Sales GPS 2019 Conference Leaders
Mike Marks
Managing Partner, Indian River Consulting Group Mike Marks, managing partner of Indian River Consulting Group, began his consulting practice after more than 20 years in distribution management. His narrow focus in B2B channel-driven markets has created an extensive number of deep executive relationships in construction, industrial, OEM, agricultural and health care. Mike has led project teams that improve market access by aligning resources to growth opportunities, serving manufacturers, dealers and distributors. Mike's contributions to the field include multiple terms as a research fellow with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, a permanent faculty member for Purdue University’s University of Innovative Distribution and eight years as graduate adjunct faculty in the Industrial Distribution Program at Texas A&M University. He has also rendered several precedent-setting expert opinions in contract disputes between manufacturers and distributors. Prior to forming IRCG, Mike was EVP at Lex Electronics, an $800-million vertically integrated electronics distributor in Stamford, CT. His path to management was marked by increasing responsibilities in sales and sales management. He also completed a tour of duty as a manufacturer’s representative. Mike is the author of What’s Your Plan? Smart Salesforce Compensation in Wholesale Distribution, Value Creation Strategies for Wholesaler-Distributors and Working at Cross-Purposes: How Distributors and Manufacturers Can Manage Conflict Successfully. |
Colleen Stanley
President, SalesLeadership, Inc. Colleen Stanley is president and founder of SalesLeadership, Inc., a sales development firm. She is the author of two books, Emotional Intelligence For Sales Success, now published in six languages, and author of Growing Great Sales Teams. Salesforce recently named Colleen one of the top sales influencers of the 21st century. She has also been named one of the Top 50 Sales & Marketing Influencers, Top 10 Women in Sales Experts to Follow and Top 30 Global Gurus. Clients include Harvard Business Review Poland, Otterbox, Arthur J. Gallagher, Xerox PARC, First American Title, PopSockets, HomeAdvisor and FedEx. |
Ed Gerber
President & CEO, Industrial Supply Association Ed has a deep understanding of industrial supply channels. With 30+ years’ experience in executive leadership roles in distribution and manufacturing, Ed built, led and turned around organizations. Known as an entrepreneurial-driven-business builder, his expertise is strategizing and growing successful businesses organically or through M&A. Since 2016, Ed has been the President & CEO of the Industrial Supply Association, the premier trade association for the maintenance, repair, operations and production (MROP) supply channel. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, for the Industrial Distribution Group, where he led the reengineering and execution of IDG’s Industrial vision and strategy focused on product mix, pricing, fulfillment, channels and value-based selling. |
Kirk Zehnder
CEO, Earnest Machine Kirk Zehnder is the CEO of Earnest Machine, founded in 1948 and a global importer, distributor, and manufacturer of large diameter and hard-to-find fasteners for the agriculture, construction equipment, heavy transportation, mining, structural construction and wind industries. Earnest maintains warehouses, sales offices, and manufacturing centers in Cleveland, OH, and Wolverhampton, England, as well as warehouses in Atlanta, GA, and Indianapolis, IN.
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Ian Heller
President, Modern Distribution Management Ian Heller became President & COO of Modern Distribution Management in 2017. Ian started his distribution career as a truck unloader at a Grainger branch in Ft. Collins, CO. Fifteen years later, he was the Marketing VP for Grainger and went on to serve in senior executive roles at GE Capital Rail, Newark Electronics, Corporate Express and HD Supply Construction & Industrial. Along the way, he founded, ran and sold the distribution consulting firm Real Results Marketing. |
Joe DeMarco
Vice President of Business Development & Communication, LINC Systems Joe has 30 years of distribution industry experience – 23 years with Stanley Black and Decker (tools and storage division) in sales, sales management, marketing and leading a marketing team serving distributors. In 2012 he joined industrial fastener distributor LINC Systems, where he has worked to build a strong growth platform, including sales model transformation, acquisition strategy and adding an industrial supplies division. As VP of business development, he is responsible for marketing, sales effectiveness, ecommerce and other tools to meet the needs for LINC’s customers in the future. |
Joseph Nettemeyer
CEO, Valin Corporation Joseph Nettemeyer is President and CEO of Valin Corporation, a privately held, employee-owned company providing technical solutions for the technology, energy, life sciences, natural resources and transportation industries. Joe took over as President in 2001 and has transformed the company into a complete turn-key solutions provider. Prior to joining Valin, Joe worked for Emerson Electric, a multinational manufacturer of industrial products, for 21 years where he held senior management positions. |
Steve Newland
President, Allied Electronics & Automation Steve Newland is the President at Allied Electronics & Automation, the US-operating company of UK-based Electrocomponents PLC. He’s spent more than 30 years in and around the distribution industry, gaining experience in manufacturing, e-commerce, and distribution. Steve has worked for large, world-class companies like Honeywell, WW Grainger, and Mouser Electronics and several start-ups (which, probably, nobody has ever heard of) with P&Ls ranging from the billions to negative millions. He’s spent his career growing businesses with a keen focus on customer experience, sales effectiveness, and operational excellence and is now responsible for transformational grown at Allied. |
Thomas P. Gale
CEO, Modern Distribution Management For more than 25 years, Tom Gale has been MDM’s lead researcher and industry analyst on independent distribution channel trends, consolidation, technology and competitive landscape. He is a frequent speaker and moderator on these topics at company, marketing group and association meetings in North America and Europe. |
Workshop Leaders
Mike Kunkle
Vice President of Sales Enablement Services, SPA and SPASIGMA Mike Kunkle is a respected sales transformation architect and internationally-recognized sales training and sales enablement expert. He’s spent 34 years in the sales profession and 24 years as a corporate leader or consultant, helping companies drive dramatic revenue growth through best-in-class learning strategies and his proven-effective sales transformation methodologies. Today, Mike is the Vice President of Sales Enablement Services for SPA and SPASIGMA, where he advises clients, writes, speaks, leads webinars, publishes sales training courses, and designs sales enablement systems that get results. |
Doug Wyatt
Director of Sales Enablement, SPA and SPASIGMA Doug Wyatt spent 10 years in an industrial B2B sales organization during which time he developed a complete suite of skills training and mobile tools to drive revenue growth. His initiatives established a track record of providing significant impacts in the performance of new sellers and veterans alike. Since more recently joining SPA and SPASIGMA as Director of Sales Enablement, Doug has been working closely with clients to equip their sales teams with strategies, tools and training needed to retain and grow revenue in today's evolving B2B marketplace. He has spoken at national sales industry conferences and led hands-on workshops to help attendees approach their own sales enablement and training efforts strategically. Currently he is working to develop, and bring to market, a number of training tools and sales resources designed to accelerate growth in industrial B2B organizations. |