{"id":7375,"date":"2025-08-06T12:43:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T16:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ast-inc.com\/?p=7375"},"modified":"2025-08-06T14:21:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T18:21:53","slug":"jacob-stephen-named-chief-operating-officer-press-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ast-inc.com\/news\/jacob-stephen-named-chief-operating-officer-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"AST Names Industry Veteran Jacob Stephen as Chief Operating Officer"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Stephen to lead company-wide execution, strengthening AST\u2019s Executive Leadership Team<\/em><\/p>

Tacoma, WA \u2014 August 6, 2025<\/strong> \u2014 AST is pleased to announce that Jacob Stephen will be joining the AST Team as Chief Operations Officer at the Tacoma-headquartered drug product equipment manufacturing company. Stephen joins AST from IPS, where he most recently served as Head of Operations for the Americas. With more than two decades of experience leading large-scale initiatives, Stephen brings a deep expertise in strategic process development, efficient project execution, and cross-functional team leadership. His proven ability to drive operational excellence and deliver complex programs will further strengthen AST\u2019s position as a leader in the drug product equipment manufacturing industry.<\/p>

\u201cThe hiring of Jacob is the culmination of a multi-year effort to find the right individual that not only brings exceptional leadership skills and experience to AST, but equally important someone that fits the AST culture. The fact that Jacob is known and recognized in our industry as a trusted leader with uncompromising integrity is a tremendous plus,” said Joe Hoff, CEO of AST. “As we continue to strategically grow AST here in the United States as well as abroad, Jacob’s experience will be instrumental in scaling our operations while maintaining the exceptional quality and customer trust we work so hard to maintain. I couldn\u2019t be more excited to welcome him to AST.”<\/p>

\u201cI am excited to be joining AST, where the core values of mutual respect, trust, and integrity perfectly align with my own. It\u2019s an honor to contribute to AST\u2019s vision of becoming the most trusted partner in drug product manufacturing. I look forward to growing with such a dedicated team, working together to deliver reliable, high-quality solutions that truly make a difference for our customers.\u201d<\/p>

Stephen\u2019s hiring represents the latest step in AST\u2019s ongoing growth of its executive leadership team, affirming the company\u2019s unwavering commitment to operational excellence while staying true to its core mission, values, and purpose\u2014principles that continue to guide its evolution, while we continue to drive strategic growth.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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About AST<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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AST is a pioneering force in aseptic fill-finish processing technology. With a rich history of innovation, AST delivers cutting-edge solutions that enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to achieve optimal efficiency and product quality.\u202fTo learn more about AST, visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.ast-inc.com\/<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Media Contact<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Brittany Cooksey
Marketing@ast-inc.com<\/a>
425.221.9215<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stephen to lead company-wide execution, strengthening AST\u2019s Executive Leadership Team Tacoma, WA \u2014 August 6, 2025 \u2014 AST is pleased to announce that Jacob Stephen will be joining the AST Team as Chief Operations Officer at the Tacoma-headquartered drug product equipment manufacturing company. Stephen joins AST from IPS, where he most recently served as Head […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":7377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[193,237],"tags":[239],"class_list":["post-7375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-news-and-events","tag-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nJacob Stephen Named Chief Operating Officer | AST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ast-inc.com\/news\/jacob-stephen-named-chief-operating-officer-press-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Jacob Stephen Named Chief Operating Officer | AST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stephen to lead company-wide execution, strengthening AST\u2019s Executive Leadership Team Tacoma, WA \u2014 August 6, 2025 \u2014 AST is pleased to announce that Jacob Stephen will be joining the AST Team as Chief Operations Officer at the Tacoma-headquartered drug product equipment manufacturing company. 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