Ride Control LLC, the Michigan-headquartered company that manufactures the Gabriel brand of automotive shock absorbers and strut assemblies, has named Middle Tennessee resident Jim Neelley its CFO.

The appointment of Neelley, who works from the company's Brentwood office, comes 29 years after he joined the company and less than seven months after he was named vice president of finance of Ride Control's operations in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Before that, the Lipscomb University accounting and business management graduate was the company's director of finance.

“During the past two years, Jim has been key to securing the company’s financial position to set the path toward economic sustainability and profit while instilling confidence among all stakeholders,” said Jay Yook, a partner at OpenGate Capital, the private-equity firm that bought the Gabriel business from ArvinMeritor in 2009. “His experience and loyalty have been invaluable during the transformation of the company back into the leading brand of its rich legacy.”

Ride Control employs about 1,400 people at its four locations in Michigan, Brentwood, Oklahoma and Mexico. The company has annual sales of $208 million.