Sales Team

Mr. Hernandez joined Optima (then Oxbow) in 2005 as a sales executive based in Southern California. Prior to joining, Aroldo spent 14 years with California Steel Industries where he held a number of sales, marketing, and customer service positions. Aroldo received a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Redlands.

Mr. Lockwood joined Optima in 2023. He has over 25 years of carbon steel sales experience and has worked for mills such as Ternium and AHMSA. Zach enjoys relationships with suppliers around the world and customers across the United States. Zach is fluent in Spanish, and graduated from Trinity University with a B.S. in International Business.

Mr. Howard joined Optima in March 2025. Steve has been in the steel industry for over 25 years and has extensive knowledge of the west coast steel market. He has held regional sales and sales management positions at California Steel Industries, Nucor Corporation, and USS POSCO. Steve has a B.S. in Business Administration from Cal Poly Pomona and a M.B.A. in Leadership from The University of La Verne. During his free time, Steve enjoys teaching Sales and Marketing Management as an adjunct professor at Horizon University, spending time with his wife and their four daughters, and following the Dodgers.

Mr. Black joined Optima in 2021. Prior to joining, he spent the previous 10 years in international steel trading with an emphasis in tubular products. Eric started his career working for a domestic steel mill. He received a B.S. in International Business & Philosophy from St. Mary’s College of California. Eric is a proud husband, and father of four.

Mr. Rusnock joined Optima in April of 2015. Prior to joining, Eric spent three years in various sales and project engineering roles designing and manufacturing custom engineered systems. Eric was responsible for bidding, designing, and overseeing projects which would allow end customers to seamlessly retrofit new equipment into both existing and predesigned layouts and footprints. Eric is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University where he earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.

Mr. Black joined Optima in March 2015. Having relocated to Nashville, TN from the Bay Area, CA in 2023, he covers a wide range of the US for OSI. Chad attended the University of San Diego and has B.S. degrees in both Finance and Real Estate. Outside of Optima, Chad enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, exploring his new hometown, and playing basketball in various recreational leagues.  

Mr. Peterson joined Optima in July of 2016. Travis earned his B.S. in Project and Supply Chain Management from Penn State Behrend. He transitioned into Sales in July 2024 after spending either years working as an Administrator and then the Logistics Coordinator. In his free time, Travis enjoys hunting, spending time with his wife and two children, and is an avid Penn State football fan.