Movers and Shakers
Ray Burnett
GovDeals, a Montgomery, Ala.-based online auction services provider for city, county and state governments, has announced that E. Ray (Ray) Burnett, FNIGP, CPPO, has joined the company as Western U.S. representative.
Burnett has more than 30 years of experience in purchasing, and holds several purchasing certifications. He recently received the Albert H. Hall Memorial Award, which the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing presents each year to recognize leaders who have made major contributions to the public procurement profession during their careers.
GovDeals provides services to government agencies that enable them to sell surplus and confiscated items via the Internet.
Adam Bonsky
Austin, Texas-based Fringe Benefit Group (FBG) has appointed Adam Bonsky executive vice president of government markets.
The company helps government contractors be more competitive when bidding on government jobs by offering flexible benefit services that can help reduce a company’s payroll burden. FBG handles all aspects of a prevailing wage benefit plan, from setup to distribution, and ensures compliance with IRS and Department of Labor regulations. FBG provides retirement and medical benefits to thousands of hourly and salaried workers on government-funded jobs.
Bonsky believes there is significant opportunity for FBG in 2009 and beyond as a result of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan.
“The president’s plan, which includes funding for hundreds of thousands of new jobs in the construction industry, is providing Fringe Benefit Group with an opportunity that only comes along once in a lifetime,” Bonsky said.
Bonsky is joining FBG after serving as the Northern California regional manager for Gevity, a business involved in human resource outsourcing, where he was responsible for management of its field sales and service personnel.
Jack Buffington
Retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Jack E. Buffington, P.E., F.SAME, has been selected as the recipient of the Golden Eagle Award for contributions to the engineering profession by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME).
Buffington has held leadership positions within academia and engineering associations. He is being presented with a Golden Eagle Award for a lifetime of contributions to the engineering and construction profession, including his efforts to inspire students interested in engineering and construction.
Following his retirement from the Navy as the chief of civil engineers and commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in 1995, Buffington served as a research professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Arkansas, the same institution from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1961. During his tenure, he held various positions, including director of the school’s Mack Blackwell Rural Transportation Study Center.
A former President of SAME (1994-1995), Buffington is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Construction, and in 2003 he was named a distinguished member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Charles Dowd and H. Dean McKay
Sparks, Nev.-based Haws has appointed Charles A. (Chuck) Dowd and Dr. H. Dean McKay to serve as outside members on the company’s board of directors.
“Bringing in highly successful, experienced executives to provide fresh ideas and other-industry perspectives is a great idea for any family-owned business. But, for our business, in the growth mode we’re currently in, it is critical to accelerated success,” said Sallie Haws, the company’s president. “We are very fortunate to have identified two such ideal candidates for the all-important new director roles.”
Dowd transitioned last year to senior advisor to Masco Corp. after having been the group president of Masco’s Architectural Products Group since 1999. He currently serves on several other boards.
McKay has 45 years of experience in executive management, strategic planning, technology development, mergers and acquisitions and business consulting. His background includes serving as a rocket scientist with the NASA Saturn/Apollo man-on-the-moon program.
Haws manufactures drinking fountains and emergency equipment for a variety of industries. Its focus areas include recreational parks and education centers.
Jack Derrico
Santa Ana, Calif.-based Hirsch Electronics, a supplier of access-control and security management products, has appointed Jack Derrico to be the firm’s Mid-Atlantic regional manager. Derrico will manage the company’s sales and dealer development in the states of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, as well as the District of Columbia.
Derrico brings 20 years of leadership experience in commercial and government sales in the security industry. He most recently served as government sales director at Diebold Information & Security Systems (ISS), responsible for launching its government division and creating growth in that sector. Derrico will work out of Hirsch’s Washington, D.C., office.
Jeff Hurt, Brian Michael and Walter Jacobe
Johnson Controls, a provider of energy-efficiency products and services, has appointed three brand managers for the company’s Unitary Products Division: Jeff Hurt as York brand manager, Brian Michael as Coleman brand manager and Walter Jacobe as Luxaire brand manager.
In their positions, Hurt, Michael and Jacobe are responsible for overseeing and managing marketing communications for their respective national residential and light-commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) brand and its products. All three will report to Andy Armstrong, director of marketing — Unitary Products.
Hurt, who previously worked for Johnson Controls as brand manager of both Coleman and Luxaire, joins the York brand with prior experience in channel-based marketing programs, as well as experience in brand development, advertising, public relations, Web development, multi-step distribution and product launches.
The Coleman brand welcomes Michael from his previous position as product manager, residential cooling products, for Unitary Products. Through this and a variety of other positions with Johnson Controls, Michael has played a role in many channels of product marketing, including customer service, contractor acquisition, sales management, product communications, development and launch.
Jacobe also is a veteran of marketing management at Johnson Controls and of the HVAC industry in product, project and sales management. In addition to managing the Luxaire brand, Jacobe manages and implements product and sales training programs and tools. He brings experience from working with both Trane and Carrier in product-management positions.
