Charlie Lacey, Managing Director at Stearn Electric, became the EDA’s 93rd President on Thursday 9 March 2023. Charlie takes over from CEF’s Chris Ashworth and will lead the Association for the next two years.
Charlie joined the EDA Board in July 2018, and has served as Vice President since December 2019.
Paying tribute to his predecessor, Chris Ashworth, Charlie said, “Chris has led the Association through one of its most challenging times – the Covid pandemic and repeated lock-downs. His leadership has been a case study in resilience and flexibility.
“Chris is a passionate advocate for access to professional training, which is a passion I share: under his Presidency the award-winning 12 EDA Product Knowledge Modules are being adapted from printed textbooks into a digital training option with videos and interactive learning. Work is underway to adapt the most popular modules to a digital learning format and it is expected that all 12 will be available to EDA businesses by the middle of this year.
“As President, I plan to continue to encourage EDA businesses to engage with all areas of our work: in particular, I hope to see our wholesalers and affiliated members attending our on-line and in person events where so much crucial information is shared by the EDA Team.
“One of our key activities since 2020 has been to try and help our members and affiliates with the digitalisation of the sector through the growth of EDATA, the data pool. I believe that the data pool is the most effective channel through which to share product information with wholesalers and I hope wholesalers will take advantage of their free access to EDATA and use its Dynamic Data Sheets during their trade counter discussions and quotations.
“The Association will continue to strengthen its relationships with industry bodies and relevant trade associations in this sector: this collaboration means the EDA can best serve its membership with timely access to information, market trends and opportunities.”
David Moore, Director at Medlock Electrical Distributors, who joined the EDA Board in March 2022, steps up into the Vice President role. Mark Ashworth, Director at ABM Electrical Wholesale Ltd, joins the Board as the representative for The IBA Buying Group, taking over from Simon Booth of ETC Electrical Supplies who served on the board since March 2019.
