PALATINE, Ill. – July 11, 2006 – The Schneider Electric North American Operating Division today announced Christopher B. Curtis will assume the role of president, Schneider Electric USA. Curtis will be responsible for electrical distribution, automation and control, and services business activities within the United States. “Over the last three years, our North American Operating Division has made great progress in many areas of our business.
Our collective efforts have helped us excel in key areas including growth, profitability and customer satisfaction improvements,” said David Petratis, CEO and president of the Schneider Electric North American Operating Division. “To meet the challenges today and those of tomorrow, we need to expand the scope and responsibilities of our division, while continuing to drive dramatic improvements in quality and customer service. We are confident in Chris’s abilities and expertise to help us reach these goals.”Curtis has 13 years of experience with Schneider Electric’s North American Operating Division. He joined the company in June 1993, as director of industrial marketing and was responsible for planning and managing the company’s industrial marketing programs including strategic accounts.
In 1995, he was promoted to vice president, Mid-Atlantic sales, and directed efforts for the company’s industrial, original equipment manufacturer (OEM), institutional and contractor client base. Curtis became director of OEM marketing in 1996 and developed and implemented the business strategy for all products and services sold to OEMs. Under his direction, the company’s OEM sales grew by more than 20 percent. In 1998, Curtis was named vice president of marketing for the North American Operating Division led the development and implementation of the business strategy to serve the key market segments including residential construction, commercial and industrial construction, OEM and strategic accounts.
In 2002, Curtis traveled north to his birthplace of Toronto and became president of Schneider Electric Canada where he was responsible for all business operations. In 2003, after a short but effective tenure in Canada, he returned to the United States and was promoted to senior vice president, sales and services.
Prior to joining Schneider Electric, Curtis held various marketing and sales positions with Siebe Environmental Controls.Headquartered in Palatine, Ill., the North American Operating Division of Schneider Electric had sales of $2.8 billion (U.S.) in 2005.
The North American Operating Division is one of four operating divisions of Schneider Electric, headquartered in Paris, France, and markets the Square D, Telemecanique and Merlin Gerin brand products to customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In the United States, Schneider Electric is best known by its flagship Square D brand, with Telemecanique becoming increasingly known in the industrial control and automation markets and supported by many Square D distributors. For 100 years, Square D has been a market-leading brand of electrical distribution and industrial control products, systems and services.
Schneider Electric is a global electrical industry leader with 2005 sales of approximately $14.5 billion (U.S.).