Hawthorne Cat names new president and CEO

David Ness has been named president and CEO for all Hawthorne Cat divisions, San Diego. He will be based in the corporate office in Rancho Bernardo, Calif. The company is the exclusive Cat equipment dealer in San Diego, the Hawaiian Islands and the Pacific Region. He succeeds his father, Tee Ness, and grandfather, Tom Hawthorne, in the role of president. Ness is a 20-year Hawthorne veteran who began his career with the company helping Hawthorne to implement Six Sigma throughout the organization.

He went on to the Hawthorne Power Systems division as the engine business manager in 2007, which reached record business levels under his leadership. In 2011, Ness was promoted to vice president of sales, responsible for San Diego and Hawaii machinery sales. In 2015, he was promoted to chief operations officer and senior vice president.

"Hawthorne is a family-run business and I'm proud to say that I am only the third president in our 65-year history," Ness said. "At Hawthorne, our mission is to help our customers build better communities, and I look forward to the continued and new partnerships with our customers that keep our communities strong."