Jeffrey Utz- President and Chairman
Jeffrey Utz has been a member on the Board of Directors for USA Team Handball for three years. He assumed the Chairman position in November of 2011. Jeff’s passion for sport has been a lifelong endeavor. His involvement in handball has been fairly new, but is pleased to serve in his capacity in order to ensure that the national teams and grassroots approach gets equal footing in the growth of the sport of handball.
Jeffrey graduated with a finance degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio in 1989. He also traveled and lettered while playing football there in the late 1980’s.
He is most proud of his two children, Lauren (16) and Connor (11). They are his first priority, and he enjoys the many activities that they are involved in as they are growing up.
Jeffrey owns and manages an insurance brokerage firm in Salt Lake City. He has been a partner for 13 years at Diversified Insurance Group.
David Thompson- Vice President & AAC Representative
David Thompson was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, AL. David earned a B.S. in Art from the
University of Alabama and is currently in Seminary at Memphis Theological. David is currently a full time pastor in Birmingham, Al. He is married to Tina and they have three daughters, Madelyn (5), Anna Blakely (3) and Lily (1). David has been a member of the United States Team Handball National team since 2001 and has represented the USA in 2 Pan American Games, a World Championships and various other international competitions; he is the vice president of the
USATH Board of Directors and sits on the Athletes Advisory Council for the U.S. Olympic Committee. David enjoys time with family, sports and playing music.
Tomuke Ebuwei- AAC Alternate
Tomuke Ebuwei graduated from Penn State University where she was competed on the Volleyball team. She helped captain the Nittany Lions to two NCAA Division I Championship Finals. She first saw team handball in action on television in the 1992 Goodwill Games. After college she was encouraged to tryout for team handball by the athletic administrator from the university where she was coaching volleyball at the time. In the summer of 2003, Tomuke was picked as one of the WNT athlete for the 2003 Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic. Since then she has participated in the residency program in Cortland, NY, played for a club team in Sweden and continues to referee and play in the US.
Tomuke completed her MBA at Penn State in 2010 and is currently taking classes towards a PhD. She resides in the DC area with her daughter and two dogs.
Heins Kart Pedersen- At-Large Director
Heins serves as Vice President of Operations for Grundfos Pumps Corporation in North America and President of Grundfos Manufacturing USA. Grundfos is one of the worlds largest manufacturer of pumps, providing water for homes, farms, commercial buildings, municipal markets and industrial uses. In 2010, Grundfos achieved 3.5 billon USD in sales.
Grundfos North America operations include a manufacturing facility in Fresno, California; a newly opened facility in San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and starting in 2006 facilities from acquired companies PACO pumps, Peerless Pump Company, and Yeomans Chicago Corporation. Combined, Grundfos North America is a 450 million USD company.
Before moving to the US, Heins worked 10 years for Grundfos in various leadership, operations and business development areas. Before the assignment in North America, Heins was CEO for a Grundfos company in pressure, flow and temperature sensors. This included sales, development, and operations of high tech semiconductor technologies in a strategic area for Grundfos, including the establishment of a wafer fab.
Heins has a master degree in science from the Technical University in Copenhagen supplemented with internal management training, and a PED from IMD in Switzerland.
Heins serves on the board of several Grundfos Companies in North America, and has served at the advisory board of I-Nano at the University in Aarhus Denmark – a co-operation partner of Grundfos. Heins also serves on the Advisory Board of University of Tennessee – a leading school in supply chain management in the US.
Heins was a professional team handball player in Europe and was Chairman of the Board for a top 4 team in Denmark and is currently on the Board of Director for the US Team Handball Federation organized by USOC.