Performance Friction Brakes notified customers and dealers that company founder and CEO Don Burgoon passed away suddenly on Sept. 12. He was 60.
Don BurgoonBurgoon was reportedly killed outside of Rome, Italy in a car crash, according to the Gaston Gazette in Gastonia, North Carolina, where Burgoon lived with wife Mary Ann.
Performance Friction said in a statement that Burgoon had previously chosen daughter Nina to one day succeed him, and she has assumed day-to-day responsibilities as company president. Meanwhile, Mary Ann continues to serve on the Board of Directors and has become chairman. Tom Davis, his trusted lifelong financial advisor, continues as CFO, a role he’s filled for the past 26 years.
“PFC has been restructured in accordance to continue onward and upward with Don’s vision and plan,” the company added in a statement.
Burgoon’s obituary stated that he was born in Canton, Ohio on March 26, 1955. He was a wrestling star in high school and college and earned an invitation to National Olympic Trials. He attended the University of Arizona in Tucson on a wrestling scholarship and obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting from there.
After graduation, he moved back to Canton and met Mary Ann. The couple married and moved to Gastonia, North Carolina in 1986 so Don could pursue and expand his manufacturing business. Performance Friction is headquartered 12 miles away in Clover, South Carolina.
“Don worked tirelessly to build PFC into a dynamic force in this industry, and the management is unified in its commitment to fulfill and continue Don’s vision for PFC,” the company statement continued. “Don’s vision and dedication to innovating new technologies was passionate and unrivaled. His mission was to not only deliver the best braking solution to the market but to drive the industry forward with new technology. For decades he drove PFC to deliver innovative braking solutions to every facet of the global automotive industry, driving advancement in the motorsports arena, OE, fleet, and aftermarket arenas.”
In addition to Mary Ann, Nina and his other daughter Ariel, Burgoon is survived by: mother, Genevieve Vanderbilt Burgoon, of North Canton, Ohio; sisters, Marcia Torrence of Canton, Ohio, Cheryl Humbert and husband Bruce; father-in-law, Henry Palombo both of N. Canton, Ohio; sister-in-law, Nina Moock and husband Brad of Raleigh; brothers-in-law, Stephen Palombo and wife Jennifer; Joseph Palombo, all of Canton, Ohio; numerous nieces and nephews; and his family at PFC.
The family held funeral services on Sept. 26. In lieu of followers, memorial donations were asked to made to the Donald L. Burgoon Formula SAE Scholarship Fund benefiting a student design competition organized by SAE International.
