Luis VallsLINDEN, NJ — Electrical and industrial distributor Turtle & Hughes announced Tuesday that its Board of Directors has selected Luis Valls — a 16-year veteran of the company — as president, effective immediately. Rick Reffler, who has been President since 2013, will transition to a senior advisory sales role.
Turtle & Hughes is No. 26 on Industrial Distribution's Big 50 List.
On making the announcement, Jayne Millard, Chairman and CEO said, “My family and I are deeply appreciative of everything that Rick has accomplished and we are very excited about Luis having the opportunity to put in place his bold vision for the future. Luis has proven himself to be an outstanding sales and technology leader and the ideal person to build upon the substantial progress made under Rick’s stewardship.”
“We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across the Turtle & Hughes executive leadership team. In the 10 years that Luis has served as Vice President and National Manager of the Company’s Power Distribution & Automation Solutions Group, he has built one of the strongest and most innovative teams of engineers nationwide,” Millard continued.
During his tenure, Turtle & Hughes has become a recognized leader in power distribution and lighting by developing a unique, strategic sales model focusing on technical expertise, customer service, complete equipment packages, value engineering, dedicated project management, and installation support. This has earned Valls and his team complex projects, including World Trade Center Tower No. 1, World Trade Center Transportation Hub, Second Avenue Subway, LaGuardia Airport Redevelopment and Hudson Yards.
Valls was born in Camaguey, Cuba, and raised in the Canary Islands and Panama. He first came to New Jersey to attend Fairleigh Dickenson University, where he earned a degree in industrial engineering. After graduating, he accepted a position at Siemens and later held posts at General Electric and Compton Instruments.
