DPS Group opens office in Kansas City and names Potts senior vice president of operations

Overland Park, KS  DPS Group has opened a new project office in Kansas City and the addition of Mark Potts as a senior vice president of project operations for the office.

“As part of our continued growth, we are excited to open our new office in Kansas City, offering specialized architectural, engineering, construction management, and commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV) services. The provision of EPCMV services in the region further complements our existing operations,” said Werner Greyling, president of U.S. projects for DPS Group. “In addition, we are proud to add Mark Potts as a senior vice president to lead this new venture. We are confident in Mark’s proven leadership ability coupled with his keen business sense and industry insight competitively position DPS to drive our growth across the Midwest.”

Led by Potts, the Kansas City office features an expert team of multi-disciplinary professionals will serve life sciences clients across the midwestern U.S. by delivering highly specialized design and project execution capability for large-scale biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, novel therapies, and animal health industries.

“The DPS team is built around people who value effective communication, share their expertise, and work on each client project with a positive, ‘can do’ attitude,” said Potts. “I’m very excited to be taking on this new and very challenging role with DPS and look forward to working with the team to deliver on the group’s strategic plan in the Midwest.”

Mark Potts, Senior VP of Operations: Potts brings more than 30 years of professional experience in engineering, facility operations, construction, maintenance, and project management to his role at DPS Group. As senior vice president of project operations for the Kansas City, Kansas office he leads a team of dedicated engineers, architects, construction, and CQV professionals. Potts proudly served four years in the Submarine Force of the United States Navy. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

Matthew Gorton, VP of Business Development: Gorton has more than 15 years of experience working in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, advanced food science, and biofuel industries. Gorton is an active leader in the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE), where he is the co-chair of the Sterile Products Processing Community of practices, Chair of Knowledge Network Council, and an editor of ISPE’s Pharmaceutical Engineering magazine. He received his Bachelor of Science in biology from Truman State University and MBA from the University of Minnesota.

Sandra Bachamp, Director of Engineering: Bachamp possesses more than 20 years in design and management of multidiscipline design teams in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Her extensive experience helps clients transition their visions from Phase I and II into commercial manufacturing. Bachamp earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in architectural engineering from Kansas State University. She is a member of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).

Jason O’Brien, Director of Project Management: As director of project management, he is responsible for designing and managing large-scale projects meeting FDA and EU specifications. With over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, his duties include concept through design, project development, management and execution, risk assessment, validation, compliance, and continuous improvement. O'Brien earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical technology from Southwest Missouri State University and is a member of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE).

Andy Wilkinson, Chief Technologist: Wilkinson,’s career spans over 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry. As DPS Group’s subject matter expert in aseptic processing design, aseptic filling, equipment/process design, installation, qualification, operation, and remediation, Wilkinson, will use his operational and technical experience to develop and implement solutions to achieve excellent client results. Andy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies from the University of Missouri - Columbia. He is a member of the PDA.

Gregory Slaybough, Director of CQV: Slaybough has over 30 years of compliance experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and has worked on large and complex projects across the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors. Slaybough completed his Bachelor of Science in marketing and management from Northwest Missouri State University and is an active member of ISPE, PDA, and ASQ.

Tom Cheek, Director of Construction Management: Cheek’s career in engineering and construction spans over 20 years in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries. With a specialization in large capital projects, he has helped save millions of dollars for his clients through improved efficiencies while maintaining safety, USDA, FDA, and cGMP guidelines enhancing quality, and mitigating risk. Cheek earned a Bachelor of Science degree in construction engineering technology from University of Nebraska.

Serving high-tech industries around the world, DPS Group delivers full-service engineering across a range of disciplines, including project management, procurement, design, construction management, health and safety management, commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV), and facility start-up.