Ginger KingAriens Co. has named Ginger King president of its Ariens Specialty Brands (ASB) business unit. ASB is a distributor of specialty equipment, supplies and gear, serving niche outdoor segments through direct marketing brands Gempler’s, Ben Meadows, AW Direct, Stens, J Thomas and Bynorm. The business unit has operations in Madison and Janesville, Wisconsin, as well as Jasper, Indiana.
King served previously as vice president of human resources for the company. Before joining Ariens, she held several HR positions at Kohler Co. in Kohler, Wisconsin, and Serigraph in West Bend, Wisconsin. She holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
In a related move, Chuck Basting was promoted to vice president of human resources. Basting previously was Ariens’ director of talent and total rewards.
In other management changes at Ariens, the company announced that John Horn, vice president of global sales, will add two new sales positions and spend more time with sales staff, distributors and dealers in international markets.
In conjunction with Horn’s added focus on sales abroad, the company named Ron Marcellus as director of North American sales. Marcellus has held various sales management positions with Ariens for the past 18 years.
Meanwhile, Joe Pope has been named director of dealer development for the company, a new position. Pope will develop and implement strategic sales and training programs within the dealer channel and work with dealers to raise awareness of the Ariens and Gravely brands.
