National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Rosslyn, Va.: Joel Spira, founder, chairman and director of research of Lutron Electronics, Coopersburg, Pa., will receive NEMA’s 2010 Bernard H. Falk Award, at the association’s annual conference in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 6. Spira formed Lutron Electronics in 1961 to market his invention of the first electronic solid state dimmer for incandescent lighting and is credited with 266 design patents and 226 utility patents.
NEMA will also present Kite and Key Awards to recognize individuals from NEMA member companies who have advanced the interest of the electroindustry through active and sustained involvement in NEMA activities. This year’s recipients are John Goodsell, V.P. of research and engineering, Hubbell Electrical Systems; Helen Harris, financial analyst, Schneider Electric; Frank Kitzantides, who has held various positions at NEMA, including senior vice president and chief technical officer; Vince Saporita, V.P., technical sales at Cooper Bussmann; and Harry Solomon, interoperability architect at GE Healthcare.
Border States Electric (BSE), (Fargo, N.D.): Gerald “Poke” Buck has been named V.P. of sales and Jason Stein has been named V.P. of the Northwest region. Buck has been with Border States since May 2003 and has served as a supply chain services specialist, business development specialist, Northwest region manager, and V.P. Northwest region. He has been a member of the company’s executive council since November 2005. Prior to coming to BSE, Buck worked for Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. for more than 20 years. Stein joined BSE in May 1995 as a part of the company’s management trainee program. He has worked in various positions including product manager, automation account manager, Northwest region industrial sales manager and director of sales. In April 2010, he was named V.P. of sales and to the company’s executive council.
Universal Electric Corp. (UEC), (Canonsburg, Pa.): Graham Tester has been appointed to Northern European region sales manager and Bruce Moore was appointed Asia Region sales manager. Tester was formerly with Telecom Technologies in the U.K., where he served as sales director. He brings more than a decade of sales and customer relations experience to UEC developing and growing new business sectors for a number of European companies and products. Moore joins UEC from Belden Singapore Pte, Ltd., a global provider of copper/fiber cable and wireless signal transmission solutions for industrial applications. Universal Electric Corp. is a manufacturer of power distribution systems.
IEWS Global Solutions (New Berlin, Wis.): Kyle Spader will become U.S. Division president, effective Jan. 1, 2011. Filling this U.S. Division President’s position will allow Corporate President and CEO David Nestingen to focus on the company’s broader global initiatives, while Spader will lead the U.S. operations. Spader joined IEWC in 2000 after having served as a manager with the accounting firm Deloitte in its Milwaukee office. At IEWC, he began in the role of controller and eventually became CFO. IEWC is a supplier of wire, cable and wire management products for OEMs and sub-assemblers.
Lunera Lighting, Inc. (Redwood City, Calif.): Former Hewlett Packard and Lumileds executive Karen Owyeung has joined Lunera as its new CEO. Owyeung brings with her nearly 20 years of marketing, operations and general management experience in the LED industry. Owyeung began her career in LED technology at Hewlett Packard’s Optoelectronics Division. She held executive management positions in marketing and worldwide manufacturing operations at Hewlett Packard prior to becoming the general manager of the division.
Cree Inc. (Durham, N.C.): Robert Tillman, former chairman and chief executive officer of the Lowe’s Companies, was elected to Cree’s board of directors. Tillman will sit on the board’s Compensation Committee, Cree said. Tillman, 67, served as chairman of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. from 1998 to 2005, as its president and chief executive officer from 1996 to 2005, and as a member of its board of directors from 1994 to 2005. Interestingly, after his retirement from Lowe’s in 2005, he served as a member of the board of directors of Bank of America Corp. from 2005 to 2009 and was a member of its Executive and Asset Quality committees.