SPESA Welcomes New Board Member, Announces New Officer Slate, and Presents Member Emeritus Award

Press Release

CHICAGO, IL – During its recent Annual Business Meeting, the Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA) announced the approval of its incoming officers and the election of the Board Class of 2028, which includes a new member to the association’s Board of Directors. SPESA also recognized a new recipient of the SPESA Member Emeritus award. 

The SPESA Business Meeting took place Thursday, August 28th, in Chicago, Illinois, at the conclusion of the 2025 SPESA Executive Conference.

Lionel Vargas Cruz Joins SPESA Board of Directors

Lionel Vargas Cruz is Vice President of Advanced Manufacturing & Innovation at SPESA member ISAIC (the Industrial Sewing and Innovation Center). With proven skills in supply chain management, lean manufacturing, innovation, integration, and change management, Vargas Cruz plays a key role in shaping ISAIC’s transformative role in modeling and advancing an innovative, human-centric approach to quality domestic manufacturing. He leads initiatives to ensure that new technologies and skills are not only adoptable, but scalable and ready to define new industry standards. 

As shared with the SPESA membership ahead of the election, Vargas Cruz is already an engaged SPESA member — even leading a discussion on workforce training and development at last week's Executive Conference — and the association is thrilled to have him join the Board of Directors.

SPESA Members Vote on SPESA Board Class of 2028 

Mr. Vargas Cruz joins the SPESA Board of Directors as part of the Board Class of 2028. In addition, the SPESA membership voted to re-elect several current SPESA Board members. The SPESA Board Class of 2028 includes:

• Bert Feinberg, Frontier Distributors/Phillocraft

• Martin Gopman, Universal Sewing Machine

• Lenny Marano, Lectra

• Charlie Merrow, Merrow Sewing Machine Co.

• Eric Schlossman, Consew

• Lionel Vargas Cruz, ISAIC

Each of these Board members will serve a three-year term, which began on August 28th, 2025.

SPESA Board Approves Officer Slate  

Inaugurated August 27th, SPESA’s new leadership team consists of Daniella Ambrogi serving as Chairwoman of the Board; Michael Rabin, Sales Director of the Americas at Morgan Tecnica Spa, as Vice Chairman; and Eric Schlossman, Vice President at Consew, as Secretary & Treasurer.

The newly-elected officers will each serve two-year terms, tasked with leading the association’s strategic decisions. Exiting Chairman Mark Hatton will continue to serve on the 17-member Board as the Immediate Past President.

SPESA Presents Member Emeritus Awards

Early in the day on August 27th (too excited to wait for the Business Meeting), SPESA presented its Member Emeritus award to former SPESA Board member Rolando Bohlemann. Mr. Bohlemann has contributed greatly to both SPESA and the sewn products industry throughout his illustrious career, and continues to do so today by sharing his experience and knowledge with the next generation of sewn product industry leaders. 

Established in 2023, recipients of the emeritus SPESA membership level are granted complimentary lifetime SPESA membership in gratitude for their service.

For more information on SPESA's Board of Directors and leadership, please visit www.spesa.org/about.