ElectricSmarts Network (Glastonbury, Conn.): Sal Huerta has been promoted to V.P. of business development for the company's NetPricer Division. His responsibilities include sales and managing customer service. NetPricer allows distributors to furnish estimate pricing directly to an electrical contractor's software, expediting the bid process and reducing man-hours.
Graybar (St. Louis): The company announced the appointments of Richard Offenbacher to senior vice president-U.S. business and Kathleen Mazzarella to senior V.P.-sales and marketing. Both Offenbacher and Mazzarella also serve on Graybar's board of directors. Offenbacher, a Graybar veteran of nearly 42 years, will oversee Graybar's field organization within the United States along with its corporate accounts and government business. He most recently served as senior V.P.-sales and marketing for Graybar's electrical business. Mazzarella has 30 years of Graybar experience and most recently served as senior V.P.-sales and marketing, Comm/Data. In her newly expanded role, she has responsibility for Graybar's entire sales and marketing organization. These appointments follow the recent retirement of Dennis DeSousa as senior V.P.-U.S. business.
In other news at the company, Rob Bezjak was appointed V.P.-government sales, and Bill Mansfield was promoted to V.P.-industrial market. Bezjak has more than 22 years of experience at Graybar, and has been instrumental in the development and implementation of Graybar's government strategy. Mansfield has been with Graybar for more than 22 years, and has served in several management roles at the corporate, regional and branch levels, most recently as director of comm/data sales for the company's St. Louis region. His background includes experience in automation, industrial networking, intelligent building design and energy management. He has a B.A. from St. Louis University and a MBA from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.
Vetus Partners (Cleveland): John Skelly has joined the investment bank Vetus Partners as a managing director. He previously focused on the wholesale distribution sector of PCE Investment Bankers. His other distribution industry experience includes serving as a director of business development for Home Depot and director of M&A for Hughes Supply Inc. Skelly has worked with on M&As for W.W. Grainger, HD Supply and Hughes Supply and other distributors. Some of his recent distribution transactions include representing W.W. Grainger in its acquisition of Imperial Supplies from American Capital, and representing Thomas Pipe & Supply Co. in its sale to Gen Cap America. He also served as a member of the Distribution Investment banking team at Robert W. Baird & Co. Skelly has executed transactions in the wholesale distribution sector with over $5 billion of total enterprise value.
Fromm Electric Supply (Reading, Pa.): The company announced several appointments and hires. Jon Gerhart has been promoted to the position of V.P. of sales. He will be responsible for the management, deployment and training of Fromm's sales organization. Previously, he managed the company's residential business and brings over 17 years of diverse experience in the construction and engineering fields. Gerhart holds a B.S. degree in environmental resource management from the Pennsylvania State University and a MBA from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia.
Kirk Ericsson has been appointed Fromm's V.P. of market diagnostics, where he will be responsible for the analysis of sales and market data to identify growth opportunities as well as the implementation of strategic pricing initiatives. He has been with Fromm for 10 years and previously held the position of V.P. of sales. Ericsson served in the U.S. Navy and holds technical certifications from CHI Institute.
Tom Herron has been hired as manager of Fromm's Energy Solutions division. He will be responsible for the advancement and execution of sales and marketing strategies to grow Fromm's energy retrofit business. Herron has 30 years of experience in the electrical industry, primarily in the area of energy services. He holds an Associate of Applied Science degree in electrical engineering from Penn State University and a B.A. in marketing from Kings College.
John Plotts has joined Fromm Electric Supply as manager of the company's Bloomsburg, Pa., location scheduled to open late spring. In addition to his branch management responsibilities, Plotts will also spearhead Fromm's expansion efforts in north-central Pennsylvania. He is a 28-year veteran of the electrical distribution industry with experience in all facets of the business. He is a graduate of the Warrior Run High School Vo-Tech program for Electrical Construction in Watsontown, Pa.
Theresa Partington has been hired as a lighting specialist in Fromm's Energy Solutions division. Partington has spent 14 years in the electrical industry with expertise in the area of commercial lighting and holds certifications from several lighting manufacturers.
Todd Rutledge has been hired as director of Fromm's commercial construction sales department. He will be responsible for overseeing a staff of specialists and developing sales and marketing strategies to grow Fromm's commercial lighting and switchgear business. Rutledge brings 25 years of electrical industry experience and holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology.
Rich Miller has been promoted to the position of manager, Residential Solutions Group. He will oversee the sales, customer service and operations of Fromm's residential market segment. In addition, Miller will manage the company's appliance division and three design centers. He came to Fromm Electric Supply with its acquisition of Harrisburg Electrical Supply in June 2005.
Crescent Electric Supply (East Dubuque, Ill.): Martin Burbridge was promoted to president and CEO. Formerly company president, Burbridge is the fifth president and fourth CEO of the 90-year-old firm. He started with the company in 1978 and since then held a number of executive posts.
Warshauer Electric Supply (Tinton Falls, N.J.): Ryan Desharnais has joined the Warshauer Energy Solutions sales team in New Brunswick, N.J., as an inside sales engineer. He was with Sunelco Inc., where he spent time designing, installing and troubleshooting grid-tied and stand-alone solar and wind systems. Desharnais has a B.S. in chemical engineering and a minor in industrial engineering from Northeastern University.
Ideal Industries (Sycamore, Ill.): David DiDonato has been promoted to general manager-wire termination. An eight-year Ideal veteran, he was previously Southwest regional manager. Prior to joining Ideal, DiDonato was with SupplyForce and Allen-Bradley. He has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Union College.
Ericson Manufacturing, (Willoughby, Ohio): Jim Johnson has been promoted to vice president of sales and marketing and will be responsible for the development and implementation of regional and national strategies, as well as managing existing and new sales and marketing strategies to achieve company revenue and profitability targets. Johnson joined Ericson in March 2009 as the North Central regional sales manager and was promoted to national sales manager in Sept. 2009. Prior to joining Ericson, Johnson spent 18 years with the Lester Sales Co., an electrical manufacturer's rep. He has a B.S. degree from Northern Illinois University and maintains his CPMR certification.
KNIPEX-Tools (Arlington Heights, Ill.): Randall Booth has joined the company as sales manager and will be responsible for distribution sales in the eastern United States and Puerto Rico. He is also the key account rep for major accounts headquartered in that geographic region. He joins KNIPEX from Minerallac, where he served as the Southeast regional manager since 2006. Prior to joining Minerallac, Booth was sales manager at Hughes Supply Inc. and held positions at Klein Tools, Robert Bosch Tool Corp., and AEG Power Tools. Also joining the company is Julie Jozwik, who will be working in sales and marketing and will support the sales team, develop social media plans and platforms, and facilitate advertising and public relations initiatives.