Tom Herd has joined Radcliff Wire as vice president of sales and marketing. He previously led similar teams for several companies that supply engineered products and components to OEMs and manufacturers in several key industrial markets including automotive, aerospace, and medical. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He replaces Scott Kirkpatrick, who joined the company in 2003, and has retired. Based in Bristol, Connecticut, Radcliff Wire  manufactures custom shaped wire for industries including aerospace, automotive and others.

Italy’s SAMP announced a series of organizational changes that have taken effect. Reporting to SAMP CEO Jouni Heinonen, will be: Mattia Baccini, vice president, who will lead the Global Machine Division, overseeing operations (Bentivoglio, Italy. Changzhou, China. and Cortinovis do Brasil, Brazil); Davide Pasqualotto, vice president, will lead the Global Customer Service Division, providing rapid response and tailored solutions and building lasting customer relationships worldwide; Valentina Pozzobon, vice president, will lead the Group’s Corporate Functions, driving strategic initiatives and sustainable growth to ensure operational excellence and financial strength, and building robust corporate infrastructure to support global expansion and market leadership. Based in Bentivoglio, Italy, SAMP supplies a wide range of equipment for wire and cable production.

 Prysmian has announced a new organizational structure  that will see the following people designated as follows. Under Business Segments: transmission will be led by Raul Gil, a neLw appointment; power grid will be led by Cinzia Farisè; electrification will be led Cristiana Scelza; and digital solutions will be led by Frederick Persson. Under Regions, North America will be led by Andrea Pirondini; Europe will be by Marcello Del Brenna, a new appointment; ATAM will be led by Giacomo Sofia, a new appointment; MEART will be led by Erkan Aydogdu; and APAC will be led by Hamavand Shroff. Under Operations and Group Functions, operations will led by Javier Arata, a new appointment; finance, administration, control and IT will be led by Pier Francesco Facchini; HR and organization will be led by Francesco Tutino; strategy & M&A will be led by Iuri Longhi; sustainability, investor relations and communication will be led by Maria Cristina Bifulco; risk management and compliance will be led by Alessandro Nespoli; corporate affairs will be led by Jacopo Zirulia; innovation and R&D will be led by Srinivas Siripurapu; and internal audit will be led by Paola Pulidori. Based in Italy, Prysmian is the world’s largest wire and cable company.

Nader Saad has been named CFO of TiniFiber®. He is tasked with driving the company’s strategic initiatives, including expanding its product portfolio, enhancing its presence in the North American market and advancing its innovative technology. He has more than a decade of experience in senior financial leadership roles. Nader served as CFO and Senior Vice President of Finance at RPM, a leading logistics and supply chain firm operating across North America and Europe. He also held the role of Financial Controller at RJ, a multinational logistics company, and has experience in the fiber optics sector through his tenure at Rocket Fiber. Based in Lindenhurst, New York, TiniFiber® manufactures  patented Micro Armor Fiber™ optical cabling solutions.

Obituary

Prof. Etienne Aernoudt, a prolific technical paper author, researcher and university professor who specialized in steel wire research and won WAI’s 2009 Mordica Memorial Award, died Dec. 6 at age 86.

A native of Belgium, Aernoudt earned an MSc degree in metallurgical engineering and a diploma in nuclear sciences at Catholic University of Leuven (CUL) in 1962. In 1964, he joined Bekaert Steel Wire Corporation (Bekaert) and became manager of its metal forming research center in Zwevegem, Belgium. He left Bekaert and continued his scientific training at the Westfalische Technische Hochschule, where he earned his PhD degree in sciences in 1966. He later returned to Bekaert. He started doing research work at CUL, where he was an assistant professor. In 1970, he became an associate professor, working in the Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering at CUL. In 1974, he became a full professor, and in 1987 he was named rector of the Technical University of Leuven, the post he occupied for six years.

While working for Bekaert, Aernoudt was credited for producing the first hair-thin stainless steel fibers (10 micrometer). The scope of his wire research was wide. He dealt with cold deformations and metal texture as well as technological issues as extrusion, powder metallurgy, shape memory alloys, composite materials and biomaterials. He was an author on some 250 papers published in scientific journals about wire theory and technology, and nine books.

Aernoudt served in roles in multiple research organizations, including as chairman of the Metallurgical Society of the Royal Institution of Flemish Engineers (1976-1980); chairman of a working group on Neo-Ceramics and Powder Metallurgy (1982-1987); the International Conference of Textures of Materials (1988–1993), the Flemish Council for Industrial Scientific Research (1988–1991); the General Assembly of the Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (1987– 1993); and chairman of a working group of the Royal Belgian Academy Council of Applied Science (1997-1999). He retired from CUL in 2003.

Beyond professional organizations, Aernoudt cooperated closely with colleagues and was praised for having a remarkable capacity for discovering talented people and contributing to their professional development. He was described as a person of powerful intellect, kindness and a very good sense of humor. He was also close to members of WAI’s Poland Chapter, especially Jan Pilarczyk, a retired professor at Częstochowa University who had nominated him for the Mordica Memorial Award in 200