Rexel (Dallas): Peter Schiller has been appointed president of the Mid-Atlantic Division for Rexel Inc. With more than 65 locations, the division is based in Upper Marlboro, Md. Schiller joined Rexel in 1992; he moves from his post as North East Division president. Succeeding Schiller, Mark Daniel has been appointed president of the North East Division. Located in Hudson, Ohio, the division has 24 branches in New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania. A 19-year industry veteran, Daniel most recently served as regional manager for the company's northeastern Ohio region.
Bodine Electric (Decatur, Ill.): Kent Peterson has been named wholesale division manager. Peterson will be responsible for overseeing the company's warehouses; wholesale division personnel; and sales of motors, controls and electrical distribution equipment. In his 18 years with Bodine, Peterson's previous positions included inside sales, inventory control, purchasing, operations manager and, most recently, outside sales engineer.
National Association of Electrical Distributors (St. Louis): NAED has named Bruce Leff as the incoming vice president-elect for NAED's Eastern Region (formerly Region 3). The NAED Eastern Council appointed Leff by majority approval. Leff is president and CEO of The H. Leff Electric Co., Cleveland. The NAED Eastern Region is currently led by Rick Smith, president of Gettens Electric Supply in Fitchburg, Mass. In May 2004, John Spoor, president of State Electric Supply Co. in Huntington, W.V., will become Eastern Region vice president for the 2004-2005 year.
Cooper Industries (Houston): Clifford Grum has been named deputy chairman of the board of directors, replacing Ralph E. Jackson, who retired. Grum has been a board member since 1982. He is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Temple-Inland Inc.
Warshauer Electric Supply Inc. (Tinton Falls, N.J.): With more than 26 years experience in the electrical wholesaling industry, Mark Feldman has accepted a position with Warshauer Electric Supply as an account executive.
Super Vision International Inc. (Orlando, Fla.): Carina Betts has been appointed Super Vision's representative for Canada. Betts has a proven track record with Super Vision, having introduced fiber optics to the U.S. death-care industry. As owner of Afterlite Inc., Betts combined fiber-optic lighting with bronze lamps to develop memorial lighting systems for cemeteries across the U.S. and Canada.
North American Lighting Spectrum (Danbury, Conn.): Robert “Bob” Newton joins North American Lighting Spectrum (NALS) as co-owner and managing principal. For many years he was the vice president of sales for the industrial division of Luxo Corp., the U.S. distribution arm for Luxo ASA of Norway, and most recently company president and chief executive officer. Founded two years ago, NALS is the exclusive agent in the United States and Mexico for the Foscarini, Oluce and Luxit brands of contemporary floor, table, ceiling, pendant and wall lights.
Penn-Union Corp. (Edinboro, Pa.): Timothy Althof has been appointed regional sales manager for the central United States, bringing several years experience in distribution channel business-to-business sales. Jennifer Lipps has been appointed general accountant. She brings several years accounting experience, most recently with the United States Postal Service.
Russound (Newmarket, N.H.): Jeff Kussard has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president of strategic development. Kussard initially joined Russound in May 2003 in a consulting role and was then appointed director of strategic development in July. He will be responsible for company strategies related to product development, marketing, and organizational structure.
Nuheat Floor Warming Systems (Vancouver, British Columbia): Colin Pinner has been appointed national sales manager. Pinner has been with Nuheat since 1998, most recently as Midwest sales manager. Dave Mackey will succeed Pinner as Midwest sales manager. Mackey joined Nuheat in 2002 as a salesperson.
Hughes Supply Inc. (Orlando, Fla.): Mel Meineke has joined Hughes Supply as the new vice president of corporate marketing. Meineke most recently was the vice president of marketing at Hagemeyer North America. The hire is part of a realignment in which Hughes Supply merged its sales and marketing departments into the marketing and vendor development group.
Lutron Electronics Co. (Coopersburg, Pa.): Walter Zaharchuk has been appointed a vice president of Lutron Electronics Co. Inc. In this role, Zaharchuk will have overall general management responsibility for the company's wallbox business unit. In his 27-year career with Lutron, Zaharchuk has acquired broad experience in the engineering, quality assurance, manufacturing and applications groups. Most recently, he served as business director of the company's ballasts business.
FCI-Burndy Products (Manchester, N.H.): Paul Werthman has been appointed director of marketing. A 16-year FCI employee, Werthman previously served as product manager, director of product marketing and division director.
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA, Rosslyn, Va.): NEMA has announced a significant staff reorganization. As of Feb. 1, Frank Kitzantides, who was recently elected vice president of the International Electrotechnical Commission and is currently NEMA's vice president of engineering, will become NEMA senior vice president and chief technical officer. Al Scolnik, currently vice president of industry operations, will become vice president of technical services, formerly engineering. Tim Feldman, vice president of the government affairs, will take over as vice president of industry programs, which will include functions now in industry operations. Kyle Pitsor, currently an industry director, has been promoted to vice president of government relations, formerly government affairs. Gene Eckhart will continue to be responsible for NEMA's international operations and assumes the title of director of international operations and market development. Ed Gray will move to industry programs and assume responsibility for the power equipment division. Kurt Riesenberg, industry manager for many of NEMA's power equipment sections, will assume Pitsor's former responsibilities.
Affiliated Distributors (A-D, King of Prussia, Pa.): A-D has appointed David Oldfather vice president of the electrical supply division. He brings with him 11 years of senior staff management as an A-D electrical affiliate. Before coming to A-D, Oldfather was the senior vice president of sales for the contractor and installer groups at Hagemeyer North America. Prior to that, he served in several executive positions at Tristate Electrical Supply Co.
Leviton (Little Neck, N.Y.): Chad Coyne has been appointed sales manager, lighting showrooms for the company's lighting control division. Coyne arrives at Leviton with an extensive background in the lighting control industry that includes technical sales, management of new business initiatives and the development of strategic relationships
W.A.C. Lighting (Garden City, N.Y.): Marc Pfeiffer has been appointed national sales manager. With several years of lighting experience, Pfeiffer most recently served as eastern regional sales manager. Renee Cohen has been appointed northeastern regional sales manager. Cohen, who joined W.A.C. Lighting in spring 2003 as specification sales manager, previously served as TechCenter manager for Lightolier and East Coast sales manager for Translite Sonoma. Michael Morin recently joined W.A.C. Lighting as southern regional sales manager. His professional experience includes office manager/specification sales for Architectural Lighting Associates.
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.
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.
OBITUARY
Tenner Elstad, past president of the North Central Electrical Manufacturers' Club and the owner of Elstad Associates Inc., Minneapolis, died Jan. 2. He was 70 years old and served the electrical industry for 43 years. He is survived by his wife, Marlene; three children; and 11 grandchildren.