Executive Team

Frank Connelly – CEO

Frank Connelly was hired as the President of Western Shield Label Company in 2001 and promoted to CEO in 2009. Frank is truly the face of Western Shield. In his tenure at the helm, Western Shield has tripled in size while remaining highly profitable. Frank managed Western Shield’s relocation to our current facility in Rancho Dominguez, CA and has successfully integrated several tuck-in acquisitions into the Western Shield family.

On the technical side, Frank is known as the resident Pouch expert at Western Shield. He’s also developed numerous innovative label applications including Expanded Content Labels and Tactile Varnish.

Before joining Western Shield, Frank worked 11 years in the capital equipment side of the label industry. He earned his BA in Psychology from Creighton University and his MBA from the University of Kansas.

Thomas Moyer – President

Thomas Moyer is the President at Western Shield. He was hired in 2006 as the VP of Sales and Marketing and was promoted to President in 2009.

Thomas is the guy who ‘makes the trains run on time’. With all functional department heads reporting to him, he oversees both Operations and Sales. In his time at Western Shield, he’s developed an aggressive sales and marketing strategy and has successfully built the internal systems and infrastructure to support this growth. Before joining Western Shield, Thomas spent nearly 15 years on the material “supply-side” of the business, with GPA, MACtac, and Sekisui respectively.

Thomas received a Bachelor of Business from the University of Notre Dame, and earned his MBA from Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business & Management.

Dan Stadler – Marketing Manager

Since coming to Western Shield, Dan has created a comprehensive and integrated marketing program designed to generate leads, manage customer growth, and develop a brand identity for Western Shield. He has also integrated CRM software and a lead management system into the front-office infrastructure.

Dan is a creative and experienced marketing professional with a record of creating tangible returns on every marketing dollar invested. Prior to coming to Western Shield in 2008, he worked in Brand Marketing at companies such as Human Touch, and Hobbes Computer.

Dan received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Penn State University, and earned an MBA from the University of Southern California.

Kirk Miltimore – Director of Operations

Kirk ‘Milty’ Miltimore is our Director of Operations. Kirk started with Western Shield in 2010 and comes from a strong Lean Manufacturing background. Since his arrival at Western Shield, Kirk has led numerous Lean initiatives, and is successfully transforming the culture to reflect Lean sensibilities.

Prior to Western Shield, Kirk successfully worked in manufacturing operations with Boeing, GM, Black & Decker, Flowserve, Targus, and at B/E Aerospace. Kirk also played 1 year in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers.

Kirk receive a B.S. from the University of Washington, M.G. Foster School of Business

In addition Kirk received Six Sigma Black Belt Certification from University of Texas and Certification in Lean from ASQ.

Lee Baba – Graphics Prepress Manager

Lee Baba is our Graphics Prepress Manager. In simple terms, Lee is the bridge between your finished artwork and the final label that’s produced.

Lee started at Western Shield in 1992 working in order entry and customer service. In 1996, she made the transition to the Graphics Department and the rest is history!

She started in graphics as a digital pre-press technician and in 1997 was promoted to the position of Graphics Prepress Manager. In 2008, Lee oversaw the installation of our ESKO computer-to-plate digital workflow system. Under her watch, the Graphics department has tripled in size and has become a real point of pride for the entire organization.

Tamar Santana – Production Manager

Tamar Santana has more tenure than any other employee at Western Shield. He started his career at the company in 1988, initially working as the facility janitor. Since then, he has held every position in the production department, including graphics, pre-press, shipping, and press operator. Since becoming Production Manager in 2004, he has developed a strong team of dedicated employees.

Tamar has attended numerous printing and production seminars, including “Print By Numbers” technology. In 2011, Tamar earned his Six Sigma Green Belt certification and is currently using it to lead several Lean initiatives in our production department.