The board of directors of PBI-Gordon Corp. named Donald Chew as executive chairman of the board and W.E. Mealman as chairman emeritus. Steve Clifford will become president and CEO of PBI-Gordon and its subsidiaries Pet-Ag and Pegasus Laboratories. These changes will become effective on Nov. 1.
Clifford brings extensive experience in management and business from his 33 years with Ernst & Young, the last 16 as managing partner of the Kansas City office. After his retirement from Ernst & Young in 2015, he joined PBI-Gordon’s Board in 2015 and became COO in 2018.
In his new role, Chew will remain closely involved with the overall business, including the employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). He joined PBI-Gordon in 1991 as CFO and served seven years as president of Pegasus Laboratories. In 2012, Chew became president and CEO of PBI-Gordon Corporation.
Mealman will remain a member of the board. He joined PBI-Gordon in 1951 and became the majority owner in 1977. Mealman’s been synonymous with the company and played a key role in the formation of the ESOP and the ESOP’s ultimate 100 percent ownership.
Kichler Lighting, an innovative lighting and ceiling fan provider, welcomed two additions to its executive leadership team, effective immediately: Dave Bagnall as vice president of human resources and Mark Macioce as vice president of information technology.
Bagnall, following an interim position at the company, will design and drive Kichler Lighting’s human resources strategy, lead the HR team and serve as an integral part of the executive leadership team. He makes the transition from director of business partnerships at Delta Faucet where he spent the past two years leading growth and change in information systems, manufacturing, engineering, quality and supply chain across the enterprise. Before joining Masco, Dave was a teacher, school administrator and in a human resources leadership role at Lowe’s for 12 years.
Macioce’s role includes setting the overall strategy, planning, and execution of all IT activities to ensure a more streamlined and efficient approach. He’ll also oversee the unique and evolving IT and business requirements at Kichler Lighting. He began his career with General Electric as a member of the information management leadership program. During his 10-year tenure, Mark assumed various roles of increasing responsibility across IT, engineering, commercial services and quality, with a strong focus on program management, solution delivery and continuous process improvement.
The Davey Tree Expert Co. promoted Jason Reitter to district manager of the New Jersey Residential/Commercial (R/C) services office.
Reitter started with Davey in 2004 at the St. Louis office as an intern before joining the Rochester office as a plant health care technician. In 2008, he was promoted to sales and service technician and in 2014, was promoted to sales and service coordinator. In 2015, Reitter was promoted to assistant district manager, Rochester office.
Reitter is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist, a certified New York Pesticide Technician and a Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) Certified Treecare Safety Professional (CTSP). He is a 2011 graduate of the Davey Institute of Tree Sciences, Davey’s flagship training program in biological sciences, safety, tree and plant care and management techniques.
Davey also promoted Ben Wasielewski to district manager of the Orlando R/C services office.
Since 2018, Wasielewski has been branch manager of Davey’s Commercial Landscape Services (CLS) territory for Orlando in Maitland, Fla. In his new role, Wasielewski will oversee both CLS and R/C operations.
Wasielewski had more than a decade of experience in the green industry before joining Davey in 2000 as a plant health care technician at the Buffalo R/C office. He was promoted to foreman in 2005 when he transitioned to the Orlando office, working as a landscape foreman at the Celebration territory. In 2017 he worked at the Orlando office as foreman until he was promoted to branch manager at the Orlando territory in 2018.
He is an ISA Certified Arborist and a TCIA CTSP. Wasielewski is a 2020 graduate of the Davey Institute of Grounds Management Davey’s annual horticulture training program designed for landscape and grounds maintenance. He earned an associate degree in natural resource management from the State University of New York at Morrisville.
