KANSAS CITY, MO – Peter “Pete” Cortelyou, Chairman and former CEO and President of Tnemec Co. Inc., passed away on February 11 at the age of 75.
Cortelyou officially joined the Tnemec team in 1975 as Controller and Office Manager, but spent several summers before that mixing and producing paint at the company’s North Kansas City plant. In 1986, Cortelyou was elected President and CEO, where he oversaw Tnemec’s biggest periods of growth and some of its toughest challenges. He resigned from his position in 1994, but rejoined the company in 2003 and was shortly thereafter elected CEO. He served in that role before retiring and transitioning to Chairman of the Board in 2016, when current President, Albert “Chase” Bean IV, was elected President of the company.