There were an unusually high number of senior-level appointments in the electrical market over the past few weeks. Here is an expanded compilation of who’s who at the zoo.
Ideal Industries (Sycamore, Ill.): Nick Shkordoff has been appointed group V.P. and general manager of the company’s electrical division, replacing Glenn Hollister, who will take on a new role at the company and launch a newly formed division focused on the fast-growing health and safety market. Shkordoff had been president of Anderson Power Products (APP), an Ideal subsidiary that designs and manufactures high power interconnects and accessories. Previously, he was president of Ideal Industries Canada. In addition, Jeffrey Burkhardt, currently V.P. of global sales and marketing for Anderson Power Products, has been appointed that company’s new general manager, succeeding Shkordoff.
International Battery Inc. (Allentown, Pa): Dennis Sadlowski, formerly CEO of Siemens Energy & Automation, is now CEO. In other changes on the company’s executive team, Mark Mills, International Battery’s current chairman of the board, assumes the position of executive vice chairman and Ake Almgren, the company’s current CEO, is retiring from that position and has become chairman. Before holding several executive positions at Siemens, Sadlowski was V.P. and general manager at Thomas & Betts. He also spent 10 years at General Electric, served on the board of governors of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) and holds an MBA from Seattle University and a BS in chemical & nuclear engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.
Mayer Electric Supply (Birmingham, Ala.): Charles A. (Charlie) Collat, Jr., was has been promoted to executive vice president and the newly created position of chief operating officer. He will take on new responsibilities in addition to his existing role in quality and training. The COO role will involve company-wide initiatives to implement best-in-class processes for customer service delivery and profit maximization, benchmarking new and innovative distribution practices and driving cycle time reduction and process efficiency. Collat began working in the family business after graduating from the University of Alabama in 1990, when he became a Mayer sales trainee. After leaving for two years in customer service at General Electric, he returned to Mayer’s management development program and has worked in many areas including automation sales, supplier partnership services, information technology and quality improvement.
Sonepar Canada (Mississauga, Ontario): Keith Moss, currently president and CEO of Sonepar Canada, has been appointed president of the Asia-Pacific Region to succeed Marius van Huijstee. A Canadian citizen born in the United Kingdom, Moss joined Sonepar Canada in 1999 and had growing responsibilities before being promoted managing director of the company in 2008. In the last 10 years, the group’s Canadian organization has grown its sales from C$500 million to C$1 billion. Moss will be based in Hong Kong and will take his new position as of Nov. 1.
In other news at Sonepar Canada, François Anquetil, currently president of Lumen, has been appointed managing director of Sonepar Canada to succeed Moss. Anquetil, a Canadian citizen born in France, started his career at Lumen in 1988 as controller. He subsequently held a wide variety of positions inside the Sonepar Group, both in France and Canada, before taking up his current position as president of Lumen in 2008. He will be based in Toronto. Sonepar Canada has more than 1,500 employees in 90-plus branches within six divisions: CenturyVallen, Gescan, Lumen, Osso Electric, Texcan and SESCO.
Leviton Manufacturing Co. (Melville, N.Y.): Scott Wilson has joined the company as national sales manager–renewables and will be responsible for sales and marketing of Leviton solar energy products throughout the U.S. He will be based in Chula Vista, Calif. Prior to joining Leviton, Wilson was region V.P. of sales for DRI Energy, where he managed the development of solar energy projects throughout the western U.S. Prior to his tenure at DRI Energy, he was general manager for McBride Electric, a large national electrical contractor and solar construction company. Wilson is a graduate of Criss College and Control Data Institute of Technology.
Switch Lighting (San Jose, Calif.): The LED manufacturer announced the appointment of electrical industry veteran Tracy Bilbrough as its new CEO, effective immediately. He previously served as president and CEO of Generation Brands, which owns residential lighting brands including Sea Gull Lighting, Murray Feiss and Monte Carlo; president and CEO of Juno Lighting; president of T&B’s Commercial Division; and held senior management posts at Black & Decker. He has an MBA from the University of Baltimore and a BA in economics from Loyola University in Maryland.
Graybar Electric Co. (St. Louis, Mo.): Steven Horst is now V.P., service and administration. Horst is a 16-year Graybar veteran who most recently served as national market manager for construction. He also worked in Graybar’s IT organization on the company’s SAP launch. Horst has a B.A. in psychology from Washington State University.
Bell Electrical Supply (Santa Clara, Calif.): Dan McCafferty has joined Bell Electrical Supply as an account manager covering the Bay Area’s industrial market. He spent 14 years as a senior account manager with Hubbell Wiring Devices calling on the OEM market in the Bay Area.
BJ Electric Supply Inc. (Madison, Wis.): Rick Klingele has been promoted to lighting/energy services manager, where he will manage BJ Electric’s project and stock lighting sales. He will also manage the company’s Energy Services Division, which focuses on energy-saving retrofits and solar and wind project sales.
Arlington Industries, (Scranton, Pa.): Dennis Gravette, formerly Western regional manager for Burndy, will join the Arlington sales team effective Oct. 1. He will assume the position of Western regional manager currently held by Larry Troxel in Jan. 2012. Troxel will remain with the company, assuming a newly created market development role for Arlington. Gravette has 30 years of electrical experience.