Dan Hughes has been named president of Windy City Wire (WCW), a company that he joined after completing college. He has more than 15 years of experience in the automotive and oil and gas industries. He started with WCW as an inside sales representative in 2001. He was promoted to national sales manager in 2007, then chief sales officer in 2014, where he served for 10 years prior to being named president. Based in Bolingbrook, Illinois, Windy City Wire supplies low-voltage wire products.

 Ahmet Kabaktepe has joined Marmon Industrial Energy & Infrastructure (IEI) as director of sales, transit infrastructure. He previously worked for nearly 15 years for Sark Wire Corp., where he was vice president of sales and marketing. He started as operations manager in 2009 and had been promoted to plant manager and sales manager. He also had worked in operations for Sark-USA Inc. for four years, and before that had been a marketing specialist for Sarkyusan A.S. in Turkey. He holds a degree in metallurgical engineering from Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi in Turkey. The Marmon Industrial Energy & Infrastructure Group, a division of Marmon Electrical, supplies wire and cable for industrial, energy and infrastructure applications.

 Mark Froggatt has joined Eland Cables as head of training, learning & development. He most recently was Technical Director, for the British Approvals Service for Cables (BASEC), which he joined in 2019. Prior to that he worked as a technical manager for four years for British Cables Company and BT Cables, three years as a market development manager for Nexans, and 14 years in different positions for Draka. He holds a B.Ss. degree in chemistry and management studies from the University of Sussex. Based in London, U.K., Eland Cable is supplier of power, data, control and instrumentation cable.

 The SAMP Group reported four personnel announcements. Bernhard Messerli was named the new general manager. He has more than 30 years of experience in key managerial roles across various companies, spanning from Switzerland to China. He was cited for his extensive expertise in sales and operations management and strong leadership skills. Mattia Baccini is the new head of global sales. He will have a pivotal role in the company’s development. He has more than 15 years of experience in the automotive and oil and gas industries, including 11 years of experience at Koch Industries. He resided in the U.S. for two years and navigated diverse international assignments. Adriano Soldati is the new project manager extrusion, overseeing and optimizing extrusion projects from start to finish. He was cited for having a “dynamic skill set that aligns seamlessly” with the company’s goals. Hellen Cristina Basile is the new marketing manager. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise, including more than five years of experience in B2B marketing within the engineering industry. A global supplier of wire and cable machinery based in Bologna, Italy, the SAMP Group has production sites in Italy, China and Brazil, and a sales and service unit in the USA.

Obituary
  Alfred “Al” G. Pratt Jr., a respected innovator in the wire and cable industry and the founder of Jersey Strand and Cable, died on June 27 at age 78.
  The Rome, New York, native attended Cornell University for one year, then went to work for Strandflex division of National Standard Co. in Oriskany, New York. As plant superintendent, he developed specialty strand and cable to fit customers’ needs, including the exact strand needed for a customer working on the first heart pacemaker. In 1978, he moved to New Jersey, and with his wife, Diane, started Jersey Strand and Cable in New Jersey. He also customized equipment to produce both ferrous and nonferrous wire. He later started a second company, Sinc, Inc., to spool multiple wires on bobbins, and later added wire braid products. The companies grew from three employees to more than 40 and he bought a 100,000-sq-ft-building in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, where the company is now based. 
  One crowning achievement was Pratt’s development and production of the strand and braid used to create the Frank Gehry-designed Eisenhower Memorial Tapestry that was dedicated in September 2020 on the mall in Washington, DC. Made by Thomas Ozinsky, a frequent Gehry collaborator, the outdoor tapestry is the world’s largest such display. His son, John, joined the company—working side-by-side with his dad for more than 41 years—and is now the president. A WAI Life Member, Al Pratt was known as a tremendous, innovative businessman and a man who deeply cared for his employees. Survivors include his wife, Diane; four children: John Pratt, Wendy Bowen, Amara Pratt and Jessica Mattox; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.