Congratulations to Graeme Kersell on being promoted to the newly created role of Director of Commercial Sales. Graeme was previously the Alberta Regional Director and has the reputation of a game-changer who rebuilds businesses and strong teams.   

"What makes our business special is the people."  

Graeme Kersell stepped into the electrical industry 17 years ago with a background in sales in the construction industry. An industry senior said to him, "Within the first six months, you will figure out if this is the right industry for you and if it is, you will stay in it for the rest of your life.”   

"In the construction industry, I dealt mostly with contractors. The electrical industry is very different. It is a tight-knit community. What makes our business special is the people," said Graeme.    

 "I had to create a vision and strategy for our sales team."  

Graeme joined Gescan six years ago as the Sales Manager for Northern Alberta. "I saw a significant leadership change coming to Gescan in the Edmonton market. Two long-serving managers - the branch and the sales managers were retiring," he said.    

To be successful, you need to choose what resonates best with you. "I missed a lot of action at the wholesale side - the energy, customer activity, and vendor engagement. This was possible with a sales leadership position at Gescan. Back then, the company had a small market share in Northern Alberta. I saw an opportunity here to build something meaningful. I'm grateful that it worked out the way it has," said Graeme. 

Creating a vision   

"The sales and the projects teams were reporting to me directly. I had to turn around any lack of motivation and create a strategy for our sales team," he said.  

Three years after handling this role, Graeme was promoted to Regional Manager for Alberta. Another three years of riding the market wave landed him another promotion. This time, as the Regional Director for Alberta. But when you are a star performer, you get promoted yet again. Graeme is now the Director of Commercial Sales for Gescan. The new profile enables him to plan, develop and implement commercial strategies based on company goals and objectives to support and improve growth.    

Known as a game-changer, Graeme rebuilds businesses and strong teams. "As cliché as it would sound, I enjoy finding the best opportunity every day for success. It is the team. It is number one. Being able to come to work and support them in their efforts for success is what motivates me," said Graeme. 

Change management   

Graeme says that future success will depend on integrating new strategies into the company's DNA.   

Last year as Gescan embarked on a journey to develop and implement such strategies, Graeme led the creation of an in-house sales process that involved a cross-section of the organization. 

"It's all about managing the change. It is how you adopt this change. The question was, how do we make sure that this becomes part of our DNA? How does the cross representation of the organization be a part of this? I wanted to allow our team to build something unique for our business. And that's what we did. Everyone from Sales, Marketing, Pricing, Purchasing, and IT operations contributed to figuring out the critical steps within," said Graeme.   

Entrepreneurial spirit    

Graeme and the team have unified sales strategies by grasping questions that needed new answers. It was the first time everyone in the company collaborated for change. "It speaks of our entrepreneurial spirit to build something from scratch," said Graeme.   

It is all about how you can go and improve your business today. "Making slight changes to your business and finding ways to engage your team to think better," Graeme added.    

The engine    

"We are a leading-edge electrical wholesaler with a strong local presence and global reach. We continue to innovate ahead of anybody else. But it is our people who are the differentiators. They are the engine of our business as they represent themselves and the brand. How we represent ourselves as a business within the market makes me proud," said Graeme.   

Did you know Graeme is an avid curler? "It is a game of strategies and camaraderie. On and off the ice I have met incredible people because of curling. It is a great social opportunity for decompression. I am passionate about the skills needed to ace the game."   

Outside of Gescan, Graeme also loves to cook with his family. You can find him at a dog park on most weekends, hanging out with his dog, Jack.