CLEVELAND … Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton Corporation today announced that Scott Trahan has been named vice president – Communications, Europe, Middle East and Africa, effective Jan. 11. He will report directly to Yannis P. Tsavalas, president – Europe, Middle East and Africa region, and functionally to Eaton's Senior Vice President - Communications, Donald J. McGrath Jr.

Trahan will be responsible for directing Eaton’s internal, external and brand communications across the European region. He will be located at Eaton’s European headquarters in Morges, Switzerland. Reporting to Trahan will be Michael Praeger, communications manager - EMEA.

"Eaton has been very successful achieving growth in Europe in recent years," said Tsavalas in announcing Trahan's appointment to the newly created position. "One key to maintaining our aggressive growth curve is to strengthen understanding that virtually everything Eaton does helps customers reduce their energy costs and that we are real experts in doing so inventively and in a very sustainable way. I am confident that Scott will help us continue to improve our image and reputation in this critical region."

"Scott's breadth of experience, especially his 12 years in international assignments, will benefit Eaton greatly in communicating our power management transformation and successes to internal and external audiences," added McGrath. “He has worked very successfully in a number of key international communications assignments supporting well-known brands and will hold a key position in building the Eaton brand across the European region.”

Prior to joining Eaton, Trahan served as director – Executive and Organizational Communications for Philip Morris International in Lausanne, Switzerland. In this role, he provided strategic communications counsel to the senior management team and key functions including Research and Development, Investor Relations, Brand Building and Operations. Prior to that, he was managing director – Asia Public Affairs Practice, Hong Kong, for Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm. Earlier in his career, he served as press secretary and media spokesman in Washington DC. for U.S. Senator J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana. Trahan holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Louisiana State University.

Eaton Corporation is a diversified power management company with 2008 sales of $15.4 billion. Eaton is a global technology leader in electrical components and systems for power quality, distribution and control; hydraulics components, systems and services for industrial and mobile equipment; aerospace fuel, hydraulics and pneumatic systems for commercial and military use; and truck and automotive drivetrain and powertrain systems for performance, fuel economy and safety. Eaton has approximately 70,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 150 countries.