Promotions and new appointments

June 1, 2003
Mike Gallagher has been promoted to president of the industrial division for Thomas & Betts Corp., Memphis, Tenn. He was most recently vice president

Mike Gallagher has been promoted to president of the industrial division for Thomas & Betts Corp., Memphis, Tenn. He was most recently vice president of sales for the electrical components group.

Ned Camuti has been appointed general manager of the wire termination business unit of Ideal Industries, Inc., Sycamore, Ill. In his new position, Camuti will be responsible for strategic planning, marketing and the financial aspects of the wire termination business unit. Most recently he was director of marketing.

Tom Nelson has been named product manager for the HID category of Philips Lighting Co., Somerset, N.J. Most recently he served as senior design engineer at Stonco, a division of Genlyte Thomas Group.

At Don Blackburn & Co., Livonia, Mich., three vice presidents have been appointed. Michael Brooks, previously sales manager, has been appointed vice president of sales. Kevin D. Murphy, has been appointed vice president of finance. David Pridemore has been appointed vice president of systems engineering. The Board of Directors also named Ronald D. Clark executive vice president.

Thomas Bisson has been appointed Eastern regional manager for Ilsco and Utilico, Cincinnati, Ohio. He began his career as a sales rep for Intermatic and then as a manufacturers' representative with Allied Group Sales.

Several industry professionals have been elected to serve on the National Lighting Bureau (NLB). Cary S. Mendelsohn, has been re-elected chair of the NLB. He has served on the NLB executive committee since 1988, representing the interNational Association of Lighting Management Companies (NALMCO). He is the founder and president of Imperial Lighting Maintenance Co. Ronald P. Lewis, Lighting Corp. of America, was elected vice chair. James M. Yorgey, P.E., of Lutron Electronics Co. was elected secretary/treasurer. Others elected to serve on the National Lighting Bureau Executive Committee include: John Attanasio, Advance Transformer; Doug Baillie, Lithonia Lighting; Jacqueline Callahan, National Council for Qualifications in the Lighting Professions; Robert Colgan, National Electrical Contractors Association; Jon A. Di Gesu, Osram Sylvania Inc.; Mary Beth Gotti, GE Lighting; Scott Watson, International Association of Lighting Designers; and David Weems, U.S. General Services Administration.

Michael F. Rioux has been named president of the Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA), an organization formed by the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) to facilitate electrical industry e-commerce. Rioux is IDEA's first full-time president.

Jim Campion has been appointed president of HellermanTyton, Milwaukee. Previously he served as executive vice president. He succeeds Dennis Plesha who has been named regional president of the Americas and chairman of the board.

Michael J. Cunningham has been named director of marketing communications for Lutron Electronics Co. Inc., Coopersburg, Pa. He will coordinate and manage all of the company's marketing, promotions, advertising and public relations initiatives.

Richard Laporte has been appointed vice president sales Americas at Automatic Switch Co. (ASCO), Florham Park, N.J. Most recently he was vice president of marketing and product management. The appointment of Laporte was made to accommodate ASCO's increased presence in Latin America as well as to maintain its position in North America.

Obituary: John P. Tramontano Jr., president of Penn-Union Corp. and chairman of the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) Manufacturers' Group died March 18. He was 58. He served on NEMRA's executive committee for four years. He was also a member of IEEE, American Management Association, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Sales and Marketing Executives of Erie, Board of Governors of the Manufacturers Association of Northwest Pennsylvania, and Who's Who in Finance and Industry. He is survived by his mother, Jean Franco Tramontano, his wife Mary Lou, his sons John P. III and Craig, his daughter Tracey Moten and one granddaughter.