Siemens Energy & Automation Inc. (Atlanta): Tom Kopanski, currently vice president of the Automation and Motion Division (AMD), has been named the new vice president of the Power Distribution and Controls Division (PD&C). Raj Batra, vice president of the Automotive and Aerospace Center of Competence, has been named vice president of the Automation and Motion Division. Kopanski will lead the Power Distribution & Controls Division of Siemens Energy & Automation, including the Circuit Protection, Controls and Electrical Apparatus business units. As vice president of the Automation and Motion Division, Batra will be responsible for the overall planning, organizing and directing of all activities of the division. The Automation and Motion Division manufactures industrial automation products for discrete and process automation, production machines, microsystems and machine tools.
NESCO (Canton, Mass.): Stephen M. Fetter has been named director of sales for the company’s national accounts division, a supplier of lighting and switchgear products. Fetter will be responsible for managing day-to-day activities of the national accounts sales team. He will be based in the Northeast. Fetter has served in various sales management positions with Amerlux Lighting Solutions and Indy Lighting.
Schneider Electric North American Operating Division (Palatine, Ill): Ralph Harris has been promoted to vice president, U.S. sales. In this role, he will work with his leadership team to prepare, deploy and manage the next generation of sales performance management metrics. Harris has more than 15 years of experience with Schneider Electric’s North American Operating Division. He has held numerous key leadership positions in sales, marketing and organizational development. Most recently, Harris held the position of regional vice president, Southern region. Prior to joining Schneider Electric, Harris served in a sales and marketing position in the Consumer Product Division for General Electric’s Lighting Business Group.
Channellock Inc. (Meadville, Pa.): Ryan W. DeArment has been promoted to the new position of director of national accounts. DeArment served most recently as special projects manager for the 121-year-old hand tool manufacturer. DeArment will have responsibility for Channellock house accounts and some national retail accounts such as The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sears/Kmart, Snap-On, Mac Tools, Cornwell Tools and Ideal Industries.
Ferraz Shawmut (Newburyport, Mass.). The company announced two significant changes in its sales and marketing team. Mark Taylor has joined the company as its new vice president of OEM sales, and Dean Cousins assumes the newly created position of vice president of business development. Taylor will be responsible for all of Ferraz Shawmut’s OEM sales operations. Cousins, a Ferraz Shawmut employee for more than 23 years, will assist the company in defining and executing its new external and internal growth strategies. Additionally, Cousins will continue his responsibility for the sales and marketing of Ferraz Shawmut’s Traction, High Power Switch, and over voltage protection and system products.
Arthur J. Hurley Co. (Boston): Russ Sweeney has been named the new chief financial officer of this family-owned and operated distributor of wire and cable serving the electrical industry. Sweeney has more than 40 years of accounting and finance experience, most recently serving as a controller for the company.
Affiliated Distributors (King of Prussia, Pa.): Peter Classon has been named vice president of information technology. He joins A-D from LiquidHub, where he was a founding member of the management consulting practice before being promoted to director of the applications solution practice. He personally led the team of LiquidHub consultants that implemented MyA-D.net, the proprietary extranet that serves A-D members and suppliers.