Team

Team

LTI has a team of employees dedicated to quality. This team includes members of the founding family and highly-skilled craftsman, many of whom have been with the company for 20 years or more. All of LTI’s team members are available to assist you.

Meet our leadership team:

Barbara Casey Lane

Barbara Casey Lane

CEO and Chairman of the Board

Barbara Casey Lane is the CEO and Chairman of the Board at LTI. As a third-generation family member, Barbara spent the early years of her career at LTI (1980-1989) as Assistant to the CFO. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts in English, her career path led her to several companies concentrating in the areas of product development and marketing, as well as operational systems and leadership development. In 2013, she returned to LTI, and as COO, she oversaw the operational side of the business, including all of production before being appointed to her current role in 2022. Barbara also serves as a member of the Jonesboro Design Review Commission.

Shawn Nicholas

Shawn Nicholas

Chief Financial Officer

Shawn is LTI's Chief Financial Officer and is responsible for leading the overall financial direction of LTI. His diverse experience spans multiple industries, including cooling systems and compressors, light manufacturing and distribution, outdoor furniture, software technology, wholesale distribution, and public accounting. A graduate of Auburn University in Alabama, Nicholas has more than 28 years of financial and operational experience to the organization, including previous responsibilities such as general accounting, financial analysis and leadership, project management and plant management.

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Tracy Bennett

VP, Manufacturing

Tracy Bennett is LTI's Vice President of Manufacturing. Tracy joined LTI in 1988 and currently leads production scheduling, maintenance, shipping/receiving and takedown departments for the company. Tracy is highly-focused on improving capacity and production efficiency in order to meet customer demand. He is passionate about delivering the highest caliber of product reliably on time to customers.

Tracy is a certified programmer on Bystronic laser equipment and is Six Sigma Lean certified.

Casey Hammonds

VP, Engineering

Casey is the VP of Engineering at LTI. He has been employed with LTI full-time since 1980, and prior to that, he worked for the company during the summers beginning at age 16. Through the years, Casey has been closely involved in the development and evolution of our product line. Working with production, sales, code authorities and our customer base, he strives to listen to and understand all requests and do our very best to incorporate them into our equipment design.

Brent Myers

VP, Human Resources

Brent is responsible for leading the overall direction of Human Resources for the company. He focuses on leading and developing programs to support strategic initiatives involving employee retention, talent acquisition and human resource process automation for LTI. In his 30 years of experience, he has worked for healthcare, retail and business process outsourcing companies, as well as manufacturing with glass fabrication, metal forming, automotive OEM and temperature control industries.

Johnnie Merchant

VP, Sales & Marketing

Johnnie is Vice President of Sales and Marketing and oversees sales growth and marketing efforts for LTI’s vast product line. With over thirty years of experience in the foodservice industry, Merchant is passionate about building strong relationships with channel partners and end users to grow awareness and sales. He works closely with LTI's sales reps with a focus on multiple market segments, including K-12, colleges and universities.

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Eric Seay

VP, Operational Excellence

Eric Seay is LTI's Vice President of Operational Excellence. In his role, he partners with department leadership on process improvements leading to efficiency gains, improved quality, and customer satisfaction. Eric’s 20+ years of experience includes the implementation of systems, processes, and controls to monitor and improve financial performance for companies, including Trulite Glass and Aluminum, Rinnai and Carlisle. He has also held  roles in accounting and manufacturing management.

Eric earned his Industrial Engineering undergraduate degree from Kennesaw State University and his MBA-Finance degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt through the Institute of Industrial Engineers. Eric also served as a member of the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Board of Examiners for the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Ted Arnold

Director, Customer Support

In his role of the Director of Customer Support, Ted oversees daily operations relating to the needs of our customers, working closely with the team to provide guidance and support from the initial sale through installation. Ted has been with LTI for over 35 years and has a wealth of experience throughout the entire organization. He is passionate about supporting LTI's mission of providing exceptional service to our customers.

Greg Chance

National Accounts Director

Greg is the National Accounts Director at LTI. He has been in the foodservice industry for over 30 years, spending time in operational roles with major companies such as Pizza Hut, Inc. and Target Corp. He joined the LTI Team in 2008 and enjoys the hands-on approach working with LTI customers and sharing with them how applications on the equipment side of the business can benefit their operations. His focus is on key/national accounts, including restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores and other food industry market segment chains to grow sales with new customers and new market segments. When creating or building a custom serving line or entire cafeterias for customers, Greg strives to exceed their expectation every step of the way.

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Willis Smith

Director, Educational Sales

Willis is the Director of Educational Sales and is responsible for developing all serving counter and décor business through LTI’s representative organizations focusing on the education segments. He oversees LTI’s VisionDesign interior design service, which provides consultation and turnkey creations to enhance dining spaces with the inclusion of paint, signage and other accessories that are proven to increase customer participation. Willis Smith is a graduate of Georgia State University and previously worked for Delta Air Lines.