CLEVELAND, Ohio – March 11, 2026 – Austin Powder, a global leader in explosives and blasting solutions, today announced it has appointed Mark Dawson as President of US & Canada Services, reporting to John Rathbun, President and Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026.
“Mark is a proven leader with a strong track record of managing complex transformations and identifying and executing organic and inorganic growth opportunities,” said John Rathbun.
Mr. Dawson brings tremendous experience to this position, most recently serving as Senior Vice President at Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), where he led the multi-billion dollar global Completion and Production Division. Over his 28 years with Halliburton, Dawson held a wide range of leadership roles in the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Throughout his career, he has developed deep expertise in commercial and account leadership, as well as product development, business strategy, technology innovation, and manufacturing. Central to his success has been a strong focus on developing leaders and building high-performing teams.
“Given the importance of this role, we have been searching for more than a year for someone with Mark’s experience, ability, and sensitivity to the Austin culture and our critical focus on safety,” said John Rathbun.
“We are excited to announce Mark will be joining the Austin family to execute on our ambitious growth objectives, including strengthening our core business, delivering new product innovations, and continuing to enhance customer value.”
About Austin Powder
Founded in 1833, Austin Powder is a leader in the manufacture, distribution, and application of industrial explosives for quarrying, surface mining, underground mining, oil and gas, seismic, and construction markets. The company’s mission is to improve the world we live in through the safe and responsible use of explosives. Austin Powder provides a broad range of highly engineered solutions, all of which are developed to advance the safety, reliability, and efficiency of breaking rock. The company has more than 5,000 employees with operations in 27 countries. www.austinpowder.com
We are a traditional manufacturer of initiation systems for industrial blasting operations and an important technological and research base for production and further development of initiation systems.
Visit SiteAustin Powder Service CZ implements the latest technologies and products for blasting works, such as laser profiling, electronic modeling, and electronic detonators.
United States 