Peterson announces new hires

Jun 23, 2009

Peterson Manufacturing Co. of Grandview, Mo., has announced new hires and personnel changes within the company, including corporate vice presidents and executive positions within Peterson’s OEM sales and Maxi-Seal divisions:

Steve Hickerson was named as the new vice president of finance — only the third individual to hold that office in Peterson’s 64-year history. Hickerson earned his CPA while employed by Ernst & Young in Kansas City, Mo. He went on to serve as controller for a subsidiary of Didde Corp. in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., before joining Peterson as controller in 1993. Hickerson assumes the duties of outgoing chief financial officer and vice president of finance, Nick Auer, who announced his retirement after 26 years with the company. Auer, who joined Peterson from Arthur Andersen & Co. in 1983, will continue to serve the company in a consulting role as an independent contractor.

Brian McMahon was promoted to corporate vice president of human resources. Prior to his promotion, McMahon served as Peterson’s director of corporate human resources. In his new role, he will have corporatewide responsibilities for human resources, including all 12 subsidiary companies within the Peterson Corporate Group. McMahon joined Peterson in March 2008 following a long career with Harley-Davidson Motor Co. A native of Pittsburgh, McMahon’s career spans service in both the automotive and aviation industries.

Allyn Leake joins the company as manager of heavy-duty sales. Leake comes to Peterson with some 24 years’ experience in vehicular safety lighting and is widely known throughout the industry. He will manage sales of the Peterson line to a national list of heavy-duty truck and trailer manufacturers. A native of New York, Leake first accepted a sales position with a leading company in the safety lighting field. He remained with the same company, ultimately advancing to OEM sales manager, until his departure for Peterson.

Ryan Eichhorn moves up as manager of OEM sales. Since joining Peterson in 2007, Eichhorn has served as a field sales supervisor in the heavy-duty division. In his new position as manager of OEM sales, Eichhorn will manage the small-/medium-duty trailer and truck body markets.

Kevin Cornelius comes to Peterson’s Maxi-Seal Harness Systems Division as engineering manager. His responsibilities include supervising project engineers, designers and drafters, and coordinating engineering activities with all Maxi-Seal departments and suppliers. Prior to joining Maxi-Seal, Cornelius was employed by a major safety lighting manufacturer.

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