People News - June 14, 2024 Update

Standard Electric Supply (Milwaukee, WI)

Mike Harvey, VP of Sales and Marketing, will be retiring after 44 years of service on June 28. He began his career with the company in 1980 and was promoted to his current position in 1992.
Under his leadership, the company expanded its market share and experienced solid growth year-after-year. During his tenure as VP, Standard Electric Supply added 15 new locations throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.
Larry Stern, company president, said in the press release, “Mike’s entrepreneurial spirit has driven much of our innovation and growth. He possesses a unique blend of vision and leadership and has built strong partnerships with our supplier partners and customers. His wealth of knowledge and experience will be difficult to replace, and his dedication, leadership and personal friendship will be missed.”
Succeeding Harvey will be Dan Knapp, the company’s senior sales director. He has been with the company 12 years. Matt Stern, the company’s COO, said in the press release, “Dan has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, strategic thinking and a deep understanding of our industry. I have no doubt that he will continue building on the strong foundation Mike established and take our company to even greater heights.”

Border States Electric (Fargo, ND)

The company announced a restructuring of its leadership team. As previously announced, Jason Seger is now president and CEO following the retirement of David White, former CEO. The company’s senior leadership team now includes:
People and Technology: Kelly Dawson — VP-HR, Employee Relations and Total Rewards; and Jason Stein — Chief Information Officer.
Finance, Legal and Compliance: Jeremy Welsand — CFO and Nick Vaughn — VP, General Counsel
Supply Chain: James Sipe — Executive VP– Supply Chain and Shane McMenamy — VP-Distribution; Zack Kincaid, VP-Distribution; Wiley Taylor — VP-Distribution; Tony Serati — VP-Supply Chain Strategy and Optimization; and Richelle Bishoff — VP-Procurement.
Demand Generation: Don Masters — Executive VP–Sales and Marketing; Megan Friedrich — VP-Revenue Operations; Geoff Murphy — VP-Vendor Relations;  Matt Eddleman — Executive VP-Construction; Steve Freiburger — senior VP-Industrial; Jeff Stauffer — senior VP-Utility; Ryan Evans — VP-Construction Solutions; Shane Kerska — VP-Industrial Solutions; and Patrick Novak — VP-Utility Sales Leaders.

MaxLite (Pine Brook, NJ)

The company’s board of advisors has appointed Lance Hollner as president & CEO. A lighting industry veteran, Hollner brings over two decades of lighting expertise and knowledge to MaxLite, along with a strong track record of delivering results, driving continuous improvement and developing talent. Much of his career has been spent at manufacturers including Acuity, Lutron, Encelium Technologies and Avion Controls, holding various general management sales leadership and product management roles.
Before joining MaxLite, Hollner spent the last five years as executive VP at Diversified Group, a rep firm serving eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York City. In that role, he helped guide territory expansion into New Jersey and New York while building a controls and services team. He brings experience with turnkey renovation lighting and EV infrastructure sales and has substantial experience working with international suppliers and contract manufacturers. He has an engineering degree from Georgia Tech.

IMARK Electrical (Oxon Hill, MD)

Steve Ruane will be retiring at the end of the year. A 43-year veteran of the electrical industry and one of the market’s true gentlemen, Ruane has served as IMARK Electrical’s VP of Marketing for the past 23 years. His retirement is effective on Dec. 31, 2024.
Bob Smith, IMARK’s president and CEO, said in the press release, “Steve has been an integral and valued member of our executive team for many years. We have benefitted from his perspectives, his insights and his leadership. We’ll miss him.”

OBITUARY

Dirk Van Dongen, one of the true giants in the wholesale-distribution industry during his 41-years leading the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), passed away on June 8. Van Dongen was one of Washington’s power players in the business lobbying community and was widely respected during his tenure for building NAW into one of the premier lobbying associations in DC and for pushing pro-business policies on Capitol Hill.
Eric Hoplin, the current CEO of NAW, said on www.naw.org, “I often told Dirk Van Dongen that he was a living legend. Throughout his four-decade tenure, he transformed NAW into a powerhouse in Washington. Dirk mentored generations of trade association leaders, including myself. He played a pivotal role in electing hundreds of members of Congress, all while advising them on the importance of free enterprise.”
Dirk was never too busy at NAW annual meetings to chat with EW editors in attendance and to welcome them to the event. We will miss him, and send our regards to his wife, Maryann, and daughters, Rachel and Marissa.