Faces of Evotherm: Ben Bredenkamp
Oct 26, 2016
Those who know Ben Bredenkamp, know that he is defined by a never ending smile, a wicked, self-deprecating sense of humor, and the ability to engage just about anyone in conversation. By day, he’s a Technical Marketing Manager for the states of Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and West Virginia, and recently wrote and presented “Optimizing Recycled Materials Content” at the 2015 Plant Mix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky (PAIKY) Winter Training School. Outside of the office, he serves as Chief Comic Officer for the friends and family in his life. You’ll see…
Name the key aspects of your role at Ingevity.
Adding value to my customers’ businesses, building relationships, having fun, improving the quality of roadways for the public, and bringing the average height of the team up by a few inches.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Seeing my son for the first time every day, building relationships with customers beyond business requirements, and working with the people who are actually building America. Many people say that they have built or are building this country, but my customers are actually doing it.
What achievements in your life are most important to you?
My wife, Katie, and my son, Logan; Winning “Jump Rope Across America” at Copeland Elementary in 1995; Getting asked to leave an Old Country Buffet for eating too much in high school; Making eye contact with Darius Rucker at brunch in Charleston once.
You're stuck in an elevator for four hours. What items do you wish you had?
Snacks and the original Broadway recording of “Cats.”
What do you feel qualified to teach?
“Diaper Changing For Time,” a professional wedding attending course, and “How To Iron a Men’s Button Down Shirt Properly.”
If you were independently wealthy, how would you spend your time?
If you count American Airlines miles as wealth, then I am independently wealthy.
Who is the most courageous person you have ever met?
My grandmothers. My maternal grandmother had ten kids and my paternal grandmother had 12 kids. That is courage.
What books would you encourage others to read?
“Gates of Fire,” by Steven Pressfield, “Living with a SEAL,” by Jesse Itzler, and “Drummer Hoff Fired it Off” by Barbara Emberley.
What's your favorite quote or line from a person, book, movie?
A line from Viktor Frankl in “Man’s Search for Meaning”: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
