NorthEast Electrical Distributors, a subsidiary of Sonepar-USA (Canton, Mass): Robert Leland has assumed the newly created role of regional sales director for the Eastern Massachusetts & Worcester, Mass., markets. Leland joined NorthEast Electrical Distributors as part of the Ralph Pill Electric Supply Co. acquisition last year. Leland has more than 15 years of experience in the electrical distribution industry as well as sales leadership roles in the wireless and wire-line telecommunication industries. Leland will manage the Canton regional outside sales force and report to Pat Blake, vice president of sales for the region. Leland’s responsibilities include improving the communication between the outside sales, inside sales, and project teams. He will also interface with key customers, manufacturers, and reps.
Graybar Electric Co. (St. Louis): Matthew W. Geekie has been elected senior vice president, secretary and general counsel. In his new capacity, Geekie will lead Graybar’s legal department and serve on the company’s board of directors. Additionally, he is responsible for risk management. He replaces Thomas F. Dowd, who retired after 11 years of service with Graybar. Geekie reports to Graybar Chairman, President and CEO Robert A. Reynolds Jr. Geekie has more than 20 years of legal experience. Prior to joining Graybar in February as deputy general counsel, he served as general counsel and secretary at XTRA Corp., a Berkshire Hathaway company. He has also served as assistant general counsel at Emerson Process Management.
WESCO (Pittsburgh): Steven J. Riordan, vice president, Operations of WESCO International Inc. announced that he will retire from his position with the company effective Sept. 1. Riordan’s employment agreement with the company will be terminated in connection with his retirement. David Bemoras, currently serving as vice president, sales and marketing of Communications Supply Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, assumed the role of vice president, Operations, on Aug. 1, and is transitioning into Riordan’s duties.
Fire-Lite Alarms, part of Honeywell’s Life Safety Group (Northford, Conn.): David Pakech has been named vice president of sales. Pakech will improve speed to market and increase support of new products among distributors, dealers and end users. Prior to joining Fire-Lite, Pakech managed a variety of teams, from sales to engineering, in support of distributor and end-user accounts throughout multiple U.S. territories. During his nearly 20 years in the electrical equipment industry, Pakech has held long-term positions with such companies as Westinghouse Electric Corp. and most recently, Siemens Energy & Automation Inc.
LDPI Lighting (Eau Claire, Wis.): Kevin Kasmiskie has been named regional sales manager. In his new capacity, Kasmiskie will work with independent lighting representatives and OEM partners to market LDPI Lighting products in the North Central and Northeastern United States. Kasmiskie most recently represented Lighting Luma Sales in Minneapolis, Minn., and has previous experience as the vice president of sales at JJI Lighting in Minnesota.
Schréder Lighting USA (Chicago): Eric Hardesty has been appointed sales engineer. Hardesty will be responsible for coordinating engineering products for special and custom applications and performance. Hardesty served as national accounts sales engineer and application engineer for Ruud Lighting. He also was sales associate and assistant showroom manager for Portland, Ore.-based Globe Lighting and Colorado Springs-based Home Lighting.