People – August 2006

• MAPEI names Rainer M. Blair to succeed the retiring Nick Di Tempora as President/CEO of MAPEI Americas. Di Tempora will remain on board as an advisor to Blair to ensure a smooth transition of leadership within the company; during this period, Blair will function as Deputy CEO. Blair comes to Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based MAPEI after 16 years with BASF Corp., where he most recently served as Group Vice President for BASF’s coatings businesses in North America.
• The Junior Achievement of Southwest New England inducted David Rothberg, chairman/CEO of LATICRETE International Inc., into its Business Hall of Fame earlier this year. The organization cited Bethany, Conn.-based LATICRETE as proof to other Connecticut companies that they can compete in a global marketplace, and noted Rothberg’s personal commitment to his employees, as well as his generous support of many community organizations. Junior Achievement Worldwide™ is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating young people about business, economics, and free enterprise.
• Import Stone appoints John Rhineburger as president of the Anaheim, Calif.-based stone-distribution company. Rhineberger joined Import Stone 2 1/2 as general manager and most recently held the position of executive vice president; in his 35 years of experience in floor-covering and hard-surface sales and distribution, he’s served as president of Color Tile and Sherwin Williams Floor World.
• Epilog Laser hires Kim Dreiling as public relations specialist. She joins the Golden, Colo.-based company with a degree in Communications from Newberry College in Newberry, S.C.
• Cosentino® North America names Gary Andler as northeast divisional president. Prior to the promotion, he served as COO of Cosentino subsidiary Stone Suppliers, Inc., and as a global services manager for Home Depot, where he developed a national kitchen countertop program. Also, the Stafford, Texas-based company names Peter Zbytniewski as northeast regional sales manager, overseeing sales operations in 12 states, two Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia. He previously worked at Panolam Industries as a regional sales manager.