Platt Electric Supply Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.): Jeffrey Baker was recently appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Baker came to Platt in 2007 after spending more than 32 years with Poorman Douglas Corp., where he ended his tenure as CEO. The COO role was created to take advantage of Baker's expertise in sales, marketing and vendor relations, as Platt continues its aggressive growth and expansion. Harvey Platt and Jay Platt remain in their roles as CEO and president, respectively. Platt Electric Supply is a family-owned distributor of electrical and related products with 98 locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and California.
Border States (Fargo, N.D.): The board of directors for Border States (BSE) has named Ken Rowland vice president-Northeast region. Rowland began his career with BSE as an account manager in July 1992. He served as Northeast Region business development manager and Northeast region manager before being named vice president. Rowland has general management responsibilities for 16 branch locations in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. Shane Kerska has been named branch manager for Border States' Sioux Falls, S.D., location. Kerska has held various positions at the branch including warehouse associate, city desk representative, customer service representative, and account manager before being named branch manager. Jim Mahurin has been named automation manager for Border States' Southwest Region. With more than 30 years of electrical distribution experience, Mahurin will manage the Rockwell Automation product manager team in Arizona and New Mexico, and will also have involvement with software, programmable logic controllers and systems, and human-machine interface products. Ryan Seckman has been named Southwest Region business development manager for Border States. Seckman joined BSE in April 2005 as an account manager for the company's Phoenix branch. He will participate on the company's Southwest Region management team and provide direction for new and expanded business opportunities.
WinWholesale (Dayton, Ohio): The company has appointed two company veterans to oversee operations for the Win Group of Companies in parts of the West and Southern areas of the United States. Jim Kennaugh was named an area leader in WinWholesale's Western region, and Rob McCullough was named region manager for Noland Company's Southern and Southeast regions. Noland is a wholly owned subsidiary of WinWholesale. Kennaugh is responsible for overseeing the growth and operation of 35 companies representing brands such as Winnelson, Winlectric and Winair in the Denver metro area, northern Colorado and all of Wyoming. During his 23-year wholesaling career, Kennaugh was president of Aurora Winnelson, a Colorado plumbing supply and equipment company, and has held other WinWholesale management positions. McCullough oversees growth and operations in five states that include 47 of Noland's 105 branches. The states are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. McCullough has held numerous positions at several Noland branches over the years, including inside and outside salesperson, operations and branch manager. He became the Atlanta branch manager in 2002.
Friedman Electric, a subsidiary of Sonepar USA (Exeter, Pa.): John Plotts has been promoted to vice president of sales. His new duties will include managing Friedman's Automation and Voice/Data divisions. Plotts is a seasoned industry veteran, with more than 26 years of service in the electrical industry. He is entering his 24th year as a member of the Friedman Electric family.
W.W. Grainger Inc. (Chicago): President and Chief Operating Officer James T. Ryan will succeed Richard L. Keyser as chief executive, effective June 1. Keyser, who will continue as the company's chairman, became the first executive from outside the Grainger family to lead the 80-year-old company when he was named chief executive officer in 1995. Ryan was named chief operating officer and appointed to the board of directors in February 2007. He became president of Grainger in 2006. Ryan, who will be Grainger's fourth CEO, retains his posts as chief operating officer and president.
Bridgeport Fittings Inc. (Stratford, Conn.): David Turk has been promoted to vice president sales and marketing. He will report to Paul A. Suzio, president and chief operating officer. Turk will have overall responsibility for managing, directing, and coaching all sales and marketing activities of the business. Further, he will guide the business's implementation of customer initiatives, enhancing customer relationships and increasing market penetration. In this capacity, he will retain responsibility for four western representatives and their respective territories. Turk was most recently director of sales.
Royal Electric Co. (Syracuse, N.Y.): Dodge Monteleone, owner of Royal Electric Co., is retiring and closing his independent electrical distributor business after 35 years. Monteleone, who just turned 79, began working in the electrical industry in 1955 at Superior Electric in Syracuse, before beginning the distribution company with his cousin, Frank Orso. Monteleone is going to remain in Syracuse so he can stay close to his family.
Lenox (East Longmeadow, Mass.): Bill Burke has been appointed group president — Tools & Hardware. As president of Lenox, Burke has led the Lenox Industrial Products and Services business since 2003. Burke will retain responsibility for the North American Lenox business until a successor is named at a later date.
Monte Carlo Fan Co. (Riverside, N.J.): Sales management for the Monte Carlo brand will now be led by Spencer Bolgard, vice president of sales for the Sea Gull Lighting and Monte Carlo brands. Bolgard is a six-year company veteran. Prior to joining the company in 2002, he served as vice president, Electrical Supply Division at Affiliated Distributors, following various sales and marketing positions with GE, Leviton Manufacturing and Motorola. Scott Torontali joins the Monte Carlo Fan Co. as vice president/national sales manager. Most recently, Torontali served as vice president of sales for Hunter Fan Corp.'s Casablanca Division. To further support the company's growth, the Monte Carlo Fan Co. has appointed Scott Forst to the role of Eastern regional sales manager. Forst joins Monte Carlo after serving several years in sales and sales management for Hunter Fan Corp.'s Casablanca Division. Stephanie David also joins the team as director of business development, corporate accounts, for both brands. Dennis Davenport has been named vice president of product development.
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED, St. Louis): Burt Schraga is the new chair-elect of the NAED Board of Directors. In this position, Schraga, CEO of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Bell Electrical Supply, will prepare to lead the NAED board during 2009-2010. Schraga is a 34-year veteran of the industry. He got his start by turning a college job into a lifetime career. Schraga has dedicated the last three-plus decades to Bell Electrical Supply. This month, Bell Electrical is merging with Industrial Control Components to further expand its offerings. Throughout his career, Schraga has taken on many leadership positions within NAED. He served two terms on the association's board of directors from 1985-1987 and 1994-1996, and was also Western Region vice president. His strong commitment to electrical distribution has also extended to other organizations within the channel. Schraga is currently a member of the Affiliated Distributors (A-D) U.S. Electrical Board. Under Schraga's leadership, Bell Electrical was presented with the A-D 2007-2008 Affiliate of the Year Award. NAED is currently directed by Tammy Miller, CEO of Border States Electric Supply. At the association's first National Electrical Leadership Summit, May 17-21, Richard (Dick) Waterman, senior advisor of International Electric Supply Corp. (IESCO), will become NAED board chair for the 2008-2009 year.