Department/Title: Sales Director - Capital Sales & Marketing
Worked at Kadant Carmanah Since: 2005

Tell me about your career path and how you got to Kadant.

After graduating from a marketing management program, I worked as a sales representative at a small-town industrial supply store that supplied everything from nuts and bolts to welding machines. I eventually moved back to Vancouver and accepted a position with Carmanah as an inside sales representative in the parts department. Since then I have had the opportunity to wear several different hats within the Kadant Carmanah Design sales department, eventually focusing on promoting and selling capital machinery.

What is your favorite aspect of your job?

I enjoy meeting customers in the field and seeing the challenges they face firsthand. Each OSB plant, sawmill, or chip plant does things a little differently, every visit to a new mill is a learning opportunity.

How has Kadant Carmanah changed in the time that you’ve been there?

We moved our plant and offices from Vancouver to Surrey, British Columbia in 2012 and were acquired by Kadant in 2013. In recent years, we’ve focused our R&D efforts on vision systems and smart connected products. This has required us to find new resources and develop skills in areas we previously weren’t focused on. We now have a very talented crew working on some exciting developments that will help our machinery be more productive, efficient, and reliable.

What is one of you or your team’s greatest successes in the past year?

This is more of a general comment rather than a nod to a specific recent event. The team at Kadant Carmanah is very good at responding to emergency events. It doesn’t happen often, but during those rare events where the mill is down and needs our urgent support, our response is truly best in class. Whether it be parts that need to be manufactured on a rush basis, special logistics to move heavy parts to a remote mill, or field service representatives and engineers traveling to site on a moment’s notice, I’m always amazed at how focused we get to deliver outstanding service.

Who is your biggest inspiration?

My grandfather was a successful business owner and a great leader. I have sought advice from him on numerous occasions and try to be a little more like him in this regard every day.

What do you like to do in your free time and why?

I love to snowboard, but don’t get on the slopes as often as I would like. Also, my wife and I love to travel. Our favorite thing to do is to get lost in a new city.