People

Sept. 1, 2006
Brook Electrical Distribution Co., a division of Sonepar USA (Lincolnshire, Ill.): Mike Wall has been appointed president. He succeeds David Rosenstein

Brook Electrical Distribution Co., a division of Sonepar USA (Lincolnshire, Ill.): Mike Wall has been appointed president. He succeeds David Rosenstein who is no longer with the company. Michael Nuccio has been appointed chief operating officer. He had been chief financial officer of the company since January 2001. Prior to joining Brook, he held executive-level financial-management positions with various Chicago-based distributors and retail companies.

U.S. Electrical Services LLC (USESI, Chester Springs, Pa.): Arthur Namerow, former co-owner of the recently acquired Electrical Wholesalers, will serve as executive vice president and chairman of the USESI Vendor Partner Council. Namerow will be responsible for coordinating vendor partnerships and agreements. Randy Moore has been appointed president of the Florida region. Moore joins USESI from Sonepar USA where he was vice president of operations for the World Electric Division.

Ideal Industries Inc. (Sycamore, Ill.): Rob Conrad has been appointed sales training/development manager. Conrad has worked for Ideal as a senior area sales manager for the past seven years, covering eastern Tennessee, northwest Georgia and a portion of Atlanta.

Munro Electric (Fall River, Mass.): Kenneth Vario was recently named senior vice president of construction sales. He will work with the company's inside and outside sales organization. Vario joined Munro in 1996. Kati Amarantes has been appointed marketing coordinator.

Westinghouse Lighting Corp. (Philadelphia): George C. Mabin has been promoted to divisional general manager of lamps and decorative electrical. Mark Lynders has been promoted to divisional general manager of the ceiling fan and lighting fixture business units.

Cleaves-Bessmer-Marietti Inc. (Kansas City, Mo.): Larry Robinson has been appointed executive vice president. He will continue his duties as head of the CBM Telecom Division while assisting John Caulfield, president, in the day-to-day running of the company.

NESCO (Canton, Mass.): Johnnie F. Pechal has joined the company as senior account executive for its national accounts division. Pechal will be based in Dallas and will be responsible for managing business with key target accounts on a national level.

Schneider Electric (Palatine, Ill.): Christopher B. Curtis has been named president, Schneider Electric USA. He will be responsible for electrical distribution, automation and control, and service business activities in the United States. Jason Klann has been promoted to senior vice president, business development and strategy. In this role, Klann and his team will continue to drive external growth through acquisitions, as well as work with the North American operating division to develop and grow Schneider Electric's business strategies.

The Robert A. Amey Co. (Portland, Ore.): Jay Poe will expand the company's efforts to market products targeted at the expanding voice/data/video markets. Previously, he was the datacom sales manager for Platt Electric Supply. Poe also has voice/data/video experience with Graybar Electric.

Ferraz Shawmut (Newburyport, Mass.): Stephen Colvin has been appointed vice president of marketing. His responsibilities extend to all aspects of the marketing department including product line management, marketing communications, public relations and market research.

Vince Saputo has been named southeast district sales manager for Prism Business Media's Electrical Wholesaling and Electrical Construction & Maintenance (EC&M) magazines. He will work out of the company's Atlanta office. Saputo has a background in business-to-business publishing, sales and association experience. Most recently, he was the sales and marketing manager for the TAPPI Association in the pulp, paper and converting products arena based in Norcross, Ga. Before that, he worked in publishing/management positions in the suburban Chicago area.

Graybar Electric Co. (St. Louis): Paul H. Koebbe has been named national market manager - security. In this new position, Koebbe will be responsible for leading Graybar's security marketing initiative.

IP Group International (Scottsdale, Ariz.): Jeff Darbut has joined the company as an associate, and his responsibilities include adding inventory optimization modules. Jim Hribar has joined IP Group as an associate. He will provide hands-on implementation and business skills in his position.

Cooper Industries Ltd. (Houston): David L. Pawl has been appointed vice president, operations. Pawl will be responsible for manufacturing, capacity planning, distribution and logistics, supply chain and inventory management, strategic sourcing, and quality programs across Cooper's eight business units.

Milbank Manufacturing Co. (Kansas City, Mo.): Lavon Winkler has been appointed president and chief executive officer. Most recently, he served as chief operating officer at Milbank. Winkler succeeds Katrina Henke who was CEO for two years and has been named vice-chairman.

Homac Mfg. Co. (Ormond Beach, Fla.): Mark J. Hammer has been appointed vice president - marketing and sales. In this expanded role, Hammer will have additional responsibilities relating to the execution of various corporate strategies that are expected to drive additional growth and continuous improvement.

Carlon, a Lamson & Sessions Co. (Cleveland): Liz O'Grady has been promoted to national sales manager for the electrical and telecommunications markets. She will be responsible for leading and directing all sales functions, as well as managing relationships with key customers.

Affiliated Distributors (King of Prussia, Pa.): Industry veteran Kim Wanamaker has joined the company as director of marketing. Wanamaker will be working with the marketing/buying group's affiliates and suppliers in the electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning), industrial supply, plumbing and PVF (pipe, valve and fittings) industries to promote marketing programs that drive growth.

Obituaries

Arnold J. Young Jr., co-founder of Young & Champagne Co., a manufacturer's rep firm in Detroit, died July 8. He was 87 years old.

In 1962, Arnold Young and Louis Champagne merged their electrical representative firms to establish Young & Champagne Co. The company joined the National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA) in early 1970 as a charter member. Young served as a member of the board of governors and the executive committee. He was chairman of NEMRA in 1982 and 1983. As chairman of the association, he led the formation of the NEMRA Manufacturers Group (NMG).

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Parkinson's Foundation, 30400 Telegraph Road, Bingham Farms, MI 48025.

Dolores “Dee” Irene Menke, who was a public relations director for the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), died Aug. 8. She was 79 years old.

In addition to her public relations responsibilities, Menke worked with NAED's Governmental Affairs Committee, arranging committee visits to Washington D.C., and meetings with members of Congress and the staff of the National Association of Wholesaler- Distributors (NAW).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice at Greensboro, 2500 Summit Ave., Greensboro, NC 27405.

Walter Stephen Yusen, former president and owner of Yusen Associates Inc., Woburn, Mass., an electrical manufacturers' representative firm, died July 30. He was 70 years old.

Yusen Associates was a founding member of NEMRA. Yusen served as a delegate to the NEMRA founding meeting in 1969 and served as NEMRA's secretary on the association's board of directors. He was co-founder and chair of the NEMRA Computer System.

In 1995, Yusen was named “Man of the Year,” an industry achievement award from the Electric Institute. In 1989, he was awarded the Ganzemuller Electrical Marketing Award (GEM Award) for his contributions to the electrical manufacturers' representatives' industry. He also led Yusen Associates to be recognized with NEMRA's “Top Performing Rep” and “Seven Cs” awards.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Helping Hands, Monkey Helpers for the Disabled, 541 Cambridge St., Boston, MA 02134; or the Yusen Family Scholarship Fund at Dartmouth College, 6066 Development Office, Hanover, NH 03755.