Healy Family Holdings names new Chief Executive Officer

Healy Family Holdings in Willowbrook, best known for its Turtle Wax car care brands, appointed Steve Knoop as chief executive officer.

Knoop will focus on expanding growth and sustaining financial soundness across the Healy Family Holdings portfolio of businesses, the companyu said in a release.

“We are proud to welcome Steve to Healy Family Holdings. He has proved himself to be an esteemed leader with deep, diverse experience that can help build value for generations to come,” said Sondra Healy, co-chairman of Turtle Wax, Inc.  “Over the past several years Steve has become a close confidant and adviser — we have an enormous respect for his work and look forward to him taking on this important leadership role within our company.”

In his role within Healy Family Holdings, Knoop will be responsible for emphasizing the family’s leadership position in investments by growing the businesses through innovation and enterprise with solutions that address building shareholder value. Knoop is a respected industry leader with more than 35 years of strategic corporate finance experience across many industries including consumer brands and products.

Prior to Healy Family Holdings, Knoop was managing principal of First Chicago Advisors, Inc. He served as co-group leader and managing director of the U.S. mergers and acquisitions group at BMO Nesbitt Burns (BMO Capital) and previously, co-group head of advisory business services for Merrill Lynch consulting primarily for privately held businesses. He earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and has served six years as a trustee in Barrington Hills.

“Having an entrepreneurial family background, I am thrilled to join the Healy Family which traces its roots back to the entrepreneurial spirit of Ben Hirsh founding Turtle Wax,” said Knoop. “I am eager to identify opportunities for Healy Family Holdings and continue to grow the value of such an iconic brand like Turtle Wax. It’s an exciting time to be joining Healy Family Holdings, and I look forward to playing a role in the continued success and growth of one of America’s great family-owned companies.”