People

Feb. 1, 2007
Promotions and new appointments in the electrical industry.

Universal Lighting Technologies (Nashville, Tenn.): Dan Cheetham has been named vice president, OEM and international sales. Cheetham comes to Universal Lighting from Leviton Manufacturing, where he served as director of OEM sales. He has 26 years of experience in the industry.

Siemens Energy & Automation Inc. (Atlanta): Tom Kopanski, currently vice president of the Automation and Motion Division (AMD), has been named the new vice president of the Power Distribution and Controls Division (PD&C). Raj Batra, vice president of the Automotive and Aerospace Center of Competence, has been named vice president of the Automation and Motion Division. Kopanski will lead the Power Distribution & Controls Division of Siemens Energy & Automation, including the Circuit Protection, Controls and Electrical Apparatus business units.

Affiliated Distributors (King of Prussia, Pa.): Peter Classon has been named vice president of information technology. He joins A-D from LiquidHub, where he was a founding member of the firm's management consulting practice before being promoted to director of the application solutions practice. He led the team of LiquidHub consultants that implemented MyA-D.net, the proprietary extranet that serves A-D members and suppliers.

US Electrical Services LLC (Exton, Pa.): Jeff Shovak has been appointed vice president, Information Technology. Previously director of information technology for Electrical Wholesalers of Connecticut, Hartford, Conn. Shovak has more than 24 years of operational and information technology experience in the electrical distribution industry. Prior to Electrical Wholesalers, he worked at Graco Electrical Supplies in East Windsor, Conn., for 12 years as data processing manager and controller.

Leviton Manufacturing Co. (Little Neck, N.Y.): David Pomierski has been appointed South-West region specification engineer for the company's Voice and Data Division. In his new post, Pomierski will provide technical sales support for the company's line of data communication products.

Kunz-Powell & Associates Inc. (Malvern, Pa.): Brendan T. Powell was promoted to president. His father, Bob Powell, will continue to work on a full-time basis for the next five to six years. During this time, Brendan will make the transition from salesman to owner and CEO of the agency. He has been with Kunz-Powell for 11 years.

Ferraz Shawmut (Newburyport, Mass.): The company announced two significant changes in its sales and marketing team. Mark Taylor has joined the company as its new vice president of OEM sales, and Dean Cousins assumes the newly created position of vice president of business development. Taylor will be responsible for all of Ferraz Shawmut's OEM sales operations.

NESCO (Canton, Mass.): Stephen M. Fetter has been named director of sales for the company's national accounts division, a supplier of lighting and switchgear products. Fetter will be responsible for managing day-to-day activities of the national accounts sales team. Fetter has served in various sales management positions with Amerlux Lighting Solutions and Indy Lighting.

Arthur J. Hurley Co. (Boston): Russ Sweeney has been named the new chief financial officer of this family-owned and operated distributor of wire and cable serving the electrical industry. Sweeney has more than 40 years of accounting and finance experience, most recently serving as a controller for the company.

Hoffman, a Pentair Co. (Anoka, Minn.): The company announced a series of promotions within its sales and marketing department management team. Margie Basney, director of sales for Hoffman Industrial/Electric, has been promoted to vice president of U.S. Electrical Sales for the Hoffman Division. Basney joined Hoffman in 1990. Scott Marion, vertical market manager for commercial, has been promoted to director of sales for Hoffman's U.S. Electrical Division. Marion joined Hoffman in early 2005 after 14 years with General Electric. David Huml, vertical market manager for consumer and energy, assumes a role as Hoffman's manager of electrical marketing. He joined Hoffman in early 2006. Joe Stark, vertical market manager for Hoffman Data Networking, will now assume responsibility for both marketing and sales in the DataCom segment as Hoffman's national manager of DataCom Sales and Marketing.

Mike McAuliffe Sales (Hazel Park, Mich.): Matt McAuliffe, vice president of sales, has been promoted to partner. The son of founder Mike McAuliffe, Matt has been with the company since 1989. With a strong background in accounting, Matt will retain his current responsibilities of managing the company's sales and marketing from the company's Hazel Park, Mich., headquarters, in addition to taking on his new role as partner.

Obituaries

Thomas Edward Becker, former chairman of the board of the Becker Electric Supply Co., Dayton, Ohio, died Jan. 30. He was 81 years old.

For 56 years, Becker was chairman of the board of the Becker Electric Supply Co. founded by his father, John A. Becker, in 1920. He held board positions, chairmanship positions and memberships in organizations including The Electric Club of Dayton and the Home Builders Association. He served two terms on the board of governors for the National Association of Electrical Distributors.

Becker is survived by his sister, Barbara White Neff; two daughters, Catherine Carter and Dianne Becker; two sons, Thomas J. Becker and James R. Becker; and nine grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Becker's memory may be made to The Miami Valley Hospital Foundation, 31 Wyoming St., Dayton, Ohio 45409. Online condolences for the family may be sent to www.routsong.com.

Sanford (Sandy) l. Leff Sr., former chairman of the H. Leff Electric Co., Cleveland, died Jan. 22. He was 88 years old.

Leff began working in the electrical distribution firm at age 14. His father, Harry, founded the family-run business. Today, Leff Electric is a major commercial wholesaler with eight locations in Ohio.

During his career, Leff served on the board of the National Association of Electrical Distributors, St. Louis. He was a past president of the Electric League of Northern Ohio.

Leff was preceded in death by his wife, Seena Glaser. He is survived by his sons, Drew, Bruce, Sanford Jr., and Stuart; his daughter, Deeda Shubert; and seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Northeast Ohio Chapter, 23775 Commerce Park Road, Beachwood, Ohio 44122 or Hospice of the Western Reserve, 300 East 185th Street, Cleveland, Ohio 44119.

David Jae, founder of the manufacturers' rep firm David Jae & Co. Inc. of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., died Jan. 28. He was 92 years old.

Jae founded the manufacturers' representative firm David Jae & Co. in 1957 and remained a vital part of the business until just prior to his passing. He was an active participant in the electrical industry and was a founding member of the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) in 1969. He served as the association's first chairman (then president) from 1970 to 1972.

He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Sophie, in 2001. He is survived by his daughter, Estelle Dariani; son, Joel; and grandchildren, Samareh and David.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jae's memory to the Pelham Jewish Center, 451 Esplanade, Pelham, NY 10803, or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 120 Wall Street, 19th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10005. Condolences may be sent to the Jae Family, 28 Manning Circle Pelham, N.Y. 10803.