How long have you been in the PHCP-PVF industry?

AS: One year as of Aug. 2.

What drew you into the industry?

AS: I sort of fell into the industry after leaving my previous operations role at UPS and having a chance meeting with the Vice President of Sales for BDA (Battersby Danielson Azbell.) I’ve always respected the hard work, discipline, and ingenuity present in the trades and loved the idea of introducing data hygiene and analytics to my rep agency.

What is the most rewarding aspect of working in the industry?

AS: I entered the industry during a pandemic and a time of unprecedented growth which gave me the opportunity to collect, organize, and analyze a large amount of sales data to help uncover trends, anomalies, and insights to further inform the actions of our administrative, sales, and management teams.

What is one thing you wish more people knew/understood about the PHCP-PVF industry?

AS: I wish more people understood how quickly this industry can adapt to technological advances. While business and data analytics seem to have lagged behind in certain parts of the plumbing industry, as we introduce our customers and business partners to the work we are doing and what the future of that work looks like they are excited and want to be involved with our process of data analysis to uncover insights about their own companies. It’s a great feeling when you and your customers and business partners get excited about the opportunity to grow together.

What has been the proudest moment in your career so far?

AS: I am proud to have helped our agency get ahead of the curve by using our CRM platform in tandem with Microsoft Power BI to collect and drill down into years’ worth of data. We are in the process of building up the new ERP system that will help further build on that data and not only help us identify more opportunities to help our customers and grow our business but streamline processes across the board to increase efficiency in all areas of our business.

What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

AS: I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. I’m usually surprised when I meet someone who knows as much or more than me. I might get a little competitive and challenge our knowledge when given the opportunity.

Why he was chosen as a Next Gen All Star Top 20 Under 40 winner:

“AJ came into the Plumbing World with no prior plumbing knowledge or experience and became a quick study; learning all about the products we sold as a manufacturers' rep agency. He took on the challenge of finding creative ways to help get knowledge out to our external customers via social media and constant contact. As he built our social presence, he worked on cleaning up all the data imported into our new CRM program, RepFabric. On top of that, he helped build our Microsoft PowerBI system to give our associates the ability to have all the data at their fingertips for making informed decisions for time management and opportunity creation.  It helps in so many ways, especially when meeting with our plumbing and heating wholesalers to have the best sales numbers readily available in one spot, versus trying to find them from all the various sources. Lastly, one of the other big areas has been the implementation of our new ERP, called DDI.  AJ has worked hard to become the go-to person for knowing all the ins and outs of how to work in the system.  He has really helped move our company, BDA, into the future of technology and is always looking for best practices for us to use our tools to the max.  We need more young people in this industry and he is a shining example of excellence,” says Mike Lambert, sales director, BDA.