Eaton Corp. (Cleveland): Dave Bucklew has been named vice president, U.S. Sales for Global Sales and Marketing and Ken Narod has been named vice president, Channel. Bucklew will be responsible for providing strategic and operational direction of Eaton's field-based sales resources. In addition, he will be responsible for establishing commercial processes that allow Eaton to transact business with key customers in a rapidly changing global environment. Bucklew held his most recent position as director, Channel Management, with Eaton for almost five years. Over the last 27 years, he has held a number of positions of increasing leadership responsibility with Westinghouse and Eaton. Narod will be responsible for Eaton's “go-to” market strategies and will lead the development and implementation of an integrated channel strategy across the Electrical Group's Sales and Marketing organization. Narod will also assume leadership of the Utility Sales team and the Federal Sales group. He most recently held the position of zone director for the Southeast Zone.
W.A.C. Lighting (Garden City, N.Y.): Michael T. Hadank has been appointed national sales manager. Hadank will oversee the firm's network of sales agencies and in-house representatives that serve the lighting needs of showrooms and electrical distributors across North America. In addition, he will work closely with the product development and marketing teams. Hadank began working with W.A.C. Lighting in the fall of 2007 as national programs manager. Most recently, he was employed by Leviton Manufacturing Co., where he served as district manager, Mid-Atlantic region, and Electrical Distribution sales representative.
Greenlee, a Textron Co. (Rockford, Ill.): Chera M. Ellis has been promoted to regional sales manager - Midwest. Ellis will be responsible for providing sales leadership and management of Greenlee's sales efforts in the Midwest U.S. region. Ellis joined Greenlee in October 2000 as product manager - DSV tools and became senior product manager - Test & Measurement in September 2001. Ellis most recently held the position of director of marketing. Other former work experience includes her role of senior packaging buyer for Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. and commodities buyer for Parker Pen/Gillette Stationary Products Division.
Pass & Seymour/Legrand (Syracuse, N.Y.): Jim Osterbrock has been named vice president of engineering. In his new role, Osterbrock will be responsible for driving innovation through new product and technology development, as well as product and packaging design and product testing. Osterbrock has previous experience as director of engineering and director of marketing.
Fromm Electric Supply Corp. of Reading, Pa. (Reading, Pa.): Michael Willow has been named vice president - branch operations. He has 29 years of experience in the electrical industry, including distribution, contracting and manufacturing. He previously held district sales and operations positions for a large regional distributor. He will oversee all branch operations and supply counter business, as well as expansion efforts. He will also be responsible for roll-out of company marketing programs. Genevieve Bakanowski has been named purchasing and inventory control manager. Bakanowski has more than 25 years of purchasing experience in wholesale distribution. In addition to leading Fromm's corporate purchasing department, Bakanowski will also manage the company's inventory improvement initiatives. Sean McKee has been named director of process improvement. McKee has 12 years of experience with process and technology management in various industries, including electric utility, financial services and wholesale distribution. His responsibilities will focus on employee training, quality assurance and procedural efficiency.
Anixter International Inc. (Glenview, Ill.): Robert W. Grubbs will retire as president and chief executive officer at the end of June. He will be succeeded by Chief Operating Officer Robert Eck. Eck has been head of operations since September 2007. He has been with Anixter for 17 years. Grubbs worked 30 years for Anixter and has served as president and chief executive since 1998. Grubbs will continue to serve on the company's board of directors.
Allied Wire & Cable (Collegeville, Pa.): Bill Hanisch, a long-time wire and cable industry professional, joined the Wisconsin branch of Allied Wire & Cable as a sales representative in January. Hanisch possesses 28 years of experience in the electrical wire business. Pat Vaccaro joined the company in March as an outside sales representative based in Florida. The addition of Vaccaro means a growing presence for Allied Wire in the Southern United States. Vaccaro brings more than 30 years of experience in the electronic component business to Allied Wire. He most recently worked in the wire and cable industry. He spent several years with KSM Electronics and Alpha Wire Co.