People

March 1, 2004
Schneider Electric, North American Division (Palatine, Ill.): David D. Petratis has been promoted to president and chief executive officer. He succeeds

Schneider Electric, North American Division (Palatine, Ill.): David D. Petratis has been promoted to president and chief executive officer. He succeeds Chris C. Richardson, who was CEO of the North American operating division, and who is retiring from the company after 33 years. Petratis was appointed president and chief operating officer of the company's U.S. operations in December 2002. Petratis was part of the leveraged buyout of EPE by Management and Financial Partners, resulting in the creation of MGE UPS Systems. Richardson will remain with the organization until May to ensure a smooth transition.

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (Washington, D.C.): Members have elected William A. Parsley, president of Carswell Distributing Co., Winston Salem, N.C., as chairman of the NAW board of directors. Parsley succeeds Andre B. Lacy of LDI Ltd., Indianapolis. Lacy will serve on the NAW board as immediate past chairman.

The following industry leaders were also elected NAW officers for 2004: Chairman-Elect Sydney “Tucker” Jones III, president, Hudson Valley Paper Co., Albany, N.Y.; First Vice Chairman Robert Reynolds, chairman, president and CEO, Graybar Electric Co., St. Louis, Mo.; Second Vice Chairman Raymon A. York, CEO, Ewing Irrigation Products, Phoenix; Secretary C.S. “Chip” Hornsby, president and CEO, Ferguson Enterprises, Newport News, Va.; Chairman, Subcommittee on Budget and Finance/Treasurer W. Grady Rosier, president and CEO, McLane Co., Temple, Texas; President and Chief Executive Officer Dirk Van Dongen, president, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, Washington, D.C.

Completing the 2004 NAW board of directors are: Chairman of the NAW Association Executives Council (AEC) John P. Garfinkel, executive director of the International Sanitary Supply Association; Chairman-Elect of the AEC Henry W. “Rick” Doyle III, executive director of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association; and Past Chairman of the AEC Inge Calderon, executive vice president of the American Supply Association.

Baynes Electric Supply (Brockton, Mass.): John Martin has been promoted to branch manager of the Wareham, Mass., branch. Martin has been with Baynes for seven years.

Intermatic Inc. (Spring Grove, Ill.): David W. Schroeder was recently elected chief executive officer and director. He succeeds Lee Vineyard. Schroeder was most recently the senior vice president and chief financial officer of Brady Corp.

Regal Manufacturing (City of Industry, Calif.): Ken Blackburn joins Regal as a sales manager. With a wide array of electrical industry sales and management experience, Blackburn most recently was with Power Strut/T.J. Cope, a division of Allied Tube & Conduit.

The National Association of Electrical Distributors (St. Louis): Tammy Miller, executive vice president and treasurer of Border States Electric Supply, has been named incoming vice president-elect for NAED's Western region (formerly Region 1). She will lead the Western region in 2005-2006. She joined Border States Electric in 1991 and has served as a member of the NAED board of directors for the past five years. She is currently the association's finance committee chair. The NAED Western region is currently led by Mike Lockard, president of Hunzicker Brothers Inc., Oklahoma City. At NAED's Annual Meeting in May, Barry McEachern, president of Star Electric Supply Inc., Wichita, Kan., will become Western region vice president for the 2004-2005 year.

Ferraz Shawmut (Newburyport, Mass.): Ferraz Shawmut is sharpening its focus on OEM customers through the addition of new Southeast and South Central Regional OEM Sales Representative Brian Seide and an expansion of Southeast Regional OEM Development Manager Bill Turse's territory to include the South Central region. Seide joins the Ferraz Shawmut team with almost 20 years of experience in the electrical industry as a sales representative and engineer for companies including Moeller Electric, Richardson Electric and Graybar. A veteran member of the Ferraz Shawmut team, Turse has worked with the company for almost 15 years.

Sola/Hevi-Duty (Rosemont, Ill): Tom Pankratz has been named director of sales, and Suzette Albert has been appointed power quality product manager. Pankratz previously worked for Hoffman Enclosures in sales management. In his new role, he will help drive sales growth through Sola/Hevi-Duty's line of power quality products. Albert will be responsible for UPS, surge suppression, power conditioning, isolating transformer and line reactor products. She brings 17 years of experience in the electrical power quality industry.

FCI-Burndy Products (Manchester, N.H.): Ed Henkes has been appointed CM&R market manager. Henkes brings more than 25 years of sales and marketing brand management experience with electrical industry leaders including GE, Philips and Klein Tools. Prior to his appointment, Henke had success in developing strategic sales plans, packaging and merchandising initiatives for Graybar, Grainger and Home Depot.

Border States Electric (Fargo, N.D.): Border States Electric has announced assignment changes for several of its long-term employees. Roger Labahn, vice president, is relocating to Phoenix to serve as the general manager of that location. Steve Kuntz has been named branch manager for the Minneapolis branches. Dan Davidson will assume the position of area sales manager, located in Fargo, N.D. Davidson succeeds Bruce Murphy, who is retiring.

Allied Tube & Conduit, a business unit of Tyco Electrical & Metal Products (Harvey, Ill.): Jim Strenk, executive vice president is retiring after 36 years with Allied Tube & Conduit. Strenk, who started with the company as a local sales representative, worked his way through several management positions before finally becoming vice president, overseeing all four of Allied's divisions. He served on the advisory councils of several distributor organizations, including Affiliated Distributors and IMARK, and was active with the National Association of Electrical Distributors and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. In 2004, he received NAED's Associate Award for outstanding contribution to the electrical industry. James W. Hays has been appointed vice president of sales and marketing for the company's electrical division. He will have direct sales and marketing responsibility for the electrical family of products, including Allied Conduit, Power-Strut, T.J. Cope, Columbia/MBF and the AFC family of products. He will report directly to the president of Tyco Electrical & Metal Products, Rick Filetti. Hays has been with the company for 23 years, most recently serving as the general manager of Allied's Conduit division.

OBITUARIES

Edward “Burt” Brazill, CEO of Brazill Brothers & Associates Inc., a manufacturers' rep firm located in Metuchen, N.J., died Feb. 6. He was 80 years old.

In 1951, Brazill established the rep firm along with his brother, Robert, who preceded him in death.

Brazill is survived by his wife of 56 years, Agnes; three sons, Burt, William, and Dennis; five daughters, Teresa Brazill, Patricia Bera, Diane Taylor, Donna Nagel and Kelly MacKay; 21 grandchildren; and six great grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to Pass It Along Inc., Box 457, Sparta, N.J. 07871. Pass It Along is an organization of volunteers meeting the critical needs of the communities of New Jersey.

Robert O. Riffle, founder of Riffle & Associates, a manufacturers' representative firm in Cincinnati, died Jan. 30. He was 74 years old. Riffle & Associates was formed Jan. 1, 1963, by Riffle, John E. Blust and Robert J. Liskay. The company was a continuance of another agency that had existed for 12 years.

Riffle was president of Riffle & Associates for 33 years before retiring in 1996. He was active in the Cleveland and Cincinnati electrical industry and was a founding member of the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA), Tarrytown, N.Y., in 1969.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah; his son, Dyke; his daughters, Shannon Riffle and Mickey Cigary; four grandchildren; and three great grandchildren.

Donations may be made to the NEMRA Educational Scholarship Foundation, c/o NEMRA, 660 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, NY 10591. Condolences may be sent to Mrs. Sarah Riffle, c/o Riffle Associates, 16760 W. Park Circle Drive, Chagrin Falls, OH 44023.