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As president, Mapes will assume full profit and loss responsibility for electrical products, A. O. Smith's largest operating unit with 2003 sales of $824.6 million. The unit manufactures an extensive line of fractional horsepower, hermetic, and integral horsepower electric motors and has manufacturing operations in North America, Europe, and Asia. 

"Chris Mapes brings unique background and perspective to this position, with global experience both in motor manufacturing and on the supplier side of the electrical market," said Paul W. Jones, president and chief operating officer of A. O. Smith Corporation. "He has the industry knowledge, management experience, and skills to provide dynamic leadership during these challenging times." 

Mapes joins A. O. Smith from Regal-Beloit Corporation, where he was president of motor sales and marketing and an officer of the company. In that position, he was responsible for product development, sales, and marketing for Regal-Beloit's global motor business as well as profit and loss for other operations within Regal-Beloit, including its global logistics operations.
Mapes began his career at General Motors Corporation in a salaried development program where he held a number of positions in manufacturing management and human resources. 

Mapes earned a B.S. degree in 1985 from Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana. He received a law degree from the University of Toledo in 1988 and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Evanston, Illinois, in 1998.