Andy Gravitt was just named Vice President of Industrial Automation and Control for Schneider Electric in North America. I need to track down Nic Gihl officially to see what he's up to. Sounds like he's still in the Schneider organization.
Gravitt has a sales background within Schneider with a resume of growing business in the retail,residential and OEM markets. Most recently he was vice president of customer operations and process improvement.
My take is that Schneider is opting away from an automation industry visionary to a sales manager with no automation and control experience. One would hope that he would build on Gihl's work promoting control and information integration. My guess is that management in France wants some immediate market share gains. Schneider has a great sales channel--but it may not be as strong in industrial automation as it is in construction/residential electrical products.
I'd like to see a flurry of innovative control and information products coming out. That would be a big help in this competitive environment where Rockwell Automation is so dominant and Siemens is working hard to capture share. Not to mention companies like Opto 22, Beckhoff, Phoenix Contact and Wago who seem to be making gains as well.
10:31:52 AM 
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