# Jonathan Painter

> Jonathan W. Painter is chairman of Kadant and chairman of Graham Corporation. A former lawyer and treasurer, he served as Kadant CEO from January 2010 through June 2019, during an expansion into wood processing, recycling and material handling. His retirement from Kadant’s board is scheduled for January 2, 2027.

- **Role:** Chairman of the Board at Kadant Inc.; Chairman of the Board at Graham Corporation
- **Organizations:** Kadant Inc., Graham Corporation, Thermo Electron Corporation
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Political Science, Kenyon College, JD, Boston College Law School
- **Known for:** Negotiated Kadant’s 2005 acquisition of The Johnson Corporation., Led Kadant as CEO during an expansion into wood processing, recycling and material handling., Kadant recorded $633.8 million in revenue and 10 percent internal revenue growth in 2018.

## Career timeline

- **1994-1997** — Treasurer of Kadant’s predecessor and Thermo Electron Corporation.
- **1997** — Became an executive vice president of Kadant.
- **2001-2005** — President of the composites building products business until its sale.
- **2005** — Negotiated the acquisition of The Johnson Corporation.
- **2009** — Appointed president and chief operating officer effective September 1.
- **2010** — Became CEO and a director effective January 3.
- **2013** — Kadant acquired Carmanah Design and Manufacturing.
- **2016** — Kadant acquired PAAL.
- **2017** — Kadant acquired NII FPG’s forest products business.
- **2019** — Syntron acquisition completed in January; Painter moved from CEO to executive chairman on July 1.
- **2020** — Became non-executive chairman of Kadant in July.
- **2026** — Reassumed Graham’s chairmanship effective June 15; Kadant announced his planned January 2027 board retirement.

## Achievements

- Negotiated Kadant’s 2005 acquisition of The Johnson Corporation.
- Led Kadant as CEO during an expansion into wood processing, recycling and material handling.
- Kadant recorded $633.8 million in revenue and 10 percent internal revenue growth in 2018.
- Serves as chairman of two publicly traded industrial companies as of October 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — Kadant announced that Painter will leave its board and chairmanship on January 2, 2027, when Michael Colwell is scheduled to become CEO and Jeffrey Powell executive chairman.
- **2026-06** — Graham Corporation announced Painter’s return as board chairman, effective June 15, 2026.

## Links

- Website: https://kadant.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-painter

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jonathan-painter
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24