Platt Electric Supply Inc. (Beaverton, Ore.): Jeffrey Baker was recently appointed to the newly created position of chief operating officer. Baker came to Platt in 2007 after spending more than 32 years with Poorman Douglas Corp., where he ended his tenure as CEO.The COO role was created to take advantage of Baker’s expertise in sales, marketing and vendor relations, as Platt continues aggressive growth and expansion. Harvey Platt and Jay Platt remain in their roles as CEO and president respectively. Platt Electric Supply is a family owned distributor of electrical and related products with 98 locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and California.
Monte Carlo Fan Co. (Riverside, N.J.): The ceiling fan division of Sea Gull Lighting Products LLC, a Generation Brands Co., appointed several new sales leaders in support of the company’s recent integration plan, while reassigning selected existing members of the company to new roles. Sales management for the Monte Carlo brand will now be led by Spencer Bolgard, vice president of sales, for the Sea Gull Lighting and Monte Carlo brands. Bolgard is a six-year company veteran. Prior to joining the company in 2002, he served as vice president, Electrical Supply Division at Affiliated Distributors, following various sales and marketing positions with GE, Leviton Manufacturing, and Motorola. Joining the new team of sales leaders for the Monte Carlo brand are several seasoned sales professionals: Scott Torontali joins the Monte Carlo Fan Co. as vice president/national sales manager. Most recently, Torontali served as vice president of sales for Hunter Fan Corp.’s Casablanca Division, after serving nine years in various sales roles at Black & Decker Corp. To further support the company’s growth, the Monte Carlo Fan Co. has appointed Scott Forst to the role of Eastern regional sales manager. Forst joins Monte Carlo after serving several years in sales and sales management for Hunter Fan Corp.’s Casablanca Division, with a strong background in consumer channel sales, lighting showrooms, and national buying groups. Stephanie David also joins the Sea Gull Lighting & Monte Carlo Fan Co. team as director of business development, corporate accounts, for both brands. Before joining the Sea Gull Lighting / Monte Carlo team, David led several key sales initiatives for the lighting showroom channel with other market leading manufacturers, including the Kohler Co. and Lutron Electronics. She also worked for Ferguson Enterprises, the largest plumbing supplier in the U.S., as their builder sales manager for the Philadelphia market. Dennis Davenport, the creator of the company’s premium ceiling fan brand, has been named vice president of product development.
American Fluorescent (Waukegan, Ill.): Mark H. Kardon was recently appointed vice president-marketing. He is responsible for establishing strategic direction, new product initiatives, product profitability and marketing communications. Kardon has a marketing background covering business and consumer products, including the electrical industry. Mark Groenke has joined the company as manager of product engineering. His team will lead the development of new lighting products while supporting current product lines. Groenke’s product development experience includes consumer and commercial products in the lighting, automotive, food service and medical supply industries. Gary Stabelfeldt, principle engineer, has assumed responsibility for commercial lighting and custom product R&D. His lighting expertise and knowledge will help the company evaluate new technologies and applications for continued growth.
Border States (Fargo, N.D.): Ryan Seckman has been named Southwest region business development manager for Border States. Seckman joined the company in April 2005 as an account manager for the company’s Phoenix branch. In his new position, he will participate on the company’s Southwest region management team and provide direction for new and expanded business opportunities. Before joining Border States, he was the Phoenix district market manager for Graybar.
National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED, St. Louis): Burt Schraga is the new chair-elect of the NAED Board of Directors. In this position, Schraga, CEO of the Santa Clara, Calif.-based Bell Electrical Supply, will prepare to lead the NAED board during 2009-2010. Schraga is a 34-year veteran of the industry; he got his start in the industry by turning a college job into a lifetime career. Schraga has dedicated the last three-plus decades to Bell Electrical Supply. This month, Bell Electrical is merging with Industrial Control Components to further expand its offerings. Throughout his career, Schraga has taken on many leadership positions within NAED. He served two terms on the association’s board of directors from 1985-1987 and 1994-1996, and was also Western Region vice president. He has also chaired both the NAED Strategic Focus and Executive Conference committees. His strong commitment to electrical distribution has also extended to other organizations within the channel. Schraga is currently chairman of the Elite Distributors Insurance Co. (EDIC) and is a member of the Affiliated Distributors (A-D) U.S. Electrical Board. Under Schraga’s leadership, Bell Electrical was presented with the A-D 2007-2008 Affiliate of the Year Award. NAED is currently directed by Tammy Miller, CEO of Border States Electric Supply. At the association’s first National Electrical Leadership Summit, May 17-21, Richard (Dick) Waterman, senior advisor of International Electric Supply Corp. (IESCO), will become NAED board chair for the 2008-2009 year.