Crescent Electric Supply Co. (East Dubuque, Ill.): The company recently promoted Jerry Tucker, a 30-year company veteran and Nick Kronfuss, who has worked for the company for 29 years. Tucker was promoted to regional V.P. and is now responsible for the profit and loss of all branches in Crescent Electric Supply’s West Region. He began his career with Crescent Electric in 1984 in a counter/inside sales role and was promoted to branch manager in Great Falls, Mont., one year later. Tucker most recently managed Crescent’s Montana district, one of the company’s largest and most profitable.
Nick Kronfuss will now be managing that region as district manager for the company’s Montana district, which includes branch locations in Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Missoula and Sidney. He joined Crescent Electric in 1987 and has served as branch manager in Bozeman for the past 15 years and as an account manager for 13 years prior to that.
Electrical Equipment Company (EECO): (Raleigh, N.C.): EECO recently announced a plan to invest in the digital transformation of operations and services, beginning with a change in the leadership structure. Jeff Knight assumed the newly created role of COO on June 1. Knight reports to Mark Holmes, who is succeeding Jack Lawson as president and CEO.
This new leadership structure will accelerate EECO’s operations advancement, emphasizing the customer experience and the evolution to an omnichannel operating model. As COO, Knight will be responsible for alignment and prioritization between marketing, operations, information technology and strategic services.
“This change denotes an increasing commitment to service,” said Holmes. “Our customers are expecting options beyond what our industry offers today. Technology is providing us unprecedented opportunities to innovate and realize the next generation of the distributor model.”
Knight joined EECO in 1994 as a sales engineer and previously worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He went on to serve in successive roles in sales, operations and services management, most recently as the senior V.P. of strategy and business development.
Houston Wire & Cable Co. (Houston): Wire and cable industry veteran Peter Comber has joined Houston Wire & Cable as Region Vice President for the Midwest and Northeast Regions. He will be based out of HWC’s Downingtown, Pa., office. Comber was most recently director of business development for Distributor Wire & Cable (DWC), and prior to DWC, with Omni Cable for 20 years in various sales and senior management positions. He is a graduate of Susquehanna University with a BS in economics.
Sonepar USA (Charleston, S.C.): Mike Smith, currently president of OneSource Distributors, will be taking on a new role as the CIO and V.P. of operations for Sonepar USA. He has held different leadership roles at OneSource for the past 10 years, and has served as the president for the past five years. Sonepar USA says his strong background and extensive experience in IT infrastructure and business leadership makes him uniquely qualified to fill this key role on its leadership team.
As a result of Smith’s new position, Dana Mouritzen, currently senior V.P. of sales for OneSource Distributors, will be taking over the role of president of OneSource. He has been in the electrical distribution industry for over 20 years, starting his distribution career at Orange Country Wholesale prior to its acquisition by OneSource in 2000. Since then, he held different leadership roles at OneSource over the past 16 years, beginning with his role as manager of OneSource’s Industrial Automation Division.
Universal Lighting Technologies (Nashville, Tenn.): Eric Schlechtweg has joined the company’s Eastern region sales team as a senior regional sales manager. He has more than 22 years of experience in the electrical industry in the Northeast, Schlechtweg will support agents and electrical distributors based in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York City and will be based in King of Prussia, Pa.
Vantage Controls (Orem, Utah): Shane Silloway recently joined the company as a regional sales manager. He has more than 30 years of experience in the window covering industry, including a number of years working in his family’s high-end residential manufacturing company in Maryland. He and his wife also owned several businesses within the window coverings industry handling installations, retailing and manufacturing before Silloway joined QMotion in 2011. Silloway will handle sales in the Pacific Northwest his new role with Vantage Controls.