Joel L. Hoffner was appointed president and CEO of Paragon Technologies Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2006, following the retirement of the current CEO.
Hoffner previously served as vice president of product management, vice president of engineering and director of engineering at SI Handling Systems Inc., a Paragon predecessor company. He was also CEO and founder of SI/BAKER INC., a joint venture between the company and Automated Prescription Systems Inc., that provided order fulfillment systems to the mail order pharmacy market.
Hoffner has been a consultant to SI Handling Systems Inc. and Paragon for various marketing and business evaluation assignments over the last 10 years. Most recently, he was president of E&E Corp. and is currently managing director of The QTX Group. Both companies provided consultative due diligence and enterprise evaluation services to investment banking institutions worldwide, to process and manufacturing industries, and to warehousing and distribution operations.
Hoffner earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University.
Len Yurkovic, president and CEO of Paragon Technologies, says, “The appointment of Joel Hoffner as president and CEO … coupled with the promotions of Bill Casey and Jack Lehr to senior executive positions, puts in place an exceptionally experienced team of executives to continue to expand and diversify the company. I am delighted with the company’s potential driven by these promotions.”
Paragon Technologies is a leader in integrating material handling systems and creating automated solutions for material flow applications.
CDI Corp.
Constantine N. Papadakis was elected to the board of directors of CDI Corp., an engineering and information technology outsourcing solutions and professional staffing company.
Papadakis, president of Drexel University since 1995, has held several engineering positions with Bechtel Inc. and has also served as vice president at STS Consultants and Tetra Tech Inc.
His academic career includes roles as head of the Civil Engineering Department at Colorado State University and as dean of the College of Engineering at The University of Cincinnati.
Papadakis serves on the boards of Amkor Technologies Inc., Aqua America Inc., Mace Security International Inc., Met-Pro Corp., the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and Sovereign Bank Inc.
Paragon Technologies Inc.
William J. Casey was promoted to executive vice president of Paragon Technologies Inc. and president of production and assembly.
Casey has worked for Paragon for 38 years. He currently serves as vice president of SI Systems (a predecessor company of Paragon) production and assembly. From 2001 to 2003 he held a similar executive position with The Casey Group but rejoined Paragon in 2003.
Casey is a member of the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association and was board president 2002-2003. He has served on its board of directors since 1997 and chaired numerous committees.
John F. Lehr was promoted to vice president of the company and managing director of order fulfillment.
Lehr joined Paragon as director of sales and marketing of SI Systems Order Fulfillment in April. He has more than 22 years of experience in the material handling systems integration industry with specific expertise in the design, sale and implementation of highly automated distribution centers. He has managed facilities projects in North America, South America and Europe.
Most recently, Lehr was president of Genesys Systems.
Devon Health Services Inc.
Justin Hawley was promoted to director of information technology.
In his new role he will manage all software and technical networks, oversee day-to-day IT operations and resolve troubleshooting issues.
Devon Health hired Hawley in 2003 after he’d worked for the company for three years as an IT consultant.
Hawley graduated from St. Joseph’s University.
Human Genome Sciences
Dr. Robert C. Young was appointed to the board of directors of Human Genome Sciences.
Young is a medical oncologist and internationally known for his work in the treatment of lymphoma and ovarian cancer.
He is past president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the American Cancer Society and the International Gynecologic Cancer Society. He earned the ASCO Distinguished Service Award for Scientific Leadership in 2004 and was co-recipient of the 2002 Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Research for his research in ovarian cancer.
Young earned his bachelor of science degree in zoology from The Ohio State University and his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College.
Javan & Walter Inc.
Rochelle L. Chavis Jr. joined Javan & Walter Inc. as senior project engineer.
Chavis is responsible for the design and coordination of heating, ventilation and air conditioning projects for clients. He conducts field visits and is responsible for project scope development and communication with his peers and clients, and provides QA/QC review and inspection of projects at Javan & Walter, Inc.
Chavis is a U.S. Army reservist and recently completed two years of service in Iraq.
