Electrical People: New CEO for Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation Inc. (Milwaukee): The company’s board of directors named Blake Moret as president and CEO, replacing Keith Nosbusch, who has served in those roles since 2004. He will take the post on July 1. Moret, 53, began his career with Rockwell in 1985 as a sales trainee, eventually serving in senior positions in sales and business management across the company before being named senior vice president of control products and solutions in 2011. Nosbusch, 65, will transition from his former roles while continuing as chairman of the board.

Anamet Electrical (Matoon, Ill.):  Sam McCammon has been promoted to executive V. P. from V.P. of engineering.  He has more than 25 years experience with manufacturing, engineering and operations. McCammon earned his mechanical engineering degree from the University of Illinois and his M.B.A. from Eastern Illinois University. Reporting to him are Anamet’s engineering, production, purchasing, and human resources departments.

Omni Cable (West Chester, Pa.): The company has hired Jim Alton as regional manager of the Los Angeles branch.   In this role, Alton will provide business leadership to the Los Angeles branch and oversee sales, development, and distribution for the southern California region. Prior to joining the company, Alton was the Pacific Industrial Division automation manager at CED. Alton has also worked previously at Omni Cable. He is a graduate of Washington University.

Nora Lighting (Commerce, Calif.):  Michael Howell has joined the company as Western regional sales manager. Howell brings nearly 25 years of lighting experience to the position, and will represent the company throughout the western U.S. and western Canada. He will work with Nora’s network of commercial and showroom sales rep agencies, along with Nora distributorships, lighting specifiers and contractors. Howell has worked as a regional manager for Lightolier-Forecast and LBL Lighting Sales, overseeing showroom and commercial sales. He has also worked with Eoff Electric and North Coast Electric in Oregon and Idaho.

Emerson (St. Louis): Michael Train will become the executive V.P.  and group business leader of the company’s  newly structured Automation Solutions business, effective May 1. He succeeds Steven Sonnenberg, who will be chairman of the business. Automation Solutions will become one of two main business platforms for Emerson under a repositioning plan that began last year. The business will contain the operations and leading brands of Process Management, ASCO, Branson and Appleton units. Both Train and Sonnenberg will report directly to Emerson Chairman and CEO David Farr.

Train has been president of Emerson Process Management global sales since 2010. He held a series of other international executive posts after joining the company in 1991.

Intermatic Inc. (Spring Grove, Ill.): Steven French is now director of sales for electrical distribution for Intermatic and its global brands, including Grässlin controls. According to Michael Bartindale, Intermatic V. P. of sales, French’s new role includes responsibility for national accounts, U.S. sales in electrical distribution, and the application sales specialist team that supports specifiers and facility managers. Kevin Polechko, Cindy Nichols and Jim Spurr will manage Intermatic’s agent sales group across the U.S. for Intermatic and Grässlin products as regional sales managers.

French served most recently as director of sales for the Southern U.S. Region and has been with Intermatic for eight years. The role change will allow Bartindale to focus on further building Intermatic’s business in Europe across the Americas, including Mexico and Brazil. Intermatic is expanding its Mexico City sales team and adding business development activities.

In other Intermatic news, Mindy Greenlee was appointed senior marketing manager for the company’s digital programs worldwide. Her team will also focus on Grässlin control products, which are popular throughout Europe, South America, and Asia, and now in parts of India as well. Greenlee has been with Intermatic for two years, serving most recently as manager of creative services.