Tennant Corporation Appoints Rusty Zay COO

Tennant Corporation Names Rusty Zay as Chief Operating Officer

COO

Tennant Corporation's appointment of Richard Zay as COO signals strategic shift toward operational excellence and market expansion.

Richard H. Zay promoted from Chief Commercial Officer to Chief Operating Officer at Tennant Company.
Industry veteran brings 25 years of sales, marketing, and operations experience to new role.
Will oversee global customer-facing units, supply chain, manufacturing, R&D, and marketing operations.
Previously held leadership positions at Whirlpool Corporation and Maytag Corporation.
Accomplished major initiatives including robotics adoption and enterprise operating model scaling.

Today, Tennant Corporation announced that Richard H. "Rusty" Zay will assume the position of COO as of July 1, 2026. His promotion represents a substantial milestone in his career and has helped to shape Tennant's strategic vision for the past 16 years. As Tennant's current CCO, Zay has over 20 years of experience in the industry; he has a comprehensive skill set including sales, marketing, and operations. He has also held leadership roles at other large manufacturers, including Maytag Corporation and Whirlpool Corporation. Tennant is confident that Zay will promote operational excellence and ensure continued growth

As COO, Zay's responsibilities will expand to include all of Tennant's global customer-facing business units; all elements of Tennant's global supply chain; all manufacturing operations; all of Tennant's R&D departments; and all of Tennant's marketing initiatives. Zay will also be responsible for driving strong financial performance and creating value through successful implementation of all aspects of the company's business; managing cross-organizational collaboration; and increasing operational efficiency. Dave Huml, President and CEO of Tennant Company, expressed his satisfaction with the selection of Zay, noting his ability to strategically lead Tennant’s growth and to promote a culture of innovation.

According to Huml, "Rusty has an extensive history of developing alignment across our business units for the successful implementation of both new and existing strategies. He is both a strategic and creative thinker interested in leveraging technology so that we can improve our operating efficiencies. In addition, Rusty demonstrates an outstanding commitment to customer satisfaction, ensuring that Tennant continues to be a market leader by providing differentiated service that meets the needs of each customer during every interaction with us." Zay's path at Tennant has been one of steady progression with increasing levels of responsibilities and influence. Upon joining the company as Vice President of Global Marketing in June 2010, he was promoted to Vice President of Sales and Service, Americas in 2014, then became Senior Vice President, Innovation and Technology prior to taking on his current position as Chief Commercial Officer. Throughout his career, Zay has played an important role in driving growth and value creation within the organization, including: leading initiatives to expand our customer base; expanding and enhancing the use of new technologies such as robotics in the marketplace; creating new enterprise operating models to support scalable profits, and building the capabilities of our organization to deliver excellent customer experience. These efforts have resulted in positioning Tennant as an innovator in the highly competitive cleaning equipment manufacturing industry.

Commenting on his appointment, Zay expressed enthusiasm for the expanded responsibilities. "Tennant's leadership position in the industry provides unique opportunities to serve more customers in new and existing markets as we continue to reinvent how the world cleans," he said. "I'm honored to lead a very talented team that is focused on leveraging our recognized capabilities and scale, along with innovative ideas about how to reach and serve our customers, to continue driving our growth strategy." Zay holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Purdue University. Beyond his corporate leadership, he has contributed to industry advancement as President and Secretary of the Association of American Cleaning Equipment Manufacturers and has served on the Holy Family Catholic High School Board of Directors and Finance Committee, demonstrating commitment to community leadership and governance.

Business Honor is of the view that Richard H. Zay's appointment as Chief Operating Officer represents a strategic evolution in Tennant Corporation's operational execution and customer-centric market expansion capabilities.