Senior Management Team

Nathan Hale | CEO of Sawgrass Technologies

Nathan Hale founded Sawgrass Technologies, Inc. in 1988 in Columbia, SC, and relocated the company to Charleston in 1990. Sawgrass Technologies was originally a software/systems integration business, which Nathan refocused from software development to development of integrated software and ink technologies for the emerging digital decorating marketplace. As a pioneer in the field of digital transfer printing and the mass customisation of products, Nathan has positioned Sawgrass as a global leader in ink printing technologies.

A born entrepreneur, Sawgrass is Nathan’s second successful start–up venture. Nathan’s first business enterprise was Tropical Snow, a flavored shaved ice business that he started on the Isle of Palms, SC. As the business continued to thrive, Nathan opened 125 franchises around the state of South Carolina before eventually selling the company. A native of Idaho and an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Nathan spent two years as a missionary in Michigan in the early 80's. He attended Brigham Young University. Nathan has been recognised as an innovator in the industry.

Steven J. Carnevale | Chairman of the Board

In a career that spans thirty years, Steve Carnevale has carved out success in the diverse worlds of entrepreneurship and finance. Steve's early career included executive management positions in public and private companies. For the past twenty years he has served as head of venture capital and crossover investing at two hedge funds, Talkot Capital and Strome Susskind. He typically serves as lead investor, actively involved with development of high-level strategies and day-to-day operations with expertise in all corporate functions. Steve has served on boards of directors and chaired many public and private companies. His most notable investment was eFax, one of the fastest growing profitable public Internet companies (for 2010 listed as a top 100 Forbes Best Small Companies) with a market cap in excess of $1.5 Billion, which later merged with J2 Global Communications (NASDAQ: JCOM).  He currently manages his own boutique venture capital firm, Point Cypress Ventures.

Bill Hogan | CFO

Chief Financial Officer Bill Hogan manages the corporate finance and accounting activities at Sawgrass. In this role, he acts as a strategic partner to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team and facilitates the development of operational and strategic plans. Bill also oversees reporting, treasury relationships and cash management and maintains controllership to GAAP standards.

Bill brings more than 23 years of financial experience to Sawgrass, including five years at the executive finance level. Most recently, he held the position of Executive Director of Finance at Hill-Rom Clinical in Charleston, SC, and served as Chief Financial Officer for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Waterbury, VT. His experience also includes an eleven year tenure at General Electric, where he mostly served as Chief Financial Officer for General Electric Quartz. Bill earned a BS in Finance from Indiana University.

Laura Hogan | Controller/Director of Administration

Since joining Sawgrass over 13 years ago, Laura Hogan has worn many hats in the company. As Controller/Director of Administration, Laura oversees the accounting and HR functions and assists the President and CTO with patent and legal issues.

Prior to her work at Sawgrass, Laura gained 11 years of experience in sales, customer service and accounting at Atlantic Services Group in North Charleston at their Prestige Furniture Rentals, Atlantic Document Storage and Commercial Bonded business units.

Laura spent the early part of her career working with an accounting firm. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BS in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from The Citadel.

Darcy Mauro | President, Sawgrass Consumer Division

Darcy brings more than 15 years of extensive marketing experience to Sawgrass in her role as Vice President of Sales & Marketing. In addition to her role in leading the global sales team, Darcy is responsible for the coordination and management of global marketing campaigns, the implementation of marketing communications, and product marketing initiatives.

Prior to joining the company, she served as Vice President of Marketing for CoLinx and Rockwell Automation, where she led the ecommerce marketing team. She was responsible for the development and implementation of ptplace.com, the first website in the power transmission market. In addition, Darcy was formerly a Director for The Gap Inc. and a member of the original team that developed the Old Navy concept.

Dr. Mickael Mheidle | CEO of Sawgrass Europe and President, Sawgrass Industrial Division

Widely considered one of the preeminent developers of digital ink technologies for both textile and non-textile applications, Dr. Mheidle joined Sawgrass Technologies in November 2006 as CEO of Sawgrass Europe.  Prior to joining Sawgrass, he served as the global head of new business applications for Ciba Specialty Chemicals where he focused on developing new solutions for inkjet printing of textiles and digital photography output. While at Ciba, Dr. Mheidle coordinated with partners Reggiani and Scitex Vision/Hewlett Packard on the development and marketing of the DReAM, the first industrial digital printing system.

Dr. Mickael Mheidle received his PhD in Engineering Science from the University of Haute Alsace, France and did the PhD works in industrial site at the research centre of one of the worldwide leading chemicals company Ciba-Geigy in Basel, Switzerland.   Dr. Mheidle began his career as a research and development manager for a French research centre and the international technical sales manager for a petrochemical company. Additionally, he was involved in management and development of operational business in Europe, the United States and Asia.

Ming Xu | Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

Ming Xu has been with Sawgrass for the past 15 years. As Vice President and CTO, Ming leads the strategic technology development for the company and oversees research planning. Ming also oversees intellectual property management and serves as a Patent Agent for the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Ming holds several degrees including a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science. He holds a Ph.D. from Brigham Young University and earned an MBA from The Citadel.

Helen Parry | Managing Director, Sawgrass Europe, Sawgrass Consumer Division

Helen Parry joined the business as Managing Director of Sawgrass Europe – Consumer Division in July 2011. She has a wealth of experience in the speciality chemical industry, where she successfully managed teams to deliver high levels of business growth globally. Her expertise lies in the speciality dye arena where her knowledge and experience is very relevant to the Sawgrass business.

Helen is responsible for the Sawgrass facility in Sheffield, which services the Consumer Division customers outside of North America. Helen hold a degree in Chemistry and an MBA and is a fluent French speaker owing to the considerable amounts of time she has lived and worked in France.