People: March 11, 2011

March 11, 2011
GE Home & Business Solutions (Fairfield Conn): Maryrose Sylvester has been named president and CEO of GE Lighting

GE Home & Business Solutions (Fairfield Conn): Maryrose Sylvester has been named president and CEO of GE Lighting. She is a 23-year GE veteran, 14 years of which were spent at GE Lighting. Most recently at GE she led GE Intelligent Platforms, a provider of software, hardware, and services for the automation market. During her previous tenure at GE Lighting, her executive posts included president and CEO of GE Lighting Systems and general manager of worldwide sourcing and director of sourcing for GE Lighting Europe, based in Budapest, Hungary. Sylvester succeeds Michael Petras who led GE Lighting since 2008 and is leaving GE to take a position at medical products provider. She will report to James Campbell, president & CEO, GE Appliances & Lighting.

Thomas & Betts Corp. (Memphis): Charles (Chuck) Treadway, was named president and COO. Treadway will lead the company’s three global business segments – Electrical, Steel Structures and HVAC. Treadway has served as senior V.P. and group president of T&B’s $1.8 billion global electrical business since joining the company in early 2009. Prior to joining T&B, Treadway spent more than 20 years leading international businesses for Schneider Electric, Prettl International and Yale Security. T&B also named Imad Hajj to the newly created role of senior V.P. – International and Operational Development. In this role, Hajj, a 28-year T&B veteran, will manage the company’s strategic operational activities, including the integration and refinement of manufacturing, supply chain and logistics resources.

Buckles-Smith (Salinas, Calif.): Several account managers have joined the company’s Monterey County team: Pat Ballew and Aimee Eala, project manager, Eric Ramos, and Alex Molina, inside sales representative. This team brings a collective 55 years of electrical industry experience serving the needs of the industrial, commercial and residential construction markets. This move strengthens Buckles-Smith’s presence in the Salinas market and helps the company continue to serve customers of Central Wholesale, which announced in January its plan to close its Salinas branch.

National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) (Portsmouth, N.H.): At last month’s NEMRA Annual Conference, Mike Gorin, Gorin-Hopper-McCoy, Atlanta, was elected to lead the association for the coming year. Assisting him will be Mark Gibson, Agents Midwest, Wood Dale, Ill., as the chair-elect; Greg Reynolds, Flynn & Reynolds, Tewksbury, Mass., as secretary/treasurer; and Rick Johnson, and AJB Sales, Minneapolis, as immediate past-chairman. Joe Henry, Cusick Sales, Willow Grove, Pa.; Larry Robinson, Cleaves-Bessmer-Marietti, Kansas City, Mo.; and Bill Devereaux, R/B Sales, Marion, Iowa; were newly elected to the board of directors for two-year terms.

Ideal Industries (Sycamore, Ill.): Adam Teipel is now regional sales manager for the company’s Western electrical sales organization. Teipel joins Ideal after having served in sales management positions at Accurate Metal Fabricators and Phoenix Contact, Inc. He will report to Joe Saganowich, Ideal’s V.P. of sales and marketing. Teipel has a M.S. degree from North Texas University and a B.S. degree from Northeast Missouri State University.

Cobra Wire & Cable, Inc. (Hatboro, Pa.): Joseph Bigler has been appointed V.P. of business development. Prior to joining Cobra Wire and Cable, he worked with ADC. He is a graduate of John Carroll University.

IDEA (Arlington, Va.): Michael Wentz was appointed director, sales and marketing. Wentz spent five years leading sales and marketing initiatives at Activant Solutions before joining IDEA in 2010 as the national sales manager. Wentz is taking over marketing responsibilities from Rita Hagopian Deurdulian, who left the company to join her husband in an overseas post.

Van Meter Industrial (Cedar Rapids, Iowa): Karmen Wilhelm was recently named director of energy services and solutions at Van Meter Industrial. She previously held the position of manager in the Product Management – Energy Efficiency department at Alliant Energy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. As director of energy services and solutions, Wilhelm will be leading Van Meter Industrial’s clean energy initiative encompassing energy efficiency, renewable energy and smart grid technologies.

Encore Wire (McKinney, Texas): The wire and cable manufacturer announced several promotions. W.T. Bigbee has been promoted to V.P.–product and research development services; Donny Spurgin has been promoted to V.P.–sales development; and Todd Clayton has been promoted to V.P.–facilities engineering.

LBL Lighting (Chicago): Michael Howell is now western regional sales manager. Howell will be responsible for sales in all U.S. states west of the Mississippi River except for Arkansas and Louisiana, and will also manage representatives in the western provinces of Canada. Howell has 20 years of experience in lighting and electrical distribution, including posts with Maxim Group’s ET2, Philips Group’s Forecast Lighting, and Lightolier in Portland, Ore.