Ideal Industries (Sycamore, Ill.): David Juday has retired as chairman of the company’s board of directors as part of a planned succession program. He has worked for the company since 1972, as its chairman since 1984, and will continue as a director on its board. Jim James, the company’s current CEO and vice chairman, has been appointed chairman of the board.
Ideal said in a press release that under Juday’s oversight the company evolved from a regional manufacturer primarily known for its Wire-Nut wire connectors to a more diversified maker of contractor-grade tools, testers and supplies used by electricians, data communications installers and industrial maintenance professionals. Ideal now has international distribution that reaches across five continents and a product portfolio that numbers more than 6,000 SKUs.
Juday is the grandson of J. Walter Becker who founded Ideal Industries in 1916. He followed his father, Eugene “Tug” Juday, who preceded him as chairman, into the family business. During a career spanning more than four decades, he gained insight into many facets of the Ideal organization by taking management or support positions in manufacturing, information technology, sales and marketing. Today, his daughter, Meghan Juday, is chair of the Ideal Family Council and a director on the company’s board of directors.
Orbit Industries (Los Angeles): Marcus Bannerman will oversee Eastern regional sales and Jerry Kehoe will handle Western regional sales. Kehoe has more than 25 years of experience in the industry and recently worked with Gardner Bender as a regional manager. He also worked with Broan as Western sales manager. Bannerman has spent more than 30 years working with contractors and end users in the electrical industry, and owned local electrical distributorships in California.
American Dryer (Livonia, Mich.): Andy Karl was recently hired as sales manager to oversee the launch of the company’s new, patent-pending Cold Plasma Clean (CPC) technology used in its line of eXtremeAir dryers, which kill germs and clean hands. He graduated from Western Michigan University.
DISC Corp. (Orange, Conn.): Gil Isenstein is now vice president of operations for the company his father, Herm Isenstein, founded in 1985. He has nearly 20 years in marketing and corporate communications for both Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurial start-ups, including Fidelity Investments, General Motors, Stanley Security Solutions, Sprint and LendingTree. At DISC he will develop and execute marketing and sales strategies to expand the company’s distributor and manufacturer client base, identify opportunities to enhance existing client programs as well as oversee marketing, advertising and promotional planning.