Board Officers
Mary Derrick
Chair
Vice President, Power Products, Schneider Electric
Derrick is a customer focused leader with experience managing partner relationship management (PRM), CRM, digital marketing, journey mapping, and digital touchpoint and value proposition development. She joined Schneider Electric in 2009 and has held a variety of leadership positions, most recently being named the Vice President, Power Products in 2024.
Danna Stone
Chair Elect
SVP, Marketing, Graybar
Stone has over 23 years of experience in electrical distribution. She has led commercial and supply chain teams of up to 600 people during that time. From recruiting, to on-boarding, to training, to retaining talent, Stone has successfully built teams that consistently contribute to growth and profitability.
George Vorwick
Past Chair
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
Secretary
President & CEO, 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
Treasurer
President & CEO, 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. In 2024, he became President & CEO. Prior to Legrand, Brian held various management consulting positions.
Tessa Myers
Board Officer
SVP, Intelligent Devices, Rockwell Automation
Myers started her career as an associate sales engineer for Rockwell Automation, and 20 years later, she leads strategy, people and talent development, and the worldwide growth of the Intelligent Devices segment, which includes drives, motion, safety, sensing, industrial components, and configured-to-order products that are the foundation of smart production systems.
Martina Schubert
Board Officer
Chief Information Officer, Van Meter Inc.
Schubert, an accomplished information technology executive, joined Van Meter’s leadership team as Chief Information Officer in 2024. She brings more than 25 years of experience in information technology, transformational leadership, enterprise system management, business intelligence and cybersecurity.
Bill Waltz
Board Officer
President & CEO, Atkore Inc.
Before becoming CEO, Waltz 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. Waltz also serves on the NEMA Board of Governors.
Team Members
Patrick Knight
President & CEO
Patrick is an experienced and outgoing leader and consultant with strong analytical skills. He has a demonstrated history of success in National Accounts, GPOs, and value-add industries. Patrick is a strong professional, skilled in Strategic Planning, Business Process Improvement & Business Development.
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.
Denise Keating
VP of 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.
Heather White
VP of Finance and Administration
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.
Shahan Syed
Director of Information Technology
Shahan earned his bachelor's degree in software development from Western Governors University and has nearly 12 years of experience in software development. He will celebrate his 10-year anniversary with IDEA in June.
Brenda Maxwell
Senior Director of Technology
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.
Tom Guzik
Director of 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).
Sherri Thorne
Director of Client Accounts
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.
Laurie McElroy
Director of Marketing
Laurie is an accomplished sales enablement and marketing leader with a background in developing and driving integrated strategic go-to-market plans for B2B eCommerce-focused companies. Areas of expertise include key messaging, branding, paid media, customer communications, social media, agency management, content and thought leadership activities.
Mark McGready
Director of Data Analytics & Solutions
Mark has over 20 years of experience in data analytics and system development in the electrical industry, including founding Jigsaw Systems Inc. With his engineering background, Mark questions conventional business processes and suggests new and innovative solutions to current business challenges.
Brett Anderson
Director of Business Products & Solutions
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.
Denver Thrash
Director of Product Management
Denver earned his Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems from Lamar University and began his career at Accenture, gaining valuable experience in technology and consulting. He joined IDEA in 2021 and has since managed efforts and teams focused on expanding IDEA Connector’s capabilities and improve the platform for customers.