People On the Move - Oct. 25, 2024 Update

Border States Electric (Fargo, ND)

Aaron Hughes, former owner of Advance Electrical Supply and area director at Border States, has been promoted to Mergers and Acquisitions director. 
Hughes started his career in the electrical industry with Power & Generation Testing, performing acceptance and maintenance testing at substations and large industrial end users in the Southeast. He graduated from Tennessee Tech with an electrical engineering degree and Northwestern with his MBA, as well as working in various roles with Square D and Siemens before purchasing Advance Electrical Supply in 2015 with Michael Mayworm. 
In this new role, Hughes will act as a strategic partner in driving Border States’ growth strategy by identifying, evaluating and executing mergers and acquisitions. Hughes brings a unique perspective to the position as the former owner of a company acquired by Border States. Since the acquisition of Advance Electrical, Hughes has worked as area director for Border States’ Illinois/Indiana Area.

Graybar Electric Co. (St. Louis)

The company announced the following leadership changes to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
Dennis DeSousa has been elected chief of staff. He is currently senior vice president and general manager.
David Bender has been promoted to senior VP - East Region. He is currently regional VP for the company’s Western region.
Brian Delaney has been promoted to senior vice president– West Region and Subsidiaries. He is currently regional vice president - U.S. Subsidiaries.
Danna Stone has been promoted to senior VP - Marketing. She is currently vice president - Marketing.
Andy Ipson has been promoted to senior vice president - Supply Chain Management. He is currently district VP in St. Louis.

Verv (London, England)

This provider of energy management technology announced that Derek Wright recently joined the company as chief growth officer. He brings more than two decades of experience in strategic growth and business development, most notably from his tenures at major global companies, including his recent position as senior director of Strategic Alliances at Signify, formerly Philips Lighting. At Signify, Derek was instrumental in forming transformative partnerships across market sectors, leveraging emerging technologies like AI and IoT to develop smart building solutions.

The Verge press release said his leadership in crafting go-to-market strategies and accelerating product innovation through strategic integrations — such as partnerships with Microsoft’s GenAI, Honeywell in Smart Cities, and KontaktIO in Healthcare — helped to reshape the smart building ecosystem. Wright will focus on building alliances with key industry players and establishing technology partnerships that enhance the company’s suite of solutions, including its advanced API integrations in Europe and the United States. These partnerships will enable integration with third-party platforms.
Verv’s technology is designed for both retrofitting existing buildings and future-proofing new developments. Its product line includes the Smart Isolator, Smart Plug, Smart Fused Spur, and Climate Control Device.

Eaton (Cleveland, OH)

Andre Schulten has been elected to the company’s board of directors. Schulten is the chief financial officer (CFO) of Procter & Gamble (P&G). Since joining P&G in 1996, Schulten has served in several finance and accounting management roles in North America, Europe and Asia and has provided leadership for product portfolio strategy, installing new business models and supply chain redesign across global markets. Schulten also led the systems and IT integration for the global Gillette acquisition.

OmniCable (West Chester, PA)

The company promoted Kyle Christensen to national account manager. In his new role, Christensen will work closely with OmniCable’s commercial sales leadership to develop and implement innovative strategies to grow the company’s AD Independent Electrical Supply Division (IESD )
With over a decade of industry experience, Christensen most recently served as OmniCable’s St. Louis territory sales manager. Prior to joining the company, he held sales roles at both LEDVANCE and Border States Electric.

CBM (Lee's Summit, MO)

Chris Kitterman joined the company's Communications team and will be covering Nebraska and Iowa, according to a CBM Linkedin post.

Acclaim Lighting (Los Angeles), CA)

This lighting manufacturer appointed Ethan Aberg as its Central regional sales manager. In this role, Aberg is responsible for planning, implementing, managing and overseeing the company's sales strategy in the Central U.S.
Licensed as a Lighting Certified (LC ) professional by the National Council on Qualifications for Lighting Professions, Aberg is a member of the Illuminating Engineering Society. He has experience in dynamic lighting and controls for architectural lighting installations, including working with a portfolio of solid-state lighting technologies for linear, floodlights, downlights, direct view and flexible solutions that use high-performance control solutions.