Southwire Co. (Carrollton, Ga.): Jack Carlson is now leading all of the company’s sales and marketing and product development efforts in North America. In his new role as president of North American business, Carlson manages Southwire’s Electrical, Energy and OEM divisions, as well as its newly created Industrial Division and Canadian wire and cable business. A 30-year veteran of the electrical industry, Carlson joined Southwire in 2001 as president of the Electrical Division. He previously worked in senior management positions with Assa Abloy, Yale Security Group, Groupe Schneider and Square D Co.
As part of the reorganization, Carlson will pass the role of electrical division president to Norman Adkins, who most recently served as senior vice president of electrical distribution and retail sales for Southwire’s Electrical Division. He joined the company in 1998 as director of international sales in the Energy Division and has held a number of management positions, including president of Southwire’s OEM Division, which markets wire and cable to other manufactures who use it in their products.
Remke Industries (Wheeling, Ill.): Mark Sweeney was appointed president/COO on Jan. 1. He joined Remke in 1988 as national sales manager and was promoted to vice president in 1992.
IP International (Chicago): Jim MacMurdo, a long-time Ideal Industries veteran, has joined the company as an associate, bringing his background in engineering and quality assurance technologies to augment IP Group International’s core skills in marketing and strategic planning. In addition to his 30 years of electrical experience, MacMurdo brings a background in training, regulatory affairs and chemical formulations. He spent 28 years with Ideal in various management quality/manufacturing and sales/marketing roles and was a certified Dale Carnegie instructor for over 13 years.
National Lighting Bureau (Silver Spring, Md. ): Howard Lewis, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America’s representative to the National Lighting Bureau, has been elected to a fourth consecutive term as chair of the National Lighting Bureau’s lighting education foundation sponsored by professional societies, trade associations, manufacturers, utilities and agencies of the U.S. government. Lewis is the founder and chief technical officer of Lighting Alternatives, Parsippany, N.J., a fluorescent-fixture manufacturer. Also re-elected were Vice Chair Cary Mendelsohn, Imperial Lighting Maintenance Co., representing the interNational Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO), and Secretary/Treasurer James Yorgey, technical applications manager for Bureau Sponsor Lutron Electronics Co.
Ilsco (Cincinnati): Chad Collins was recently hired to the position of product engineering lead. As a recent graduate of Miami University, with a BS in mechanical engineering, Collins will oversee the overall performance of CAD operations, engineering changes, systems control and organization throughout all engineering disciplines.
Vantage Group (Crystal Lake, Ill.): The company recently announced the promotions of several key executives on its management team. Larry Welch was named the group’s president, effective Jan. 1. Formerly vice president of sales, Welch is 16-year veteran of the organization. Megan O’Rear has been promoted to vice president of sales. She joined Vantage in 2006 and previously served as the group’s director of business development. Todd Altpeter, a 12-year Vantage veteran, has been promoted to vice president of IT. He was previously director of information technology. Vantage Group is an entity created by Rexel, NEDCO/Rexel Canada, Crescent Electric Supply, McNaughton Electric Supply and Platt Electric Supply to provide commercial and industrial customers with a broad range of supply management services along with their purchase of electrical products from these companies’ 2,400 branches around the world.
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) (Rosslyn, Va.): John Caskey, NEMA’s assistant V.P. of industry operations and director of the Power Equipment Division, was named by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to the Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee (ASRAC), which represents energy efficiency/environmental advocacy groups, developers of appliance and commercial equipment standards, manufacturers and trade associations, utilities, and consumers.