Forest River, Inc. Announces Key Personnel Changes
ELKHART, Ind. — Forest River, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway 
company and one of North America’s leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles, pontoons, buses, vans, cargo trailers and commercial trucks, today announced a number of key personnel changes including several prominent leaders whose careers significantly shaped the company’s growth and industry leadership.
Announcing their retirement were Doug Deter, Steve Aspy, Autumn Williams, John Reust and Cherie Koenig, while Gary Chamberlin and Ira Mullet announced departures to pursue new opportunities. Each individual leaves behind a legacy marked by operational excellence, steady leadership and measurable contributions to Forest River’s continued expansion.
Gary Chamberlin, one of Forest River’s longest-tenured employees, announced that he is ending a career that spanned 14,653 days - over 40 years - to join the Peter J. Liegl Family Foundation in April with his sister Sharon Liegl and niece Lisa Liegl Rees. During his time at Forest River, Chamberlin worked alongside founder Pete Liegl, from day one and was involved in the company’s early growth and development, including the startup of several well-known brands such as Wildwood, Salem, Sierra and Cardinal, supporting early operations and building supplier relationships as those divisions expanded. Throughout his time, he held leadership roles across purchasing and supply operations, overseeing multiple supply divisions while working closely with vendors and internal teams. He enjoyed working closely with others most, building strong relationships and taking a hands-on approach to solving complex challenges and supporting operations across the company.
“It’s been a great ride, and I’m proud of what we’ve built and the people behind it,” Chamberlin said. “We had a lot of fun along the way, and that’s what made it special.” In semiretirement, he plans to remain active working with the Liegl family on property and land management projects while spending more time with family.
Doug Deter will retire after more than 18 years, including two separate stints with the company. Working directly for founder Pete Liegl, Deter was instrumental in strengthening operational performance and establishing standards and processes across all Forest River divisions. Known for his disciplined execution and strong commitment to quality, Deter helped break down divisional silos, unify leadership around shared metrics and best practices and build a more customer-centric organization. He played a key role in building the company’s warranty, parts and service departments into an industry-leading organization by establishing standards and strengthening accountability. He most recently led the creation of a centralized call center that has improved the Forest River owner’s experience with a skilled team of ready technicians answering real-time calls.
“Ask anyone in the company what Doug’s key phrase is, and they’ll tell you it’s ‘to be fair and equitable,’” said Kelly Mosher, customer service training manager. “That mindset has shaped how we work with our dealers and customers and influenced the policies and processes we’ve put in place. His leadership has helped break down silos, strengthen collaboration across brands and led to recognition programs that have improved how our teams work together and how people feel about being part of Forest River.”
Ira Mullet is transitioning from Forest River to pursue his next professional chapter. Mullet played a pivotal role in advancing Manufacturing Process Improvement across the company, helping to develop and implement manufacturing standards that strengthened consistency and quality across divisions. Most recently, Mullet spearheaded the development of the new MPI Rain Bay facility, reinforcing the company’s focus on product quality and real-world performance validation.
Steve Aspy will retire in April after more than 15 years with Forest River and more than four decades in the RV industry. Serving as a group operations manager, Aspy oversaw multiple facilities and was closely involved in the startup, relocation and expansion of several plants.
Working alongside Doug Gaeddert and operations teams across the company, Aspy remained focused on building and supporting operations as the company grew. Early involvement included Plant 3, Plant 44 and Plant 45, along with a lamination facility, with expansion over time into additional plants including Plant 59, Plant 62 and Plant 69. During that growth, lamination capacity increased from supporting three buildings to more than eight, helping support the company’s ability to scale production. Aspy was a hands-on leader, collaborating closely with plant teams on facility layouts, equipment planning and production flow to set operations up to run efficiently. That same approach carried into the development of operational and safety reference materials, giving plant managers a consistent foundation to rely on as operations evolved and contributing to the company’s broader safety structure initiatives.
His contributions extended across companywide projects, including the implementation of the Group Operations Managers Strategic Planning Meetings, bringing leaders together to share ideas and stay aligned across facilities, as well as real estate and facility evaluations and the setup of Forest River’s annual Expo, where he supported the design and coordination of the power grid across the grounds, managing the miles of cable needed to power the event. Across his career, Aspy’s impact can be seen in how operations were built and sustained expanding plant capacity, improving consistency and putting structure in place, not just getting things done, but doing them the right way and creating systems teams could rely on over time. Known for his consistent leadership style, he often credited the teams around him, noting his role was to provide direction and support for success.
Outside of operations, he was also known for mentoring newer team members and for becoming “grill master” at the annual Forest River Softball Tournament, where he and his team got the process down to keep the grill running and everyone fed.
“I’ve always enjoyed working with people and being part of the growth we’ve had,” Aspy said. “We started plants, moved plants and built a lot over the years, but it’s never just one person—it’s the team. I just try to give them a little direction and let them do what they do best.”
In retirement, Aspy looks forward to spending more time with his family, including his five grandchildren and wife, Robin. He plans to help his son and family with their organic farming operation and stay busy taking on projects and helping others. Aspy will continue to support select projects in a part-time capacity following his retirement.
John Reust, assistant controller and tax director at Forest River, retired in mid-March after more than 21 years with the company. Reust joined in September 2004 and held dual roles supporting corporate accounting and tax operations, where he helped establish the company’s tax department and practices, which evolved significantly over the course of his career. Reust was recognized for his attention to detail and strong commitment to doing things the right way, and he took pride in mentoring team members and maintaining accuracy across all aspects of the work. He was well known among general managers for his expertise and his ability to navigate tax matters with confidence. Reflecting on his time with the company, Reust shared that one of the most meaningful parts of his career was working alongside founder Pete Liegl. “My lasting memory will be all the personal interaction I had with Pete over more than 21 years. He trusted me to work on many of his projects, including some personal ones,” Reust said. “Pete had a plaque in his office that read, ‘Let’s find a way it can be done,’ and no phrase better captured his entrepreneurial spirit. He made it clear that every role in the company mattered and contributed to its success.” Reust, a father of three daughters and a grandfather, plans to spend his retirement traveling with his wife, Rita, and focusing on philanthropic and volunteer efforts through his church.
Autumn Williams, a licensing clerk with Forest River, will retire in April after nearly 14 years with the company. Since joining in 2012, Williams has supported licensing operations across divisions, helping manage state requirements, dealer agreements and regulatory processes to remain industry compliant. Her role evolved over the years alongside the department’s growth, contributing to a more structured and cross-trained team that supports operations of the company. Known for her reliability and team-first approach, Williams said, “I’ve always just tried to support the team however I could. It’s been a great place to work, and I’ll miss the people the most.”
Also retiring is Cherie Koenig, bill of materials and DAX trainer with Forest River who will retire at the end of March after more than 30 years with the company. Koenig began her career with Cobra prior to its transition to Forest River and held a variety of roles in accounts receivable, accounts payable, dispatch and purchasing. Most recently, she has been part of the D365 implementation. Known for her hands-on experience and cross-functional knowledge, she played a key role in training team members across operations. “I’ve always enjoyed the challenge and learning something new,” Koenig said. “It’s been a good company to work for, and I’ve appreciated the people and support along the way.”
“In this group of individuals, you see the very best of Forest River,” said Doug Gaeddert, Chief Executive Officer of Forest River, Inc. “Together there are literally hundreds of years of experience, and while each brought a different approach, they all were part of the Forest River family that literally grew up together. Some go back to when we had a one-page internal phone directory! While we’re sorry to see them leave, our bench is strong and our next generation of leaders learned from the best and we won’t skip a beat as we continue to improve. We are grateful for their service and look forward to seeing them each year at the Forest River Expo, which always feels like a family reunion.”
Stepping into new roles:
Mike O’Brien, director of parts, service and warranty, will succeed Doug Deter. O’Brien joined Forest
River in 2023 after a career on the dealer side and has worked closely with Deter in driving operational improvements. He most recently served as customer service manager for Plant 003, supporting Sierra and Sandpiper.
“I saw Forest River pioneering change for dealers and retail customers from a customer service
standpoint and wanted to be a part of it,” O’Brien said. “We have great teams in place, and we are leading
the industry in terms of service to both retail customers and dealers. Staying ahead of the changes and preparing for the future is what gives us our edge.”
Carl Miller, manufacturing process improvement (MPI) manager, will succeed Ira Mullet. Miller joined Forest River in 2020 after 22 years in the RV industry and brings extensive experience in quality, regulatory compliance and manufacturing process improvement. His background includes leading multi- plant inspection teams, developing and auditing quality standards, managing vendor quality initiatives and supporting production through warranty data and trend analysis.
Forest River remains committed to its long-standing leadership philosophy: empower strong operators, maintain disciplined growth and preserve the entrepreneurial culture that has driven the company’s success.
About Forest River, Inc.
Founded in 1996 by Pete Liegl, Forest River, Inc. has evolved into North America’s largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles, cargo trailers, pontoon boats, buses, vans, and commercial vehicles. Its portfolio includes market share leaders in every category, and it is the country’s leading manufacturer of buses and vans for both the private and public sectors. 11,000+ employees across 148 locations, including 141 manufacturing plants and 8 offices and warehouses, in more than a half dozen states. With a commitment to excellence and a focus on customer satisfaction, Forest River is proud to be a Berkshire Hathaway company.
