A Little Bit About My Family
I've been married 34 years to my better half Cynthia who keeps me on my toes and shows me how to live passionately. We are blessed to have raised three successful children (Bianca, Danielle & Luke) who have big hearts and who care about others. Currently we've got a crazy little dog that's a Corgie Lab mix. His name is Chiquitin which means "little one" in Spanish. Named by my sister in law we call him Chicky. We also have two cats Cosmo and Nova. Cosmo is a unique Japanese Bobtail and Nova is a Manx breed (no pun intended). ?? They definitely add some craziness to the household. Lastly we have a 15 year old leopard gecko named Rex
My Background & Journey:
I'm a native Austinite with very deep roots in Central Texas. I played college baseball at Concordia Junior College (a left handed first baseman) before transferring to Texas State graduating with a degree in marketing. I'm a lifelong Texas Longhorn sports fan having grown up with them throughout my youth. I'm a Longhorn football season ticket holder with my two brothers and I bleed orange!
I was introduced to the computer supply business back in 1990. In those days I sold printer ribbons, diskettes, back up tapes, computer paper and business forms. I loved it from the beginning. The products were consumable, every business had to have them and success meant building relationships. My life changed the moment I embraced it. I couldn't wait to wake up each day to hit the ground running as I built my customer base.
In 1992 I started my own distributorship from my kitchen table and grew it into a multi million dollar company which lasted 20 years. By this time I had diversified into printing, promotional products and office supplies. I experienced many highs and many lows along my journey but came out a stronger person having persevered. When my largest customer filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy it pretty much capsized the boat and the time came to reinvent myself.
After merging my business with another larger distributor in 2012 I found a new home for my customers and myself that lasted almost 7 years. When they were acquired by Office Depot, I decided that a new chapter of my life was needed.
Discovering American
I had heard of American Solutions For Business through my travels but I had never investigated their opportunity. Once I did I quickly found out what I had been missing.
I discovered that they had been in business since 1981 owned by a former print distributor who had a vision of an entrepreneurial sales driven model where an infrastructure was laid to support the sales staff. With over 800 sales reps and sales revenue topping $400 million I knew that I was on to something special. When I found out that American was employee owned and that I would be given the opportunity to become an owner that was just the icing on the cake.
So in April 2019 I signed on to become part of American and it has been one of the best career decisions that I've ever made. The transition was smooth and my customer base was happy with my decision. The ownership culture at American was like no other. Today I'm like a kid in a candy store as I embrace all the marketing tools, programs and technology platforms American has to offer. My passion has been rekindled and I know that I have found my final home.
At American, we believe in proactive, customer-driven business relationships, operating with a single layer of corporate management. This reduces overhead and enables our customers to enjoy greater value per purchasing dollar. Many distributors have levels of approval and management that an associate must work through to service the customer. At American, our Sales Associates are empowered to work directly with our manufacturing partners to develop the best solution for our customers.
