Electrical People: Flannery to succeed Immelt at GE

General Electric (Boston): John Flannery, current president and CEO of GE Healthcare, has been named CEO of the company by the GE board of directors effective Aug. 1, and chairman and CEO effective January 1, 2018.  Jeff Immelt, chairman and CEO, will remain chairman of the board through his retirement from the company on Dec.31. In addition, Jeff Bornstein, current CFO, has also been promoted to vice chair of GE.  The leadership announcements are the result of a succession plan that has been run by the GE board of directors since 2011.

Buckles-Smith Electric (Santa Clara): John Sanchez joined the company as an inside salesperson working out of the company’s headquarters.  He is a military veteran who served in the Navy for four years before starting in the electrical industry. Beginning his career as a driver in 2000, Sanchez built his experience as he advanced to the warehouse and then to purchasing.  Working in various locations and positions throughout San Diego, Sanchez spent the last eight years working for Main Electric, San Diego, as a warehouse manager and inside sales representative.

Pelican Products, Inc. (Torrance, CA): Landon Verhoeven has been appointed to lead this lighting manufacturer’s commercial sales operations in the western United States. Verhoeven will be taking over for the recently promoted Vice President, Mitra Giles, to lead Pelican’s commercial sales staff in 15 western states. His charge is to drive new business development in the company’s multi-million dollar Commercial Division which includes the law enforcement, fire safety, industrial and government industries.

Verhoeven worked his way up through the ranks of Pelican sales from a regional sales role to regional sales manager to his new role by consistently growing his sales nearly 10% year-over-year throughout his tenure. Prior to joining Pelican, he worked for Battery Systems where he drove double-digit sales growth for his sales territory. Verhoeven holds a BA from Azusa Pacific University.

Kobi Electric (Fort Worth, TX): James Highgate has joined this LED lighting manufacturer as a sales representative responsible for developing national accounts. Highgate’s appointment coincides with Kobi’s launch of several new product categories, including LED commercial downlight retrofit kits, under-cabinet fixtures and linear high bays. Highgate is a career lighting expert. He created The LED Show to promote energy efficient lighting and introduce energy efficient lighting products, and has been active with the Illuminating Engineering Society (IESNA),  co-authoring numerous IES publications and writing articles for lighting community trade publications.

Knipex Tools (Buffalo Grove, IL): Daryl Warren has joined the tool company as key accounts sales manager. Warren has more than 20 years of industry experience, most recently as a regional sales manager at General Tools and Instruments and before that in positions in strategic accounts, marketing, sales and management at LA-CO Industries/Markal and JPW Industries.

Warren earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. He lives in Cary, Ill., with his wife and three children. In his spare time, Warren enjoys traveling for his children’s sporting events and volunteering as a basketball coach for the Cary Basketball Association.

Platinum Tools (Newbury Park, CA): Jason Chesla is now marketing manager. He recently worked with T3 Innovation and its sister company LiveWire Innovation as sales and marketing manager and sales and marketing consultant, respectively. Chesla has a BA in marketing from Grand Valley State University and also served with the U.S. Navy.