LIXIL Americas announced the appointments of two key executives to the Plumbing Manufacturing International (PMI) 2020 Board of Directors and Committee.

LIXIL Americas’ Sal Gattone, vice president, engineering, is serving on PMI’s board of directors. Gattone will be participating in collective responsibilities, with seven other board members for organizational oversight, strategy and policy setting. Gattone will be serving a one-year term through 2020.

“I’m honored to serve as a part of the governing body for PMI with people that truly understand the importance of the plumbing industry,” said Gattone. “As a group, the board of directors will support PMI and its many members; representing 90 percent of the U.S. plumbing products and more than 150 brands.”

Troy Benavidez, vice president, public affairs, was appointed as a co-chair for the Advocacy/Government Affairs Committee. Benavidez brings 20-plus years of public affairs experience to the position, and will support PMI’s communications and partnerships with federal, state and local government agencies, legislators and regulators. Benavidez will serve a two-year term starting Jan. 1, 2020.

“The plumbing industry will continue to face challenges from the external environment; therefore, the role of the Advocacy / Government Affairs committee is critically important to our industry’s future success,” said Benavidez. “Our team will leverage the strength of many PMI members with regulators and policymakers to help them understand the role plumbing plays in protecting the public’s health and safety, as well as our impact on economic growth and expansion.”

PMI’s members are industry leaders in manufacturing safe, reliable and innovative water-efficient plumbing technologies, including toilets, urinals, faucets and showerheads. As one of the leaders in the industry, LIXIL Americas has been a member for several years and many employees have served on the board of directors and participated as committee members in the past. LIXIL Americas is committed to our associations, like PMI, to promote the importance of water efficiency, safety and quality of plumbing products.

Gattone is responsible for leading the engineering department and advanced concepts team to develop new products and supporting existing products for the American Standard, DXV and GROHE brands. 

In his 12 years with LIXIL, Gattone has held multiple management roles. He started with American Standard as a project manager for new product development and, most recently, served as a senior director, directing engineering department activities for all American Standard products in the fixtures category.

Prior to LIXIL, Gattone worked in the glass production industry, making float glass for Pilkington Glass and as a furnace engineer for Gerresheimer Glass crafting Borosilicate glass tubing. Gattone holds Bachelor of Engineering in Ceramic Sciences and Engineering from Alfred University.  

Benavidez is a member of the executive team and leads corporate communications, social responsibility, government relations, as well as serving as the company spokesperson. He represents LIXIL Americas in matters with the industry trade, not-for-profit groups and academic organizations to drive corporate objectives while building relationships and reputation. Additionally, Benavidez is committed to addressing the critical labor shortage facing the plumbing industry through initiatives that both increase awareness and support educational platforms.

Benavidez has a wealth of experience in corporate public affairs and communication strategy development. In his career, he served in various corporate and global public affairs roles for the pharmaceutical industry. Previously, he held a variety of positions within state and federal government with staff roles in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

Benavidez holds an MBA from Drexel University and a Bachelor of Science in political science and economics from Colorado College.