LEADERSHIP TEAM

Ugur Onbasi

Ugur Onbasi is the President of Borusan Berg Pipe and member of the Global Executive Committee of Borusan Pipe reporting to Global CEO, Zafer Atabey. He graduated from the Department of International Relations in English, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Marmara. Since 1999, he has carried out various management and executive roles in Borusan Pipe’s Turkiye and USA organizations. He has led Turkiye Large Diameter Pipe Segment between 2015 and 2024 and the Supply Chain functions of Borusan Pipe Companies in USA as Chief Supply Chain Officer around a year. He has been appointed as the President of Borusan Berg Pipe as of July 9th , 2024.

Favorite sayings of him are “Communication -the human connection- is the key to personal and career success” by Paul J. Meyer and “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” by Thomas Edison.   

Michael Kirkland

Michael Kirkland is Chief Financial Officer of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Borusan Berg Pipe President, Ugur Onbasi. Michael has a dual Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Florida State University, a Master of Business Administration degree with emphasis in Accounting from University of West Florida, and is a Certified Public Accountant. 

Michael started his career in accounting at Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors, a regional public accounting firm. There, he worked in various roles, including Audit Manager. Michael performed audits for a variety of clients, but mainly focusing on governmental and manufacturing audits of which Berg Pipe was one of them. This experience allowed him to develop a strong understanding of all company aspects prior to joining Borusan Berg Pipe. 

Michael is native to Panama City, Florida. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors and spending time with his wife and son. His favorite saying by Steve Jobs “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

Dimitris Dimopoulos

Dimitris Dimopoulos is Borusan Berg Pipe’s  Chief Technology and Quality Officer and member of the Global Executive Committee Pipe reporting to Global CEO of Borusan Pipe, Zafer Atabey. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Metallurgical engineering from National Technical University of Athens, Greece and a Diploma in Management Studies from ALBA Graduate Business School in Greece. He Joined the company in October 2011 and has 30 years of experience in manufacturing of large diameter steel pipes for the energy sector in various technical and commercial roles with a focus on quality, technology, sales, purchasing and strategy. A favorite saying of his is “A clever person solves a problem. A wise person avoids it,” by Albert Einstein.

Fatih Ozkan

Fatih Ozkan is the Vice President of Borusan Berg Pipe’s HSAW Pipe plant in Mobile, Alabama reporting to Ugur Onbasi and indirectly to Dimitris Dimopoulos.  He has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree and was born and raised in Antakya, Turkiye. After high school he studied at the University of Gaziantep, Turkey. After completion of military duty, he started his career in 1999 and after working for two different company for 12 years he joined Borusan Boru in 2011 and served there for 4 years in various technical leading positions. In 2015, he became Pipe Mill Director and served 5 years in the Large Diameter Pipe Mill, and 3 years in ERW Pipe Mill as Pipe Mill Director.

“Making pipes is like playing a symphony with a philharmonic orchestra; each instrument must play in the right way at the right time. It's a complete team effort. What remains for the orchestra conductor is to teach which notes to play and how to play them when necessary, and to provide the right emotion and motivation.”

Koichi Konuma

Koichi Konuma is the Vice President of Business Development of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi. He joined Borusan Berg Pipe in August of 2008 as Director of Sales. Prior to working at Berg Pipe, he worked in the industry with a Japanese general trading company in different positions for 12 years. He has a Bachelor’s Business degree from Linfield College and a Master of Business Administration from Houston Baptist University. He’s originally from Bogota, Colombia, but has been living in Houston, Texas since January, 1999. A favorite saying of his is “One must lead by example.”

Jonathan Kirkland

Jonathan Kirkland is the Vice President of Sales, Logistics, and Government Affairs of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi. Originally from Houston, he began his career in the steel pipe industry in 2004 and joined Borusan Berg Pipe in 2010. Jonathan earned a Bachelor’s of Economics and International Studies, with an emphasis on Latin America, from Texas A&M University. In 2010, he moved to Panama City, Florida. He worked in sales, business development, and project management before his current role in the organization. A favorite saying of his is “Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people,” by Steve Jobs.

Brink Prescott

Brink Prescott is Director of Procurement (Steel) of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi. Raised in Panama City, he attended Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a dual major in Business Management and Purchasing and Materials Management.  Prior to returning to his hometown and joining Borusan Berg Pipe in 1997, he held management positions in manufacturing and distribution with several companies in the Tampa Bay area.  Throughout his career with the company, he has worked in many areas of the business including logistics, operations, and supply chain.

Eric Arnold

Eric Arnold is Director of Procurement (Non-Steel) of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce & Business Administration from the University of Alabama and Master of Business degree from the University of West Florida. He is from Panama City, Florida and moved to Mobile, Alabama in 2008 for the start of the Berg Pipe Mobile plant. He has worked in various roles for Borusan Berg Pipe for the last 11 years including purchasing and continuous improvement, and operations planning prior to his current role. A favorite quotation of his is “We all have a tendency to avoid our weakness. When we do that, we never get any better,” by Jocko Willink.

Jay Verenakis

Jay Verenakis is Director of Information Technologies of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi. He was the Chief Information Officer at MacGregor Golf and The Greg Norman Collection before joining Borusan Berg Pipe in 2010. He is now responsible for all aspects of IT infrastructure and software development in the Borusan Berg Pipe Group, including communication networks and production systems. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in information systems from Georgia Southern University in 1995. He currently resides in Panama City, Florida.

Nick Virbitsky

Nick Virbitsky is the Director of Quality of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi and indirectly to Dimitris Dimopoulos. He earned a Bachelor degree in Material Science and Engineering (Metallurgy) from the Pennsylvania State University and joined Borusan Berg Pipe’s Quality group shortly after graduating. In the 11 years since being with the company, Nick has held various positions within Quality Management and earned certification in Six Sigma, CWI, CMQ/OE, ASNT Level III, and is currently pursuing an Executive MBA through Auburn University. A favorite saying of his is, “Quality is not an act, it is a habit,” by Aristotle.

Angela Cherry

Angela Cherry is the Director of Human Resources of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Ugur Onbasi.  Angela earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Troy University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of West Florida and is a Certified Professional with the Society of Human Resource Management.  Originally from Kentucky, she has been a resident of Panama City since 1994.  Prior to joining the Berg Team in 2013 as an HR Generalist, Angela worked in the student loan and finance industry.   A favorite quote is “Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak,” by Thomas Carlyle.

Julie Lange

Julie Lange is the Senior Controller of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Michael Kirkland. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, Master of Business Administration degree, and she is a Certified Public Accountant. She is from Alabama. Julie has worked at Borusan Berg Pipe’s Panama City location for 20 years. Prior to joining Borusan Berg Pipe, Julie worked at Saltmarsh, Cleveland, Gund Accounting Firm, and at Rail Management and Consulting.

Chance Suggs

Chance Suggs is the Director of Transportation of Borusan Berg Pipe reporting to Jonathan Kirkland. He began his career in the steel industry in 1989, joining Borusan Berg Pipe in 1994. He has been with Borusan Berg Pipe for 25 years in various roles, including Manager of Shipping and Manager of Operations Planning. He studied Business Administration at Gulf Coast State College, with a concentration on logistics and operational management. Chance currently resides in Panama City, Florida with his wife and two children. One of his favorite quotations is “Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results,” by Andrew Carnegie