People on the Move: Updates from Weathermatic, Rain Bird and more

Matthew McMurrough (Headshot provided by Weathermatic)

Weathermatic welcomed Matt McMurrough as regional sales manager to lead business development strategies in Texas.

McMurrough brings more than 20 years of experience in building products sales and distribution. Most recently, McMurrough was responsible for the establishment and operation of new distribution branches throughout the Midwest for SRS Distribution. McMurrough will be responsible for working with partner contractors to grow their business, developing new business opportunities with professionals in landscape design, construction and maintenance, and supporting the company’s network of wholesale distributors.

Rain Bird named Mark Donohue as its new regional manager for the company’s Southeast Asia market.

In his new role, Donohue will manage the development of Rain Bird’s sales organization in Southeast Asia, and he will be tasked with growing Rain Bird’s golf, landscape and agriculture businesses in all Southeast Asian territories, excluding Japan and Korea.

Donohue joined Rain Bird as a regional manager for Canada in 2016. Over the past five years, Donohue built a high-performing landscape sales team, expanded and improved the company’s distribution network and delivered outstanding business results. In recognition of his efforts, Donohue received a 2020 Rain Bird Achievement Award for Long Term Growth Orientation.

Before joining Rain Bird, Donohue spent five years as the national sales manager for ITW Construction Products, Canada in Markham, Ontario. In 2015, Donohue received his professional certification from the University of Innovative Distribution at Purdue University. Donohue also graduated with a degree in political science and Canadian-American relations from Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario.

Peter Mitchell has been appointed general manager of Verizon Connect, an integral part of Verizon Business’ product portfolio. Mitchell expands his role as the company’s chief technology officer, effective immediately.

Mitchell joined Verizon Connect via the acquisition of Fleetmatics, a NYSE-listed SaaS company where he served as chief technology officer and co-founder. Subsequently, he was appointed senior vice president and chief technology officer for the broader Verizon Connect organization and has led product, engineering and user experience teams across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

AquaFuse by CMF Global, a manufacturer of piping products that improve golf course performance and water efficiency, hired Dean Chaltas as director of sales and marketing.

He joins the company from being a senior product marketing manager at The Toro Co., where he was instrumental in driving sales in the ag business. Prior to this position, he was a corporate accounts manager, golf sales manager and western regional sales manager at Toro.

As the AquaFuse sales and marketing director, Chaltas will oversee the company’s sales and marketing programs. He will develop and design strategic sales objectives. He will also establish sales quotas, manage budgets and evaluate sales performance.

Chaltas’ vast experience in the irrigation industry will contribute greatly to the success of AquaFuse on many levels. His background includes golf course irrigation, agriculture irrigation, Res-Com irrigation, as well as in other areas such as retail, wholesale distribution and manufacturing.

Bonnell has made adjustments to its national sales process. Below are the contacts for customers:

For all new equipment purchasing needs, customers will work with Outside National Sales Representative Tim Godbold. Godbold has worked with Bonnell Industries for the past four years as a parts and service sales representative.

For all parts orders, warranty and service quotes and scheduling needs, customers will work with Bonnell’s customer service department.

The Davey Tree Expert Co. promoted Larry Evans to executive vice president and general manager of the Davey Tree Surgery Co., a subsidiary of Davey Tree.

Evans started his career at Davey in 1980 as a groundsperson and moved through the ranks of climber, foreman, district foreman and area supervisor in his first 10 years. In 1997, he was promoted to account manager and in 2003 to operations manager. In 2006, Evans was named vice president and in 2012 was promoted to senior vice president. His most recent promotion was in 2017 to vice president and general manager of the Davey Tree Surgery Co.

Evans is an International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Certified Arborist Utility Specialist and past member of Davey’s President’s Council, which brainstorms and researches new ideas related to the company’s operations and presents them to management for review and consideration for implementation. He was also a recipient of Davey’s Outstanding Manager Award in 2004.

Chris Perry, a leader in the landscape industry with more than 30 years of experience, has joined Los Angeles-based Monarch Landscape Cos., a growing family of landscape companies.

Perry was named director of sales for Monarch’s Installation Division. He will be based in Northern California working with the Jensen Installation business in California and Washington. Prior to joining Monarch, Perry served in branch management and business development roles at BrightView and ValleyCrest. He spent 17 years with the company selling some of its most notable projects in Colorado, including The Gaylord Rockies Hotel, Charles Schwab Corporate Campus, The Canyons and Block 162 in downtown Denver.