US Vanadium Names New Leadership
09/01/2026 - US Vanadium LLC announced it has appointed Michael Belote as its chief executive officer (CEO), effective 1 September.
Belote will succeed Darryll Castle, who has been appointed chairman of the company’s board of directors. The former chairman, Mark Smith, will continue to serve as a member of the board, the company said.
Belote has over 20 years of operations and manufacturing leadership experience. He previously worked at Georg Fischer Piping Systems as senior vice president and head of operations for the industrial group. He was responsible for four manufacturing plants across Arkansas, California and Pennsylvania. Prior to his service there, he spent 16 years with GE’s Wind Power Division in various roles including general manager and plant director, then global operations leader.
“My focus will be on operational excellence, safety, and disciplined scale-up: running our Arkansas plants reliably, growing capacity to meet the demand we are seeing from titanium alloy and defense customers, and building on the strong foundation Darryll and the team have created. Having spent much of my career leading Arkansas manufacturing operations, I am especially glad to be doing this work close to home,” said Belote.
Belote has a doctorate of engineering from Texas A&M University along with a master of science in operations management and a bachelor of science in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas.
Belote has over 20 years of operations and manufacturing leadership experience. He previously worked at Georg Fischer Piping Systems as senior vice president and head of operations for the industrial group. He was responsible for four manufacturing plants across Arkansas, California and Pennsylvania. Prior to his service there, he spent 16 years with GE’s Wind Power Division in various roles including general manager and plant director, then global operations leader.
“My focus will be on operational excellence, safety, and disciplined scale-up: running our Arkansas plants reliably, growing capacity to meet the demand we are seeing from titanium alloy and defense customers, and building on the strong foundation Darryll and the team have created. Having spent much of my career leading Arkansas manufacturing operations, I am especially glad to be doing this work close to home,” said Belote.
Belote has a doctorate of engineering from Texas A&M University along with a master of science in operations management and a bachelor of science in industrial engineering from the University of Arkansas.
