Ted has over 25 years of electrical industry experience, including his experience since 1999 as an executive recruiter solely within this industry. Additionally, Ted has written industry white papers on Onboarding and LED technology, plus a monthly newsletter that speaks to the talent impacts on industry changes. Ted is also a contributing author to Electrical Wholesaling and is frequently cited in leading industry journals.Ted holds PhD and MS degrees in Psychology from Tulane University, as well as a BS in Psychology from Ohio State University.  After academics Ted spent nearly 16 years with Cooper Industries, including 4.5 years as global VP, Sales for a $1B division. Ted’s industry ties extend throughout the electrical industry, regularly meeting with CEO’s from the industry global giants, to CEO’s of small startup companies. Ted is ranked within the top 3% of all recruiters nationally.

Ted works exclusively on senior executive retained assignments, typically from VP level to CEO; including board membership. His industry experience includes directly managing multiple vertical markets ranging from commercial, industrial, retail, utility, international and specialty markets like Grainger, ESCO’s or high end residential developers. His industry insights have been applied as a sought-after speaker for emerging industry technologies, like LED lighting, DC power distribution, and alternative energy sources. Ted has spoken at Strategies in Light, Solid State Lighting Forum, IES Street and Light and was an invited speaker and trainer to the Fordyce Forum.

Ted manages his own national and international client base within electrical manufacturing and distribution and has worked with Fortune 100 corporations, small privately held manufacturers and equity-backed companies.

Ted has an active consulting business, regularly consulting with companies who are involved in emerging technologies who rely on Ted’s industry expertise to help them develop strategic marketing plans and the organizational structure to access specific vertical markets. Ted has consulted with global top 5 Electronics firms, a Brazilian manufacturer and several domestic manufacturers of LED equipment. Additionally, Ted has consulted with companies on mergers and acquisitions, concluding multiple transactions of representing companies for acquisition.

Ted is the Executive Director of the International Retained Search Associates, a global corporation of over 30 retained search offices on three continents that offers clients the ability to source talent globally, with local presence. Ted is also a long-term member of IES, a member of IEEE, IACPR and a regular attendee of NAED, LightFair, GlobalShop and regional industry events.

Ted’s typical assignments include: CEO, CFO, CMO, Sr. VP, Executive VP, VP and Director titles. Functionally, Ted typically works in executive positions for Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations and Finance.

As a founding member and Partner in Egret Consulting, Prudence Thompson has 12 years of experience recruiting exclusively for electrical distributors and offers a unique insight into the issues and trends facing today’s wholesale distributor.  Prudence is an award winning, nationally recognized recruiter throughout the industry. She has established herself as a trusted partner to both clients and candidates and has a solid reputation within the membership of the industry’s top marketing organizations such as Affiliated Distributors, IMARK, Equity/EDN and Vanguard.  Prudence acts as a true partner to your management team and has established herself as resolutely reputable within her market.  Whether your organization is entrenched in lighting or automation, MRO or C&I the distribution team is leveraged for fast, accurate results. You don’t need to teach her what you do, who you sell to, buy from or compete with, just why someone would quit their job and come to work for you.

Areas of expertise; positions that require significant product, customer or market intelligence tied to all levels of revenues, including: sales, branch and operational management, product experts in sales and application support of automation, lighting and switchgear as well as new market penetration.  Our distribution team possesses a true understanding of the unique channels of distribution into the industrial / OEM, MRO, national account, government and contractor channels.  Looking for more information from Prudence?  Check out our Ask an Expert section.

Brooke joined Egret in 2008 as an Executive Recruiter.  Brooke has over 5 years of sales / sales management experience in the performance training industry and was manager of a leading developer of financial institution training regimens.  Brooke holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Illinois.

Brooke is recruiting for lighting manufacturers, lighting design firms and ESCOs which includes lighting fixtures, lamps and ballasts, lighting controls, LED’s, MEP firms, architectural engineering firms, consulting engineering firms, etc.

Brooke has recruited for a variety of functional disciplines that include Regional Sales Managers ( calling on specifiers, contractors, distribution, OEM’s, etc.), International Sales Managers, Design Engineers, National Sales Mangers, VP of Sales, Product Managers, Lighting Designers, Project Managers, PE’s, Electrical Designers, Marketing Managers, Engineering Managers, Customer Service Managers, Applications Engineers, National Account Managers, etc.

Pati originally joined Egret Consulting in 2000, recruiting in the Electrical and Lighting field and is back in 2013 as an Executive Recruiter for Wire & Cable.  Pati has over 25 years of sales experience including pharmaceutical sales and account management. She holds a B.A.  in Business Administration-Marketing and a B.S. in Home Economics from Mississippi State University

Pati concentrates on working with Wire and Cable manufacturers including bare copper, control and automation cable, building wire, low voltage, industrial, high voltage, specialty cable (mining, marine, portable, etc.) Our clients range from major manufacturers of industrial and utility products to players in retail and datacom. Pati works with smaller value-added manufacturers of wiring harnesses and cable assemblies and follows the channel to manufacturers of connectors, wire nuts, lugs, grounding rods and cable trays.

Pati specializes in building relationships with her clients to fully understand their needs in order to bring them the right candidate for positions including Director of Sales, National Sales Manager, Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Outside Sales, Marketing Manager, Business Development Manager, Regional Sales Manager etc. in the electrical industry.

John Ekblad joined Egret after graduating from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. in Economics in May of 2013.

John is an Executive recruiter, recruiting for candidates within the electrical manufacturing industry with a focus on emerging technologies including clients like:  wind turbine manufacturers and installers, solar integrators and installers, PV panel manufacturers and installers, environmental control manufacturers, building automation manufacturers and smart grid applications.

His experience as a military ordnance officer gives him a unique perspective on new technologies and their implementation.   He understands the changing marketplace involved with renewable energy and the importance of energy efficiency in today’s business development and conducts his searches accordingly.

John works on a wide variety of searches nationwide including:

Regional Sales Managers, District Sales Managers, National Sales Managers, VP of Sales, National Account Managers, Specification Sales Managers, OEM Sales Managers, Product Managers, Engineering Manager, Pricing Specialists, Design Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Design Directors, Applications Engineers, Production Managers, Customer Service Managers, Electrical Engineers, VP of Business Development, Field Sales Engineers, System Engineers, Manufacturing Managers, Marketing Managers, Product Managers, etc.

Erin originally joined Egret as an Electrical Products recruiter and has since transitioned into an office-management role. Erin is responsible for overall office functions; including accounts receivable, human resources and training as well as managing key accounts in the renewable energy market. She understands the changing marketplace and the importance of energy efficiency in today’s business development and conducts targeted searches accordingly. Prior to coming to Egret Consulting, Erin recruited for the largest IT Staffing Services company in the country and worked at a non-profit organization serving homeless youth. Erin holds a BS in Sociology from Eastern Illinois University.