IDEA's Board of Directors named Paul Molitor of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) as CEO and president, effective Dec. 15th.
According to an IDEA press release, Molitor has held several positions with NEMA, including his most recent role as assistant vice president, strategy and policy. His tenure with NEMA has been highlighted by his leadership in establishing technical standards for the Smart Grid.
The IDEA Board has also promoted Mike Wentz of IDEA, to the role of executive V.P., sales and marketing, effective immediately. Wentz has been with IDEA for nearly five years, serving most recently as V.P., operations. He has a deep history in the information services space, and in working with distribution, offering more than 30 years of electrical industry and technology provider experience.
“We are excited to have someone of Paul's background lead IDEA at this critical juncture,” said interim CEO and IDEA Board member Chris Curtis, who led the executive search committee. “The committee and I know that both manufacturers and distributors will benefit from his presence.” The search committee consisted of four IDEA Board members: Curtis (Schneider Electric), Jack Carlson (Southwire Co.), Wes Smith (Mayer Electric Supply), and David Rosenstein (Connexion Electric Supply).
“IDEA has an aggressive agenda to enrich the data field standard and dramatically increase the level of data quality in the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW), enabling distribution to confidently use the IDW in all their digital applications to drive growth and reduce cost, he added. “The Board thinks the combination of Paul and Mike will put IDEA on the most solid leadership footing since its inception. We know they will bring value to the entire electrical industry, and to the IDEA employees, and we believe that both Paul and Mike will lead IDEA to realize its vision of becoming the preferred source of high-quality manufacturer data, delivered efficiently and cost effectively."
