People Aug. 10, 2007

Aug. 10, 2007
John Spencer has been appointed national accounts manager at Ideal Industries.

Ideal Industries Inc. (Sycamore, Ill.): John Spencer has been appointed national accounts manager. He has nine years of experience in the electrical industry, along with a strong background in the strategic distribution, market development, and national marketing. He will report to Bob Bukowsky, vice president of sales. Spencer comes to Ideal from Hubbell Lighting Inc. in Greenville, S.C., where he served as manager of strategic accounts and regional manager. Prior to that, he was a lighting solutions manager and account manager for GE Lighting (Lamps) in Overland Park, Kan.

Simkar (Philadelphia): Andrew Turner joined the company as marketing communications manager. Turner ran his own design business for six years prior to joining the company. Roy Cone fills the reestablished position of Central regional sales manager. Cone was previously vice president of sales for the Central region at MaxLite. Jim Wang joined the company as product manager. He has worked in the lighting industry for more than 30 years. Mike Siani has joined the company as national retail sales manager. He will serve all national co-ops and two-step distribution. He worked most recently for Saleslink, an independent rep in Chicago, handling Masco plumbing products. Marj Coffman has been named inside sales manager. She most recently worked for Luparello & Sons, where she responded to all requests for inside sales quotations, as well as handled project management responsibilities. Alvin Tucker has been named director of inside sales. He was most recently customer service manager at Patriot Manufacturing, a window manufacturer in New Jersey.

Gamewell-FCI, part of Honeywell’s Life Safety division (Northford, Conn.): Mark Wicks has been named southeast regional sales manager. Wicks’ responsibilities focus on supporting Gamewell-FCI engineered systems distributors in the sale, installation and maintenance of fire systems throughout Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Prior to working at Gamewell-FCI, Wicks’ career centered primarily on marketing and business development for major companies, including Ingersoll Rand, Ditek Corp. and Visonic Inc.

Summit Electric Supply (Albuquerque, N.M.): Dan McLaughlin has joined Summit Electric Supply as the company’s new Dallas service center leader. McLaughlin’s 28-year career began in 1979 with WESCO, where he started out as a truck driver. He worked his way up to branch manager in the 14 years he was with that company. In 1993, he joined Graybar as industrial sales manager and then as area manager for Dallas/Fort Worth. Most recently he served as region manager for Rexel Inc. in Central Texas, managing 11 locations from Temple to Dallas.

Eaton Corp. (Cleveland): John White has joined Eaton’s Electrical Group as its energy management and environmental solutions manager. White has more than 16 years of experience in management, marketing and business development, and will have a major role in the delivery of Eaton’s pledge to help its customers develop green facilities, alternative energy approaches and sustainability programs. Most recently, White held the position of director of business development for Constellation Energy Projects & Services Group Inc. He was actively involved in renewable energy projects, including development of new combined heat & power (CHP) plants for ethanol production. White is a licensed professional engineer, certified energy manager, and served as a lead energy engineer with Johnson Controls, where he focused on improving the energy efficiency of educational and healthcare facilities.

Kaman Corp (Los Angeles): Neal Keating, who most recently served as chief operating officer of Hughes Supply, Home Depot, will become Kaman Corp.’s chief executive officer on or before Jan. 1. He succeeds Paul Kuhn, who plans to retire early next year. Keating will assume the roles of president and COO beginning Sept. 17.