Meet Jost’s dedicated leadership team.

Jerry Jost, President

Jerry Jost founded Jost Chemical after a successful early career in chemical engineering. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri at Columbia. He served on active duty in the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Georgia, and then another eight years in the U.S. Army Reserves.

He began his career as a chemical production engineer for Wagner Electric, and then as a Project Engineer at ITT Blackburn. Following those two positions, Jerry spent nine years at Mallinckrodt (currently operating as Covidien) in various roles: production engineer, production supervisor and technical supervisor. He credits this varied experience for teaching him the nuances inherent to the specialty chemical and pharmaceutical industry. By understanding the science as well as production, he was able to successfully grow his own company.

In 2010, Jerry earned the Small Business Association’s Person of the Year Award for St. Louis District. He was honored for Jost Chemical’s growth, financial performance, new product innovation, response to adversity and contributions to the community. That same year, he also received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Energy/Chemical Award in the Central Midwest region. According to Ernst & Young LLP, the award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic, growing businesses.

Jerry Jost has served on the Chemical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) at the University of Missouri for over 10 years, and he’s also been on the board for the Associated Industries of Missouri for more than 10 years. Jerry has been a volunteer judge at both Washington University and Saint Louis University campuses for various entrepreneurial contests, such as the Idea to Product (I2P) early-stage academic competition and the FIRST Robotics competition. He also was a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) for over 20 years and regularly has opened his company’s facilities for regional ACS meeting and training purposes, as well as the Boy Scouts of America. He also offers continued support to the Salvation Army, now going on two decades.

In his spare time, Jerry is an avid aquarist, maintaining over 200 tanks of freshwater fish and plants. He is also recognized by the Missouri Aquarium Society as a Grand Master Breeder of rare and endangered species, relying on his chemistry expertise to manage this growing collection.

Steve Ederle, Plant Manager

Steve joined the Jost Chemical team in June 1992. Starting as a Production Supervisor when Jost Chemical had only 18 employees, Steve has more than 20 years of progressive responsibilities in operations. Steve earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the then University of Missouri at Rolla (currently Missouri University of Science and Technology). Steve is responsible for supply chain metrics of inventory management and controlling direct manufacturing costs while achieving the desired service levels for our customers.

John Gleason, Director of Quality and R&D

John came to Jost Chemical in October 1992. Before joining Jost, John worked as a senior research chemist for the Ethyl Corporation and Monsanto. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry from Saint Louis University, followed by an MBA from Washington University. John is responsible for product development,while leading an experienced team of professionals in delivering world-class products that satisfy customer needs and expectations.

Jeffrey Lenger, Director of Sales and Marketing

Jeff joined our team in May 1996. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Missouri at Columbia. After beginning his career in market development at the Caterpillar Tractor Company in Peoria, IL, he accepted a position at Monsanto in Chicago, IL. Jeff worked for Monsanto a total of 12 years, eventually relocating to St. Louis, MO to take on a variety of sales, marketing and product management positions within the plastics division. When he left Monsanto, he was leading the worldwide business for the company’s medical and personal products markets.

At Jost, Jeff is responsible for leading the company’s worldwide sales and marketing efforts. He has been instrumental in developing and implementing the company’s strategy for growth and customer service, and he played a key role in establishing Jost Europe.

Carrie Stewart, Controller

Carrie joined Jost Chemical in August 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Peking University and an MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis. After beginning her career as an auditor with KPMG, she accumulated over 10 years’ experience in multiple areas of corporate finance internationally with companies such as JA Solar, Inditex, and Monsanto/Bayer. She also holds a CPA certification in China.

At Jost, Carrie leads the entire Finance function, overseeing areas such as accounting, treasury and risk management, strategic financial analysis, and internal control.