Phoenix Contact USA (Middletown, Pa.): This manufacturer of electronic components and automation technology has named Spencer Bolgard as its V.P. and general manager. Bolgard will oversee the company's U.S. sales subsidiary, including sales, marketing, channel operations and service functions within the United States. He joins Phoenix Contact from Cooper Industries, where he served as vice president of sales and marketing for the Cooper Connection business since 2010. Prior to that, he had a long career in the electrical and lighting industry, including progressively senior positions with Generation Brands-Sea Gull Lighting/Monte Carlo Fans, Affiliated Distributors, Motorola, Leviton and GE. Bolgard holds a bachelor's in economics and political science from the Denison University and an MBA from the University of San Francisco. He has also served as an armor officer in the U.S. Army.
JMC Steel Group (Chicago): Jim Hays, V.P. of marketing and business development, will take on the added responsibility of managing the company's electrical portfolio of products manufactured under the Wheatland Tube and Picoma brands. David Burnette, V.P. of sales, electrical division-Wheatland Tube, and Steve Camilletti, national sales manager-Picoma, will report directly to Hays.
National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) (Rosslyn, Va.): President and CEO Evan Gaddis is serving on the Federal Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness. The committee will advise the Secretary of Commerce on the development and administration of programs and policies to expand the competitiveness of U.S. supply chains, including programs and policies to expand U.S. exports of goods, services, and technology in accordance with applicable U.S. regulations. This work will support efforts to expand U.S. exports and create economic opportunities for American businesses and American workers.
Leviton Manufacturing Co. (Melville, N.Y.): Rob Spragis has been promoted to region sales manager for the Upper Midwest sales region. Spragis has been with Leviton since 2005 and has covered electrical distribution in the greater Philadelphia market. He was named as the company's Vendor Sales Person of the Year by distributors in the Philadelphia market, and in 2010 was Leviton's National Sales Person of the Year. Spragis' experience also includes work in the construction and HVAC industries.
United Electric Supply Co. (New Castle, Del.): Phil McCloud has joined United as Susquehanna district sales manager, in charge of the Lancaster/York/Hanover, Pa., markets. He has 18 years of marketing, sales, operations and senior-level leadership experience within the electrical industry.
GE Energy (Atlanta): John Lavelle has been named vice president, Digital Energy, for GE Energy Management. The company's Digital Energy business focuses on protection and control, communications, power sensing and power quality solutions. Lavelle joins Energy Management from GE Power & Water where he was vice president, global projects operation. A 28-year GE veteran, Lavelle has held a variety of leadership positions in the business, including general manager, Gasification; region executive leadership roles in Taiwan, China, South Asia and the southern U.S.; and general manager, Energy Services, for commercial operations and marketing/product management.
French Gerleman (St. Louis): Mike Stanfill has been appointed president, taking over for William French who will become CEO. Stanfill, previously V.P. of industrial and commercial sales, brings more than 24 years of experience in engineering, management and executive positions in manufacturing and wholesale distribution. Stanfill earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. Prior to being named president, he held several positions in his 18-year tenure at French Gerleman, including product management, Tech Center management and two divisional sales V.P. roles. Before coming to French Gerleman, Stanfill worked in engineering, R&D and product management at Unilever and Everest & Jennings. He currently serves as a member of Rockwell Automation's Horizontal Distributor Advisory Council, is a past director on the Electrical Board of Missouri and Illinois, and has served on advisory councils for other electrical manufacturers. In other news at French Gerleman, the company announced the promotion of Steve French to V.P. of operations; Adam Ruebsam to V.P. of commercial and industrial sales; Mike Kelsch to V.P. of supply division; and the hiring of Jim Wojkovich as V.P. of construction sales.
Western Extralite (Kansas City, Mo.): Brian Little has been promoted to construction sales manager for the St. Louis area. A seven-year veteran at Western Extralite, Little is now responsible for contractor relations, managing and developing sales and marketing strategies for account managers, facilitating vendor relationships, and directing project bids. In other news at the company, Jeff French and Kevin Roach have joined Western Extralite as account managers. Both will service and develop St. Louis area accounts. French, who has 12 years' experience in the local construction industry, was a project account manager for Frost Electric before joining Western Extralite. Roach has 28 years of experience in the electrical industry, including sales positions with Vector Electrical Sales, French Gerleman and Butler Supply.
HD Supply Power Solutions (Atlanta): As part of last year's reorganization that combined HD Supply's electrical and utilities lines, the new entity was recently renamed HD Power Solutions. Each geographic region will be led by a vice president reporting to Rick McClure, president, and will be supported by the sourcing organization. Within each of the three U.S. regions, the company will have four vertical markets: investor-owned utilities (IOU), public power, industrial and construction.
The executives who will manage each of the regions and businesses within those regions are as follows: East-Rob Joseph, with Joe D'Orazio (IOU), Mark Sommers (Public Power), Cliff Kemp (Industrial) and Lester Jenkins (Construction); North-Tim Mills, with Bill Goebes (IOU) and Mark Wojcil (Public Power); South-Jason Herin, with Alan Morris (IOU), Jason Irons (Public Power), Tim Klei (Construction and interim for Industrial) and Gary Walker for Canada.
Dominion Electric Supply (Arlington, Va.): Stephen Krooth has joined the company as executive V.P. In addition to practicing law, Krooth has worked on Wall Street as a managing director in commercial real estate finance. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin and the George Washington University School of Law.
In other news at the company, George Dove is now director of contractor sales. Dove will continue to manage the Laurel branch. His new role will involve a greater focus on pricing and sales strategy. As Laurel location branch manager, Dove oversees the day-to-day sales operations of the Laurel facility, which include the residential lighting showroom, materials sales department, contractor counter and will-call. Dove has worked in many capacities over the 22 years he has been with Dominion Electric Supply including the warehouse, counter sales and inside sales.
GE Industrial Solutions (Mississauga, Ontario): Ajay Gupta has been appointed as the lead Canadian channel commercial director. Gupta will be responsible for developing national channel strategies while creating a distributor framework to help grow business with Canadian channel partners. He will support Adrian Thomas, GE's regional sales leader in Canada. Gupta brings more than 15 years of GE experience to his new position. Most recently, Gupta was the technical channel director for Canada and North U.S. at the GE Energy Global Center of Excellence.
EYE Lighting International (Mentor, Ohio): Kristen Mallardi has joined EYE as business development manager, where she will be responsible for the sales and solicitation activities of the company's products to energy service companies (ESCOs) and related energy-focused end-users. She previously worked within the semiconductor industry.
Buckles-Smith (San Jose, Calif.): The company recently hired two salespeople and one employee for its marketing department. Joey Newton and Grant Hendricks will be account managers and Rachael Esswein will be marketing coordinator. Newton graduated from Gonzaga University and will cover Sacramento and Stockton. Hendricks graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and will service accounts in the East Bay area. Esswein, a San Diego State University graduate, will support the company's communication and branding efforts.