Summit Electric Supply (Albuquerque, N.M.):Joe Chesky, senior vice president of asset management, will become Summit’s first senior vice president of business development. Chesky has been with Summit since 1986 and helped establish the company’s significant presence in Texas. Drew Ott, vice president of sales since 2006, will take on Chesky’s former role, overseeing purchasing, inventory, pricing and supplier relations. [ED NOTE: The original version of this item gave Ott an incorrect title.] The company also has split its 20 locations into two sales regions. Dan Ferrari, formerly the company’s Houston service center leader and a 30-year veteran of the industry, has been promoted to regional vice president of the Gulf Coast Region. He will remain in Houston. Scott Cogan, the Phoenix service center leader since 1996, will serve as regional vice president of the Southwest Region. Cogan, who joined Summit in 1983, will return to Albuquerque to assume his new role.
EYE Lighting International of North America (Mentor, Ohio): Tom Salpietra is now president and chief operating officer. Prior to joining EYE Lighting, Salpietra held senior executive positions with Cooper Industries and Acuity Brands Lighting. He replaces Keith Ward, who left in May to become president, CEO and a member of the board of directors at Luminus, Billerica, Mass., a manufacturer of LED products.
First Solar Inc. (Tempe, Ariz.):Robert Gillette has been appointed chief executive officer, succeeding Mike Ahearn. Gillette spent the last four and a half years as the CEO and president of Honeywell Aerospace. In this role, he led more than 40,000 associates at nearly 100 worldwide manufacturing and service sites. First Solar had 2008 revenues of $1.2 billion, up from $498 million in 2007. The 4,000-employee company went public in 2007 and is one of the largest manufacturers of thin-film photovoltaic panels in the world.
Cobra Wire & Cable (Hatboro, Pa.):Tom Stone is now national sales manager. In his new position, Stone will be responsible for the overall execution of the company’s field sales initiatives. Cobra Wire & Cable produces power cable and connectivity for various markets including central office, data centers, marine operations, battery applications and the energy market.
Landis+Gyr (Alpharetta, Ga.):Heath Thompson is now vice president and CTO, North America. He comes to the company from posts at Internet Security Systems and IBM.
W. W. Grainger Inc. (Lake Forest, Ill): Sean O’Brien has been named president of Acklands-Grainger Inc., Grainger’s Canadian subsidiary. O’Brien’s new responsibilities include oversight of the Canadian business operations which had revenues of approximately $728 million in 2008. O’Brien succeeds and reports to Court Carruthers who became senior vice president and president, Grainger International, in March. O’Brien joined Acklands-Grainger as vice president of sales in November 2007 and has led several key initiatives in business services, inventory solutions, training and sales effectiveness. Earlier this year, O’Brien took on additional responsibilities for E-business and marketing. In other personnel moves at Grainger, Jeff Yin has been named vice president and general manager, Grainger China, based in Shanghai. Yin’s new responsibilities include oversight of the Chinese business operations, which had revenues of approximately $10 million in 2008. Yin joined Grainger China in April 2007 as director of sales and marketing, and has been integral in growing the company’s customer base, services and offerings in China.
Allied Wire & Cable, (Collegeville, Pa.): has hired two new sales representatives: Michael Cresswell and Isaac Rose. Both will work at the Collegeville, Pa., headquarters. Cresswell is a 2007 graduate of Shippensburg University and Rose is a 2008 graduate of Drexel University.
Stahlin Non-Metallic Enclosures (Belding, Mich.): Craig Mitchell has been appointed general manager. He has more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing, most recently as vice president of operations for Key Plastics. Mitchell obtained his BBA degree from Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids.