people

Oct. 1, 2007
Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc. (Little Neck, N.Y.): Harold Leviton, Leviton's CEO and chairman of the board, passed away earlier this month, leaving two

Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc. (Little Neck, N.Y.): Harold Leviton, Leviton's CEO and chairman of the board, passed away earlier this month, leaving two of his sons-in-law to lead the company. Donald J. Hendler, who in 2005 was named president, will assume the additional title and role of CEO. Stephen B. Sokolow, who was named vice chairman of the board that same year, will succeed Leviton as chairman of the board. In a career spanning more than 37 years, Hendler has held key positions at Leviton and served on the Education Foundation for the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) and as a member of the government relations committee of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA). In addition, he has served on the advisory committees of both IMARK and Affiliated Distributors. Sokolow began his career at Leviton in 1961. He worked his way up to facilities manager and numerous other positions before his appointment to executive vice president. He has served the industry as technical chairman of the Electronic Data Exchange Joint Committee of NAED, NEMA and NEMRA and was chairman of NEMA's Wiring Device Section.

Leviton Voice & Data Division (Bothell, Wash.): Brad Leland has been appointed vice president of sales for the Voice & Data Division. Leland will have overall sales management responsibility for the voice and data U.S. distribution sales team. Leland brings to Leviton an extensive sales management background with three decades in the communications, data and network industry. Most recently, he was vice president of global channel sales at JDSU for their communications and test business group. For 19 years he served at Fluke and Fluke Networks in various sales, market development and marketing roles. Prior to Fluke, Leland worked for GTE Corp.

Griffith Electric Supply (Trenton, N.J.): Ron Lim was recently promoted to vice president, sales and marketing, for the 70-year-old firm. For the past two years, Lim has served the company as the director of sales. Previous to his tenure at Griffith Electric, he worked in various capacities for Crescent-Stonco and Thomas & Betts Corp.

Amerlux Lighting Solutions (Fairfield, N.J.): The company appointed two regional vice presidents. Dave Silverman was appointed Central regional vice president of sales and Rob Limroth was appointed Northeast regional vice president of sales. Both will report directly to Sam Newberry, vice president of sales for Amerlux. As central regional vice president of sales, Silverman will work with sales agencies, national accounts, architects, designers, engineers and specifiers in 15 states in the Midwestern region of the U.S., and through eastern Canada. Silverman, who has been with Amerlux for five years, previously served as regional sales director. Limroth is responsible for working with commercial sales agents, national accounts and end-users throughout eastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and upstate New York.

Eoff Electric (Portland, Ore.): Michele Cook has joined the Eoff Electric Supply Project Management team. Cook has been in the electrical industry since 1987, with the last 14 years managing and quoting large commercial projects in the Portland metro area. Cook's commitment to serving contractors has helped her develop a strong reputation in the market.

Ideal Industries Inc. (Sycamore, Ill.): Ken Nelson was appointed district sales manager, northwest district, responsible for field personnel and large regional accounts in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana. A veteran of Ideal for 13 years, Nelson was previously senior area sales manager in Washington. Nelson will report to regional sales manager Mark Brown.

Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA, Arlington, Va.) Mike Rioux, IDEA president, will be leaving his post at the end of November or when a successor is chosen. Rioux became IDEA's president in 2000, following several senior-level management positions in the aviation industry and 22 years in the Navy, including time as a Top Gun flight instructor and as a commanding officer of an F-14 fighter squadron. Rioux led the development and implementation of the Industry Data Exchange (version 2) known as IDX, and saw usage of that communications network grow by 600 percent. The Industry Data Warehouse (IDW), has experienced huge growth during Rioux's tenure.

Robroy Industries Conduit Division (Gilmer, Texas): Kristopher Payne has been appointed quotations specialist. Payne is responsible for working directly with key decision-makers to ensure effective pricing for Robroy PVC-coated rigid conduit. Prior to joining Robroy Industries, Payne gained valuable experience as a management trainee for enterprise and as customer service professional for Citizens Bank.

Rexel Inc. (Dallas): Jeremy de Brabant, managing director of Rexel UK, will become senior vice president and CEO of Rexel Inc. in mid-October. Dan Palumbo, presently in charge, will leave the Rexel Group. De Brabant will report directly to Dick Waterman and become a full member of the executive committee of Rexel Group. De Brabant, a Canadian and French national, master of engineering by education, spent eight years with Rexel after joining in 1993. He began his career with Rexel as regional manager of the northeast region in France and then became general manager of a newly acquired company in the company's western region. After five years in Africa for CFAO where he was finally in charge of Nigerian operations, he came back in January 2004 as Rexel UK chief executive officer. He led a successful turnaround and profitable growth has been achieved since then.

Granite City Electric Supply Co. (Quincy, Mass.): Greg Smith has been promoted to vice president of corporate development. In 2002, Granite City Electric acquired Smith's electrical distribution company, J.G. Temple Electric Supply Co., and brought Smith in to help facilitate Granite City Electric's growth initiatives. Smith also manages Granite City Electric's newly developed technology division. As vice president of corporate development, Smith will continue leading the technology division. He will drive new tactical business opportunities, including strategic alliances and mergers and acquisitions; monitor competitive activity; and lead the implementation process of corporate-wide strategic business initiatives.

Obituaries

Leviton's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Harold Leviton, died Sept. 8. He was 90 years old.

Born in 1917 in Brooklyn, N.Y., Leviton grew up with electricity and a passion for the electrical business. He regularly accompanied his father on visits to the family's Greenpoint, Brooklyn factory, where he learned the business from the ground up.

After graduating from the University of Miami, he began full-time employment at the company. He eventually became director of personnel, where he diversified the workforce well before the nation's anti-discrimination laws were legislated. With the passing of his older brother, Bernard, and his father, Isidor, two years later in 1965, he became president, CEO and chairman.

Leviton served as chairman of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association's (NEMA) Wiring Device Section and Building and Equipment Division and as an honorary member of its board of governors and chairman of the Electrical Manufacturing Council. In addition, he served as vice chairman emeritus of the National Electrical Safety Foundation.

Leviton received numerous distinguished awards, including the Wire and Cable Club of America's Charles D. Scott Distinguished Career Award and NEMA's Falk Award.

He is survived by his wife of more than 65 years, Shirley; daughters, Patricia, Adrienne and Elizabeth; grandchildren, great-grandchildren and sons-in-law, Donald J. Hendler and Steven B. Sokolow, both of whom sit on the company's board of directors and hold senior executive positions with Leviton.

Franklin D. Adams, former owner of Shaffer & Nelson, a manufacturer's representative firm in Spokane, Wash., died Aug. 3, in Chelan, Wash., following a brief battle with cancer. He was 70 years old. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Adams worked at Columbia Electric, Pasco, Wash., and later for Shaffer & Nelson. He is survived by his wife, Janean; sister, Nadine McJilton; sons, Tracy and Eric; daughter, Liz Adams-Ralph, and six grandchildren. Remembrances may be made to Hospice of Chelan or the Warehouse Community Church, Entiat, Wash.