IDEA Team

Robert Gaylord

Brigadier ­General Robert Gaylord (retired) has been president and CEO of IDEA since December 2007. For the first time since the inception of IDEA, Bob and the B­oard of Directors rigorously analyzed IDEA's value and purpose in the channel. The strategic plan completed under his leadership resulted in a new corporate vision, mission and strategic goals that clearly articulate IDEA’s purpose - to drive cost out of the electrical supply chain. Previously, Bob was President and CEO of the Leader-to-Leader Institute (formerly the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management) in New York City. Bob retired from the United States Army in 2005 after a long and distinguished career culminating in his assignment as the Army's senior strategic communications and public affairs officer. He serves as a leader for several nonprofit organizations dedicated to veterans, youth, and the country’s future such as Mission Readiness, Military Child Education Coalition, and the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation. He is a graduate of The Ohio University with a degree in Fine Arts, and subsequently earned a Master of Technology degree from Georgia Southern College and a Master of Science degree in Public Relations from The American University.

Mike Wentz

Mike has more than 20 years of distribution and technology experience and has expertise in a variety of industries including electrical, plumbing, HVAC, industrial, medical, electronics, lighting, safety products, fasteners and food distribution. He has helped hundreds of distributors develop technology plans to increase sales, improve customer service, and decrease operating expenses. As Director of National Accounts for Epicor (Activant Solutions), he focused on identifying and developing partnerships between Epicor and targeted industry organizations. He also co-founded an early eBusiness venture that facilitated transaction cost reduction and information flow in the construction supply chain. Mike is active with NEMA, NAED, ALA, HARDI and ASA and has worked closely with industry marketing groups such as A-D, IMARK, Johnstone Supply Group, Blue Hawk and IMCO.

Steve Horton

Steve is a seasoned entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the technology, CPG, wholesale distribution and global standards industries. Steve was founder and CEO of Integrated Software Systems (ISS), a leading provider of data synchronization and supply chain solutions. Under his leadership, ISS became a pioneer in the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN) community, capturing 25 percent of the market share. Steve’s vision also led to the launch of the industry’s first hosted data synchronization solution for mid-market manufacturers. In 2006 ISS’ data sync business was acquired by IDEA. Steve has sat on several boards and is active in several industry associations and standards governing bodies, including GS1, GS1-US, 1SYNC, GDSN, GMA, NFI, and AHMA.

Maggie Root

Maggie has worked at IDEA since September 1999 before the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) and Industry Data Exchange (IDX) were operational. She values her long history of relationships with IDEA customers. Before joining IDEA, Maggie worked as a consultant (due to her full time job as a mom). She has worked in many business sectors including construction, mortgage, publishing, education, security, nonprofit and leasing. Maggie graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s with a degree in Accounting. She’s a native to DC, a wife, and mom of two fantastic grown up kids.

Mary Shaw

Mary has been part of the Electrical Industry for over 25 years, aside from a brief stint with GS1 Canada in 2006, and has been with IDEA since January 2003, initially as the Canadian Sales Representative, then transitioning to Standards in December that same year.  Mary is responsible for the eBusiness Standards unit of IDEA, which facilitates the development and maintenance of Electrical Industry e-commerce standards via the IDEA Industry Standards Committee and Sub-committees. She was instrumental in the updating of the UNSPSC code list with electrical industry products, resulting in the development of the Electrical Industry Attribute Schema which identifies product descriptor attributes for over 2400 product categories.
Prior to her position with IDEA, Mary was heavily involved with EDI and global e-commerce during her 14 years with Panduit Corporation, and Panduit Canada. She was also a member of the Electro-Federation Canada E-Committee Committee in the early ‘90’s, and continued to be until January 2000, when she moved to Chicago with Panduit.  Mary is active with NAED, NEMA, and other industry organizations, supporting standards initiatives, and represents the US and Canadian electrical industry on global e-commerce committees with GS1 and ASC X12.