Meet Miller Electric's Executive Team:
H.E. "Buck" Autrey - Chairman, CEO
Mr. Autrey, Miller Electric Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, has been with the Company since 1951. He served in the capacities of electrician, foreman, general foreman, superintendent, estimator, project manager, vice president, and president since 1966. During these years he has supervised electrical construction in all phases of the industry.
In addition, Mr. Autrey has served the National Electrical Contractors Association in many offices including President and Governor of the North Florida Chapter/NECA, Vice President for the Southeastern District/NECA, and from 1980-86 was the National President of NECA. He is Past Chairman of the Electrical Contractors Research Foundation.
In addition to the responsibilities of Chairman and CEO, his part on the management team is to assist in areas of public relations and marketing.
Mr. Autrey is State Certified as an Electrical Contractor in Florida and also holds Electrical Contractor Competency Licenses for the company in the States of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Virginia and Tennessee.
E.E. Witt, Sr. - Vice Chairman, Associate CEO
Mr. Witt, Vice Chairman and Associate Chief Executive Officer, has been with Miller Electric Company since 1957. He served in the capacities of electrician, foreman, superintendent, estimator, project manager, vice president, and senior vice president prior to his present position.
His experience in industrial job management is very strong and he has developed the team concept on a number of projects. His responsibilities as assistant general manager of the company included sales and marketing, labor relations, overall supervision of project managers, estimators, tool and equipment utilization, monitoring and coordinating project schedules, overseeing and implementing quality control programs and the company's job safety and training programs.
Mr. Witt served for twelve years on the National Management Development Committee for NECA. He served two years on the Council For Industrial Relations, which handles electrical labor/management disputes nationwide. He was Contractor Representative on the Joint Apprenticeship Committee for twelve years and has served for many years on the Negotiations Committee for labor agreements in different jurisdictions. He served as Governor of the North Florida Chapter/NECA for sixteen years, and as Vice President at Large for the National Electrical Contractor's Association (NECA).
In addition to his duties as Vice Chairman and Associate CEO, he will assist in Labor Relations, Public Relations and Marketing.
Mr. Witt is State Certified as an Electrical Contractor in Florida.
R.A. Autrey - President, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Autrey is President and Chief Operating Officer of Miller Electric Company. He has been with the company since his start in the industry in 1975 and has worked in every market area of the company.
Mr. Autrey served two four-year appointments to the State of Florida's Electrical Contractor's Licensing Board, and currently serves on The Executive Committee of the National Electrical Contractor's Association, Boy Scouts of America North Florida Advisory Board, the Council of Stewards for the Jacksonville Community Council Inc (JCCI), the Advisory Council of Cornerstone Jacksonville, and the Board of Trustees of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville University.
Mr. Autrey is State Certified as an Electrical Contractor and General Contractor in Florida. He is also certified for electrical construction and low-voltage systems in fifteen additional states.
Mr. Autrey's formal education includes a Bachelor's Degree in Business from Jacksonville University, and construction management study at Florida International University. Following electronics maintenance training in the U.S. Army Security Agency, he was extensively trained in the contractor education programs of the National Electrical Contractor's Association.
Susan Walden - Exec. VP, Sec-Treasurer, CFO
Mrs. Walden is the Executive Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Miller Electric Company. She has been employed in the company's finance department since 1974, and she has worked in all areas of the department. She has extensive education and training in corporate finance, accounting, information systems, and general management.
Mrs. Walden is the executive manager over the administrative functions of the company. Her responsibilities include general accounting, treasury, payroll, bonding, audit, and risk management. She also has executive responsibility over data processing and information systems. Additionally, Mrs. Walden and her team work closely with project management to ensure that proper cost control and reporting procedures are followed.
David Long - Senior VP, Asst. COO
Mr. Long serves as Senior Vice President and Assistant COO. His primary emphasis is Corporate Services, which supports the infrastructure for major corporations such as Banking institutions, Insurance, Transportation and Communication Companies. This division of Miller Electric Company designs and maintains facilities ranging from maintenance buildings to general office environment and critical data centers. This includes all electrical and telecommunications needs that may arise in corporate accounts across the eastern US. Additional duties include Disaster Recovery, Labor Manager and Corporate Manager of the branch offices in Ft. Lauderdale, Lakeland, Atlanta, etc.
Beginning his career in 1975 as Miller Electric Company trainee, Mr. Long graduated from the NECA/IBEW Electrical Apprenticeship in 1981. Then moving from field supervisor of large accounts in 1985, estimating in 1991, Project Manager 1993, Senior Project Manager 1999 and then Vice President. Today he serves as Senior Vice President and Assistant COO. Mr. Long graduated from Nova Southeastern University with a BS Degree in Business Management. He has obtained state electrical licenses in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
He serves on the Apprenticeship Committee and is Governor of the North Florida Chapter National Electrical Contractor Association (NECA). Other associations include Leukemia Society, Jacksonville Rotary, Chamber of Commerce Trustee and Dreams Come True Foundation. Member of Gator Bowl Association Executive Committee, United Way Tocqueville.
E-mail: dlong@mecojax.com
Henry Brown - Corp. VP, Asst. Secretary-Treasurer
Henry K. Brown is the Corporate Vice President and Assistant Secretary-Treasurer of Miller Electric Company. A Jacksonville native, he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Accountancy, both from Stetson University, and he is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Florida. Before joining Miller Electric Company in 2001, he worked as an auditor for a Big 5 public accounting firm, and as a financial analyst for a manufacturing company.
Mr. Brown's initial role at Miller Electric Company was project manager for the implementation of JD Edwards ERP software. Management of this project allowed him to quickly become familiar with all areas of corporate operations. Upon completion of the project, he was named Controller, with responsibility over accounting and information systems. He became a corporate officer at the beginning of 2003 with his promotion to Assistant Secretary-Treasurer and has since progressively taken on additional management and leadership roles within the company.
In his current role as Corporate Vice President, Mr. Brown is a member of the senior management team and responsible for Strategic and Financial planning. He provides executive leadership to the functional areas of Finance, Information Technology, Human Resources, and Risk Management, as well as working closely with Division VPs and Project Managers. He is also responsible for coordinating outside professionals for legal, accounting, insurance, and surety bonding.
In addition to his work at the company, Mr. Brown has been involved in a variety of community and industry organizations. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of Stetson University's Family Enterprise Center; a member of NECA's Future Leaders Task Force; a member of the Construction Financial Managers Association; and a member of United Way's Alexis de Tocqueville Leadership Council.
E-mail: hbrown@mecojax.com
W.F. Foley, Jr. - VP, Industrial Services
Mr. Foley has been in the electrical industry since 1976, primarily working in the heavy industrial sector of the industry. He has been employed by Miller Electric Company for 31 years. He has been an apprentice, journeyman, foreman, superintendent, project engineer, estimator, assistant project manager, project manager and now serves as vice president of the Industrial Division. He is also responsible for Miller's estimating software and estimating procedures.
Mr. Foley is an active member of the North Florida Chapter of the National Electrical Contractor's Association which he serves on the Board of Directors. He is also Chairman of the Gainesville Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee. He is also involved with the NECA/IBEW Labor Management and the First Coast Manufacture's Association.
He graduated from the Jacksonville Academy of Electrical Technology National Training Institute in 1984 and holds a Duval County Journeyman Electrician's license.
E-mail: bfoleyjr@mecojax.com
T.J. Lesso - VP, Roadway and Utilities
Mr. Lesso is Vice President of the Transportation Group which has its primary emphasis on roadway lighting, traffic signalization, bridge construction and ITS as well as the installation of underground utilities and outside fiber optic projects. Formal training includes coursework at the University of Florida in engineering. Mr. Lesso holds certification in IMSA, Transtector Systems, ATT Design Engineering in Premises Distribution Systems and is certified by the Lightning Protection Institute as a Master installer.
Mr. Lesso has been with Miller Electric Company since 1972 working in every division of the company. He has managed all transportation roadway projects since 1992.
E-mail: tlesso@mecojax.com
P.W. Sandefer - VP, Health Services
Mr. Sandefer has worked in the electrical construction industry since 1971, joining Miller Electric Company in 1989. He currently serves as Vice President in charge of commercial and institutional projects. He graduated from Clemson University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering and holds a Master Electrical Contractors License in the State of Florida.
He has served as project engineer, project manager and electrical design engineer for numerous projects, including generating plants, paper mills, hospitals and commercial buildings. Mr. Sandefer is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Illuminating Engineering Society (Past Chapter President), Jacksonville Master Electricians Association (Past President), and various other technical societies. He is the recipient of the Edwin Guth Award for Excellence in Lighting Design and the Edison Award for Lighting.
E-mail: psandefer@mecojax.com
E.E. Witt, Jr. - VP, Commercial & Industrial Services
Mr. Witt has been employed by Miller Electric since 1984 in various field positions. From 1990 to the present he became Estimator, Assistant Project Manager, Project Manager, and Vice President, Commercial/Institutional.
Mr. Witt is a member of Vision is Priceless, Associated General Contractors Association, and NECA.
He holds a BS from the University of Florida, and has completed NECA Estimating and Management Courses. He is a Florida Certified General Contractor and holds #CO49951.
E-mail: ewittjr@mecojax.com
Richard A. Ludwig - VP, Corporate Services
Mr. Ludwig has worked in the electrical industry since 1966, joining Miller Electric in 1979. His current position is Vice President in Corporate Services/Branch Office Operations. He graduated from the Jacksonville Academy of Electrical Technologies in 1971. He holds a Certified Electrical Contractor License in the State of Florida.
During his time with Miller Electric he has worked in all capacities from Journeyman, Foreman, Assistant Project Manager, Project Manager, and Vice President R&M Services/Commercial. He currently oversees the day to day operation in the branches, supports Managers and their development, bid reviews, project reviews, cost control, labor/management and customer development.
Mr. Ludwig served as a member of The Construction Trade Qualifying Board for the City of Jacksonville, Board of Directors for NECA Labor/Management, NECA/IBEW Apprenticeship Committee, Duval County Master Electricians Association, Rotary Club, First Coast Manufacturing Association, BOMA and NAIOP.
E-mail: rludwig@mecojax.com