People October 10, 2008

Sonepar USA (Philadelphia): Paul Klasing has been named president of Sonepar USA, effective Jan. 1, 2009. Klasing succeeds Tony Burr, who has been appointed to a new global role focusing on strategic initiatives for the Sonepar Group.
Oct. 10, 2008
4 min read

Sonepar USA (Philadelphia): Paul Klasing has been named president of Sonepar USA, effective Jan. 1, 2009. Klasing succeeds Tony Burr, who has been appointed to a new global role focusing on strategic initiatives for the Sonepar Group. Klasing joined Sonepar on Sept. 1, 2008. Prior to Sonepar, Klasing was executive vice president, Stores, at Advance Auto Parts, where he worked for 13 years, leading 3,000 company-owned retail store operations in the U.S. His experience in the automotive industry gave Klasing strong expertise in merchandising and store operations. Burr has been asked to support group activities related to strategic and synergy opportunities among Sonepar’s businesses around the world. Burr will continue to reside in Philadelphia.

The National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED, St. Louis): Tom Naber has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of the association. Naber joined NAED in 1997 as publisher of TED magazine. In 2001, Naber was appointed president of the association. In this expanded role, he assumed the additional responsibility of spearheading strategic planning efforts for NAED and leading the organization’s day-to-day operations. Prior to coming to NAED, Nabor served as editor of Electrical Contractor magazine, the publication of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), Bethesda, Md.

At TED magazine, Michael Martin has been promoted to publisher and Misty Byers has been promoted to editor. An NAED staff member since 1998, Martin has been TED associate publisher/editor since 2007. Byers has been the managing editor of TED Magazine since 2001 when she joined NAED.

Activant Solutions Inc. (Yardley, Pa.): Kevin Roach has joined Activant Solutions Inc. as the executive vice president of its wholesale distribution group headquartered in Yardley, Pa. He will be responsible for the development, sale and implementation of software designed for wholesale distributors. Roach brings more than 25 years software industry experience to Activant. Most recently, he served as president of Rockwell Software for Rockwell Automation, Milwaukee. There he led all automation and information software efforts.

The Hite Co. (Altoona, Pa.): T. Scott Lawhead will assume the role of president effective Jan. 1, 2009, as part of a management succession plan. Lawhead is the son-in-law of R. Lee Hite, current president and CEO. Lawhead joined the company in 1998 while completing his master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Lawhead’s career at The Hite Co. began with a management trainee position, where he moved throughout the company learning all aspects of distributor operations. He was then temporarily assigned to branch manager positions at the company’s New Castle and State College, Pa., locations. Additional roles held by Lawhead over the following eight years included director of operations, regional sales manager and his current role of vice president/CFO. He has held volunteer positions including chair of NAED’s LEAD committee and has served on NAED’s Eastern Regional Council. Currently, Lawhead is active on several manufacturer advisory boards, IMARK’s Credit Committee and NAED’s Board of Directors as Finance committee chair. He married Laura Hite in 1997.

Cree Inc. (Durham, N.C.) Steve Kelley joined the company as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He will be responsible for business development, global manufacturing, technology and administrative operations of the company. Kelley comes to Cree after five years at Texas Instruments, where he served as vice president and general manager of the Standard Linear and Logic Group.

POWERVAR Inc. (Waukegan, Ill.): The company has expanded its German sales team with the addition of Peter Leitmann as area sales manager — Southern Germany. Leitmann will locate his sales office near Erlangen, Germany. Letimann’s experience includes nearly nine years at Ericsson’s Power Division in addition to several years with Tyco Power Systems and C&D Technologies, where he was responsible as OEM-Account Manager for power supplies, filters, and PCB mounted devices. Most recently, Leitmann has been associated with Kirstronics, a local contract manufacturer headquartered in Germany.

BICSI (Tampa, Fla.): The Executive Board of Directors for BICSI has appointed John D. Clark Jr. as the executive director/CEO. Clark joins BICSI as a Certified Association Executive (CAE) and telecommunications industry executive, most recently serving as president/CEO for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE).Clark is a former marketing executive with more than 28 years of experience in the cable and telecommunications industries.