Aquest names new President, Sales Manager
John Stipanuk has been named President of Aquest Inc., a manufacturer of faucets, monitors and filters for the water treatment industry. Stipanuk is the former Vice President of Marketing for Molex Inc. and has more than 20 years experience in product design, developing new markets and management of key operational functions. He will focus on developing new business, improving operational processes and preparing the organization to meet high-growth objectives.
The company also added Kelly O’Connell as new National Sales and Marketing Manager. O’Connell has held various national sales and marketing roles in the telecommunications industry over the past 20 years, including Teltrend, Inc. and HyperEdge. She will be responsible for launching the new Aquacore Ultrafiltration product line and developing markets for new faucets and performance indicator devices in the U.S. and Canada.
B&H hires Kennedy
B&H Labeling Systems, an international supplier of high-speed, roll-fed labeling systems for bottled water, has appointed Joe Kennedy as Director of Market Development. He is responsible for identifying and assessing new applications for B&H technology that are outside their traditional markets and for executing strategies that will support the development of new applications. Kennedy brings more than 20 years of packaging industry experience in sales, marketing and business development to his position. He holds a degree in marketing from Ball State University.
Durant promoted at Pentair
Pentair, Inc. has promoted Karen A. Durant to Senior Vice President of Finance and Analysis. This newly created position will report to Pentair Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David D. Harrison. “This new role provides greater focus in business analytics to support Pentair’s growth,” Harrison said. “With 16 years of Pentair experience, the last eight years as Vice President of Finance and Controller, Karen is uniquely qualified to drive our organization’s financial planning and analysis activities.” Durant has 25 years experience in accounting and financial management, including finance roles at Honeywell and the Internal Revenue Service prior to Pentair. John P. Humbert replaces Durant as Pentair Corporate Controller.
New interim Executive Director at NWRI
Jeffrey J. Mosher has taken over as Acting Executive Director of the National Water Research Institute. He joined the institute in 2005 as Associate Director and was positioned to succeed the WRI’s first and only Executive Director, Ronald B. Linsky, upon his retirement. However, upon Linsky’s death from a bone marrow disorder 
last year, Mosher was moved more quickly into the position. Linsky served as Executive Director of the institute for 15 years, overseeing its growth into the third largest water research institute in the U.S. with over 160 water-related research projects, focusing on exploratory research, treatment and monitoring and water quality assessment.
American Water appoints interim CEO
American Water has appointed George MacKenzie as Interim President and Chief Executive Office. MacKenzie has been a member of the American Water Board of Directors since Aug. 2003 and has also served as Chairman of the Audit Committee since Feb. 2004. Jeremy Pelczer, the current President and CEO of American Water, will continue to serve as a non-executive Chairman of American Water and head of RWE Thames Water. MacKenzie will report to Harry Roels, CEO of RWE AG, American Water’s corporate parent.
Membrana adds rep in China
Membrana Industrial Membrane Group announces an agency agreement with Peter Chen as the local sales agent responsible for selling and servicing Liqui-Cel Membrane Contactors in China. Chen brings nearly 20 years of technical experience in the water treatment industry and possesses extensive knowledge of all aspects in liquid processes including RO, ion exchange, EDI, filtration and degassing. Allen Pittman, Membrana’s VP of Sales and Marketing for Industrial Separations, says, “We are excited to add Peter’s expertise and experience to our team. He is a valuable addition to our current sales channels. Peter will be working closely with our customers to improve their water treatment systems with his comprehensive knowledge of the entire water process.”