Graybar Electric Co. (St. Louis): Executive Chairman of the Board Robert Reynolds, Jr. will retire effective Jan. 1, 2013. Reynolds was succeeded as president and CEO by Kathleen Mazzarella in June. Upon Reynolds' retirement in January, Mazzarella will also serve as chairman of the board. Reynolds has been with Graybar for 40 years, including nearly 12 years as chairman, president and CEO. He has served as executive chairman of the board since June 1 of this year.
During his time as CEO, Reynolds led Graybar through times of economic prosperity and recession, strengthened the company's financial condition and invested in technology to prepare the business for future growth. Reynolds has also been actively involved in industry, civic and community organizations, serving as chairman of the National Association of Wholesale Distributors, the National Association of Electrical Distributors and the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association.
Border States Electric (Fargo, N.D.): Martin Duran has been named branch operations manager for Border States Electric's (BSE's) El Paso, Texas, location. Duran joined BSE in June 1998 as a customer service representative. He has also worked as an account manager, customer service supervisor and most recently branch operations supervisor. Before joining Border States he worked at Gorman Industrial as a customer service representative and outside salesperson.
Electric Supply Center (ESC) (Boston): As account manager Daniel O'Toole will focus on switchgear, lighting and large commodity opportunities for new and existing ESC customers, as well as working on design build projects and offering value engineering options when needed. O'Toole previously worked for Granite City Electric and Graybar. ESC said in a press release that during his five years at Granite City Electric, O'Toole generated millions of dollars in sales, exceeded gross profit goals, and significantly grew target accounts.
USA Wire & Cable Inc. (USAWC) (Austin, Texas): New account manager Trey Sitterle will be responsible for sales through electrical distributor accounts in parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and North Dakota and South Dakota. Prior to joining USAWC, he worked for the United States Department of Agriculture, Sysco Food Services and Ranger Marketing, where he was a manufacturers' representative. Sitterle graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in agriculture economics.
Bridgeport Fittings (Stratford, Conn.): Wayne Beach is now technical sales manager. He will generate and manage sales through Bridgeport's distributor partner channel; train distributors, sales representatives and the end-user community; and assist Bridgeport's reps in attaining their sales goals. An experienced construction electrician, Beach is a 15-year veteran of Glynn Electric, working as foreman and project manager. He also spent 20 years with the U.S. Navy Seabees. In addition to his field responsibilities, Beach is a certified instructor for the Massachusetts Apprenticeship Program in the areas of electrical theory, trouble shooting, NEC review, bonding and grounding, along with hands-on wiring and conduit installation training.
Evolucia Inc. (Sarasota, Fla.): Charles Rockwood has been appointed executive V.P. and CFO. Rockwood brings 25 years of financial and operational experience to Evolucia, with a specialized background in public and regulated environments. During his 25-year-career, Rockwood has held CFO, COO and CEO positions at companies including Academic Press, Ocwen Technology Xchange, Data Warehouse and Kesselring Holding Corp. Most recently, Rockwood was the Chief Financial Officer at Green Jets Inc. He holds a B.S. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Suffolk University.
Pike Electric Corp. (Mt. Airy, N.C.): This provider of energy solutions for the utility market says James Turner has joined its board of directors. Turner is now an executive mentor with Merryk & Co., a business leader mentoring firm and previously was president and CEO of Duke Energy's U.S. franchised electric and gas business.
Powell Industries, Inc. (Houston): The manufacturer of switchgear and motor controls named Michael Lucas president and chief executive officer. For the past 14 years, Lucas has held various senior management positions at Emerson, most recently as president, Emerson Network Power Energy Systems. He also was previously president of Emerson's Sola/Hevi-Duty business. Before Emerson, Lucas was director of business development for Alfa Laval Automation, and before that a senior product manager at Cutler-Hammer. Lucas has a B.S. in electrical engineering from Bradley University and an MBA from the University of Chicago.