Biology from East Tennessee State University. 

Supply Chain Manager

Gabe Smith

Prior to joining Mainstream, Gabe worked at a Yellow Freight as a  Sourcing Analyst where he conducted full-cycle RFPs for the company’s MRO and Safety divisions. He has experience working with external and internal stakeholders to maintain DOT and OSHA compliance for chemical handling, spill cleanup, and maintenance operations. Gabe has significant experience in ISCC Audit and Compliance, as well as the EcoVadis sustainability, GHG, and Corporate Social Responsibility frameworks. Gabe graduated from Truman State University in 2022 and holds an MBA in Finance and Analytics from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Bloch School of Business.