Gescan congratulates Mike Schiffke on his promotion to District Manager for Southern Alberta. With seven years of electrical industry experience, Mike is assisting in facilitating the growth of our four branches and expanding our footprint in the region while taking a high-level approach to strengthening ties with our vendor partners and customers to provide the ultimate customer experience. Bringing a hands-on approach to strategically aligning the branches, Mike said, “Ensuring we consistently have quality products in stock, knowledgeable staff and providing an omnichannel approach to doing business with us are key to making our customers’ lives easier.”  

Mike has a major in Marketing with a minor in Business Management from the University of Lethbridge. Prior to joining us, he held several management positions in the building supplies retail/wholesale market. Since taking on the role as Branch Manager at our Calgary Branch in 2015, Mike has earned several awards including Most Improved Branch 2017 and our eCommerce Award in 2019 and 2021.  

Mike attributes his early success in promoting our eCommerce capabilities to truly understanding customer needs and directing them towards the most fitting solutions, “We provide so many online tools and services that cater to a variety of different buying preferences. I learned early on not to focus on just one digital solution but to approach customers individually to make accurate recommendations and educate them on the right tools for them to encourage adoption. It’s all about finding the right fit.” As the gravitation towards online ordering grows, Mike said he will continue to focus on our eCommerce presence in his new role. 

Also looking to expand our teams in each Southern Alberta location, Mike said putting the right people in the right place is the biggest key to achieving goals at each level of the business, “Every day I come in to try and win the day and I'm driving my team because it's the team that creates those winning days. My biggest accomplishment was building the right team in Calgary in order to succeed.” Mike has a highly communicative and open-door management style, “If anyone has questions or needs help, I am always available. I also learn about individuals' particular roles and request feedback on how to make a role better in order to make their lives easier.” 

Echoing the focus of our latest Sales Kickoff Meeting, Mike is all about making lives easier for our customers, vendors and people on a daily basis. At the event, Mike was thrilled to see Gescan thoroughly engaging our sales team in strategic planning for 2022, “To be able to interact with our Senior Leadership Team and vendors, and learn new tools and sales processes that the sales reps could start implementing right away was extremely beneficial. Plus, they want to be shoulder to shoulder with peers to share challenges, successes and best practices. Being a part of the process and interacting with and growing their support group is so reinvigorating!” 

When Mike isn’t looking for new innovative ways to service customers and motivate his teams, he enjoys travelling, spending time with his family and participating in Spartan races. He often does 4 to 5 races a year and has participated in Seattle, Montreal, Ottawa, Kimberly and elsewhere.