Würth Industry North America — No. 17 on MDM’s 2022 Top Industrial Distributors list — announced Sept. 1 that the industrial distributor has made three senior executive-level hires.

Bastian Rottenberg was hired as the company’s chief information officer. WINA notes that Rottenberg has a successful background in information technology, working for Würth Industrie Service in Germany for seven years before owning his own IT business, then rejoining the Würth Group in 2020 and joining WINA in January of 2021. In this role, he will be responsible for the strategy, design, architecture and functionality of the enterprise-wide information systems and serves as the liaison to the Würth Group global IT group.

WINA has welcomed Ben Standhardt as vice president of process management and automation. Standhardt has been with the Würth Group since 2016 and, before joining in May, was managing director of Würth Industri Norge AS in Norway. In this role, he will be responsible for optimizing business processes and measures/key performance indicators for the divisions of WINA. Ben and his team will also focus on finding processes with the potential to be transferred to Robotic Process Automation.

James Valdez has been named WINA’s chief human resources officer, bringing over 20 years of HR experience to the role. WINA notes Valdez has proven experience at multi-billion-dollar corporations collaborating with senior management to develop and maintain strategic and tactical plans to enable business growth and meet HR business needs. In this role, he will be responsible for driving a strategy that supports our company culture, aligns human resources programs with business requirements, and provides a foundation for employee professional growth and opportunity.

Indianapolis-based WINA said the new hires support the fasteners, MRO and safety equipment distributor’s divisional structure that was completed in 2021, and position the company for continued rapid growth. 

“Adding high-caliber members like Bastian, Ben, and James to our senior executive team allows Würth Industry North America to grow through our divisional structure and provides us with resources to succeed at all levels of business,” said Dan Hill, CEO of WINA. “They bring extensive industry experience and leadership styles that complement our divisional leadership teams and allow us to work together to continue to advance the business.”