Executive Team

Kevin Bense joined McWane, Inc. as Group President-Waterworks in 2018. Prior to joining McWane Bense served for five years as president of A.J. Oster, a division of Global Brass and Copper Holdings. Previously he served as the vice president and general manager of the company’s Somers Thin Strip division. From 2007 to 2011, Bense served as a global business leader for Honeywell International, Inc.'s specialty additives business unit. Prior to that he served in various domestic and international executive, marketing and management positions of increasing responsibility in the chemicals industry. Bense holds a degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

Tommy Braxton joined McWane as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Valve & Hydrant Group, in December 2020. Prior to joining McWane, Tommy served four years as Vice President of North America for Kamstrup Water Metering, LLC. Before Kamstrup, Tommy served for 15 years at Badger Meter. While at Badger Meter, he served in the roles of Distribution Manager, Sales Solutions Manager, Regional Manager and Director of Sales (Distribution). Previous to Badger Meter, Tommy served in various sales and management roles with Pharmacia and Mitsubishi Electric. Tommy is a graduate of Shorter College in Rome, GA with a B.S in Business and a M.B.A from the University of Georgia. He is also an US Air Force veteran. Tommy and his wife Julie have two daughters and a grandson, who also live in Atlanta.

Mr. Willett started his long and successful career at Clow Valve Company in 2000. In 2007, he entered the McWane Management Trainee Program. During the course of his management training he worked for TylerUnion from 2009 to 2011 as their Inventory and Distribution Manager. In 2011, Mr. Willett was promoted to Finishing Manager at Kennedy Valve Company and then in 2012 he was promoted to Plant Manager of M&H Valve Company where he remained until coming back to Clow as our Assistant General Manager.

Mr. Willett graduated from Simpson College in Indianola, IA in 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Science/Geology. In 2009 he earned a Master of Business Administration from Drake University in Des Moines, IA.

Mr. Willett and his wife live in Oskaloosa, IA with their two sons.

Steve started working at Clow Valve Company after a 25-year career at Neenah Foundry. He started his professional career as an estimator for Water Products Company in Urbandale, Iowa. On March 1, 1991, Steve took a job as the outside sales person for Neenah Foundry covering the State of Iowa. In February 1997, he was transferred to Phoenix, Arizona where he was the salesman covering Arizona and California. On March 31, 2004, Steve was promoted to District Sales Manager covering the Western US. In 2006, he was promoted to Executive Sales Director handling the Western half of the US. Following a change in ownership at Neenah Foundry, Steve was promoted to Vice President of Sales for the Municipal Division on May 1, 2008. In this position he was responsible for the entire sales organization and the P&L of the municipal division. He remained in that position until he changed jobs to Clow Valve Company on October 4, 2015.

Steve is married to Pernilla and has one son. 

Griffin Herb is the Marketing Manager for the McWane Valve & Hydrant Group. Griff started at M&H in 2010 as an Inside Sales Representative.  In 2011 he entered the Sales Trainee Program with M&H and Kennedy Valve, traveling with District Sales Managers and getting product experience by working in the plants.  In 2012 he relocated to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to become the District Sales Manager for Louisiana and Southern Texas.  In 2017, Griff moved back to his hometown of Jacksonville, AL to become the Inside Sales Manager for M&H Valve Co.  In 2023, he was promoted to Marketing Manager for the McWane Valve & Hydrant Group.

Griff earned a Marketing Degree and MBA from Jacksonville State University.

Griff and his children reside on their farm in Jacksonville, AL. He enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, sport shooting, and spending time with family and friends.

Chris Prendergast started work at the Clow Valve Machine shop as a project engineer in 2006. In 2010 he changed roles and began working in Continuous improvement at all three Clow facilities. In 2018, Chris was promoted to Assistant Metal Casting Facility Manager. Two years later, in 2020, he advanced to the position of Machine Shop Manager. By 2022, Chris had further climbed the ranks to become Assistant General Manager, a role he currently holds.

Chris received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Missouri- Columbia in 2005. In 2019 he earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Iowa.

On a personal note Chris is married and has two daughters, his wife Kim is a local educator. They moved to Oskaloosa Iowa in 2010.

Annie Thomas has had a progressive career at Clow Valve, starting in the payroll department in 2008. In 2011, she transitioned to the Human Resources Department, where she took on roles of increasing responsibility. By 2022, she was promoted to the position of Human Resources Manager. 

Annie's educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in Human Resource Management from William Penn University, which she completed in 2016. Outside of work, Annie resides with her husband Shane and their three children outside of Oskaloosa.

Riley Braughton started with Clow Valve in 2020 and has held various roles within the Accounting department. He began as the Tax Accountant, transitioned to Cost Accountant, and in 2024 was promoted to his current role as Controller. Riley graduated from Upper Iowa University with a double major in Accounting and Financial Management. He also earned his MBA in Corporate Financial Management from Upper Iowa University.

Riley and his wife Brey live in Oskaloosa and she is a teacher at the Oskaloosa Elementary School.

Dean Markle has extensive experience spanning over 35 years in the foundry industry, with a diverse background in aluminum, steel, iron, and brass foundries. Before joining Clow, he held various management positions such as Quality Manager and Director of Operations. Notably, he served as interim Plant Manager at an Indian foundry for 1.5 years, demonstrating his leadership and operational capabilities.

Dean Markle's career has also taken him internationally, where he has assisted in managing foundries and resolving operational challenges in countries including China, Russia, South Korea, Hungary, and Brazil. For the past two years, he has been serving as the Plant Manager at Clow, where his wealth of experience continues to contribute to the success of the organization.

Dean and his wife Kim have four boys and one girl,  two children still live in Texas and three of the boys make their homes in Iowa.

Ryan Van Dalen started work at Clow Valve Machine Shop as the Assistant Plant Manager in 2020. In 2022, he was promoted to his current role as the Machine Shop Manager. Ryan has been in manufacturing his whole career and has been involved in many sectors of manufacturing that include food, building materials, and infrastructure. Ryan takes pride in working for a company that gives back to the community he was born and raised in. 

Ryan received a double major from William Penn University in 2011 where he enjoyed playing football for the Statesmen. Outside of work, Ryan is married to his high school sweetheart, and they have a daughter together. Ryan’s hobbies include playing with their two dogs, biking, lifting weights, and golfing with his wife and daughter.

Matt Dykema has had a notable career in engineering, beginning his journey at Clow Valve as a Project Engineer from 2001 until early 2011. After a few years away, he rejoined the company in the fall of 2022, taking on the role of Engineering and Quality Manager.

He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas, which he earned in 1994, and became a licensed Professional Engineer in Iowa in 2003.

From a young age, Matt knew he wanted to be a family man, and he has been blessed with a wonderful wife, Jamie, and their two sons and two daughters.  Their sons are now both married, blessing them with even more family, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren!