People

April 19, 2012
Nowlin to head Acklands-Grainger; New sales reps at Allied Wire & Cable; Mark Klein promoted at Klein Tool; and more.

Klein Tools (Lincolnshire, Ill.): Mark P. Klein has been promoted to vice president, Domestic Sales. Klein has been with the company for over nine years, serving in a progression of roles, most recently as director, North American Sales. In his new role, he will be responsible for the direction, coordination and development of sales growth in the U.S. His new position also entails overseeing the design and execution of strategic sales plans and product promotions for the company’s U.S. sales force and representative organizations. Klein holds a BA from the University of Iowa, an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, and has attended executive education programs at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago.

Allied Wire & Cable (Collegeville, Pa.): This distributor and value-added manufacturer of wire and cable has hired five new sales representatives to its locations in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Nevada. Don Houck joins the Las Vegas branch, with over 17 years of experience in the industry. Kyle Bechter comes to Allied’s Pennsylvania headquarters from Omni Cable, while Buck Nicolai comes from a position at a recording studio, where he gained knowledge of the wire and cable used in the broadcasting market. The Pennsylvania location also welcomes Ruthann Simpson, who has more than seven years of sales and customer service experience from her time at Remcon Plastics, and Bill Stecchi joins the Allied team its New Hampshire branch.

W.W. Grainger Inc. (Lake Forest, Ill.): O.W. Eric Nowlin has been named president, Acklands – Grainger, Inc., Grainger’s Canadian subsidiary. In this role, Nowlin will oversee the growth and performance of Acklands – Grainger and will report directly to Mike Pulick, senior V.P. and president, Grainger International.

Nowlin joined Grainger’s U.S. business in 2006 as a regional branch services V.P. He was later named V.P., business development and most recently served as V.P. of customer service, where he led Grainger’s multi-channel customer service network in the U.S. comprising 5,800 team members, 370 U.S. branches, eCommerce, phone centers, KeepStock customer engagements and Grainger’s service offerings.

As part of his new role, Nowlin will relocate to the Greater Toronto Area. Prior to joining Grainger, Nowlin spent more than 20 years with Maytag. He holds a BS in business administration from Bowling Green State University.