Leadership
IDEA’s board and management team share a common goal: to anticipate customers’ needs and to deliver innovative solutions that make the supply chain’s processes faster, easier and more efficient. To make this vision a reality, IDEA has selected a board that reflects our customer base—half manufacturers and half distributors. IDEA’s tagline “by the industry, for the industry” is not just a catchphrase. We want to know what our customers think so we can meet their needs on time, every time.
The IDEA team is constantly striving to help customers meet their eBusiness goals. Fast response times and attentive support are one of IDEA’s top priorities. Whether you have a quick question or a large concern, we want you to feel comfortable reaching out to us. We’ll connect you with the right product specialist or department manager, and we’ll work with you step by step until you are where you want to be.
Board Officers
Frank Kulaszewicz
Chair
Senior VP, Lifecycle Services, Rockwell Automation
Frank has over 30 years of experience with key leadership roles in Drive Systems, Standard Drives, Control & Visualization, as well as Senior VP, Architecture & Software. He holds a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering and Master’s in Business Administration.
George Vorwick
Chair Elect
President & CEO, United Electric Supply
Vorwick has 30 years of business experience in sales and management in the electrical wholesale industry. He joined United Electric Supply in 2000 and has held several leadership positions, driving growth for the company.
Larry Stern
Past Chair
Past President, Standard Electric Supply
Stern is former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the NAED. He previously has been involved with NAED serving on the LEAD Committee, as a member of the South Central Regional Council, leading the Region as its Vice President in 2008.
Brian DiBella
Past Chair, Treasurer
President, Data, Power and Control, Legrand North America
DiBella joined Legrand in 2004 as Chief Information Officer. In 2007, he was appointed VP & GM of the Wiremold operation and named President of the EWS division in 2014. Prior to Legrand, Brian held various management consulting positions.
Phil Hale
Secretary
Chief Information Officer, Elliott Electric Supply
Hale is responsible for the company’s software development, hardware, networking, B2B and B2C eCommerce, business intelligence, and documentation of processes and systems.
Mary Derrick
Board Officer
Vice President, Channel Strategy & Digital Enablement
After joining Schneider Electric in 2009, Mary has held various leadership positions. As VP of US Channel Strategy, she is responsible for growth through distribution as well as leading digital enablement, eCommerce, program optimization, and Channel operations.
Paul McCool
Board Officer
President & CEO, Revere Electric Supply
Paul has over 30 yrs experience in the industry. As CEO of Revere Electric since ’03, his focus has been financial strength & flexibility to enable strategic investments aligned with world class customer service. Paul served on the board of NAED & participates in various councils.
Bill Waltz
Board Officer
President & CEO, Atkore International
Before becoming CEO, Bill had over 5 years in roles of increasing responsibility with Atkore, including the overall management of the Atkore Electrical Raceway reporting segment and President of Conduit & Fittings business unit. Bill also serves on the NEMA Board of Governors.
Team
David Oldfather
President & CEO
Oldfather was VP of Sales & Marketing, later Executive VP of Operations for Tristate Electrical Supply Co. Followed by Sr. VP of Sales for Contractors and Installers at Hagemeyer. He served as VP, then President of US & CA Electrical Divisions at AD. Oldfather was also part owner & VP of Jigsaw Systems until 2019.
Mike Wentz
VP of Sales and Marketing
Mike has nearly 40 years of experience in the electrical industry. His knowledge and experience make him a vital player in the organization. During his time with IDEA, he has grown the client base significantly, facilitated industry advisory groups and successfully rebranded IDEA’s products.
Heather White
Controller
Heather has been an accounting professional for almost 25 years.
She is an active volunteer and serves on the board of a foundation giving back to the community around her.
Heather has a degree in Accounting and Information Systems from Georgia Southern University.
Denise Keating
VP Customer Success
Denise, former CEO & co-founder of DATAgility, is passionate about helping companies put quality product data into motion to drive results. With 30 years’ experience in distribution, she is a thought leader & frequent speaker on digital trends & strategies. Denise will oversee the customer success team, data quality & standards, and HDM initiative.
Sherri Thorne
Director of Client Sales
Sherri is an electrical industry veteran with 35 years of experience, including Sales and Procurement management with Rexel. She leads IDEA Client Sales team and also provides sales engineering support for IDEA Connector. Sherri is particularly focused on manufacturers partners that benefit from IDEA product syndication and services.
Angela Baraks
Director of Data Quality & Standards
Angela brings 25+ years of experience in the electrical industry. She has contributed to the industry data standards through her volunteer work on standards development and consulting work through DATAgility for the past 15 years. Angela has a master’s degree in communications from Eastern Illinois University.
Tom Guzik
Director, Digital Integration Services
Tom brings to IDEA nearly 30 years of experience working with electronic data interchange (EDI), 20 of which have been in the electrical industry. Prior to joining IDEA, he also worked with SAP systems, inventory control, logistics and warehousing, and Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI).
Bill Shomo
Director of Information Technology
Bill has over 35 years of system development and IT management. Bill’s experience includes cloud computing, info assurance, network design, data center operations & software development. Before joining IDEA, Bill worked in the Federal and Dept. of Defense providing secured system managed services for 16 years.
Brenda Maxwell
Director of Global Product Management
Brenda has over 12 years experience delivering software solutions and managing teams of developers and business analysts. She collaborates with cross-functional teams to identify opportunities for process improvements and deliver software solutions.
Dena Barrett
Director of Digital Ops & Marketing
Dena has a diverse background in digital marketing & merchandising, customer relations, sales, market research, & management. Her success in roles from many different aspects & perspectives, give her a 360° view of customers & business processes. She’s worked in the industrial industry for 8+ years. Dena has a marketing degree from Elmhurst University.
Brett Anderson
Director of Business Development
Brett is an experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. He is skilled in Customer Service, Data Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Sales Operations, and Strategic Partnerships.
Ilene Bromberg
Director of Business Development
Ilene is a seasoned technology solutions advisor with nearly 40 years of experience in digital integration, supply chain integration, and EDI solutions. She has advised and assisted hundreds of companies to achieve increased efficiency and lower operational costs.