Ross Centanni is the chairman of the board of directors of Gardner Denver Inc. and serves as the company’s president and chief executive officer as well. Gardner Denver Inc., established in 1993 as a spin-off of Cooper Industries, is recognized worldwide as a leader in the manufacturing of compressors, blowers, pumps, and fluid transfer equipment and technologies.

A resident of Quincy, Ill., Centanni graduated from LSU in 1967 with a bachelor’s in industrial technology and received his M.B.A. from the then LSU College of Business Administration in 1971. Centanni had the rare perspective of attending the University prior to and following the Vietnam War as a student.

After beginning his professional career with B.F. Goodrich Company in Akron, Ohio, Centanni eventually joined Occidental Petroleum and later Cooper Industries in 1980 as the director of its Corporate Planning and Development Group. In 1993, he was chosen to serve as president and CEO of the fledging upstart Gardner Denver. Last year, the company was ranked in Fortune magazine’s “100 Fastest Growing Companies.” This past January, Gardner Denver made Forbes magazine’s “The 400 Best Big Companies in America” list.

Besides serving on the board of directors of Denman Services Inc. of Quincy, Ill.; Esterline Corporation of Bellvue, Wash.; and the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association in Houston, Tex., Centanni is a member of the executive committee of the International Compressors Air and Allied Machinery Committee.

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