Sales Leadership Succession Plan
Autoquip announces several key promotions as part of our sales leadership succession plan. These advancements follow the previous announcement that Louis Coleman will retire as Sr. Director of Sales & Marketing at the end of September 2023. These changes are designed to further strengthen the company’s long-term growth strategy and build continuity of service for our customers.
Steve Castle as Director of Sales and Marketing
Steve Castle will advance from the position of Regional Sales Manager to Director of Sales & Marketing. Steve has been with the company since 1986 where he began in manufacturing and worked in Quality Assurance before moving into new equipment sales in 1999, first as inside sales coordinator and then as Regional Sales Manager for the West and Southeast territories. Steve’s expansive product knowledge has been a great asset to the company and to our customers. He has successfully managed some of our most complex projects for our largest customers. He will continue to lead the company’s efforts for innovation, special projects, integrated systems, and development of advanced lifting systems and controls.
“I am very blessed to have worked for many years with great customers and a great Autoquip team. We’ve seen enormous growth over the years in every aspect of the business; not only in the breadth of our products, but also in the complexity of the projects that we are handling. I’m really looking forward to seeing how we define “custom projects” 10 years from now. Leading our sales and marketing efforts further into this realm will expectedly be challenging but will also be very rewarding for Autoquip and for our partners,” said Steve Castle.
Robert Spiva Promoted to Regional Sales Manager – West Coast
Robert Spiva has been named Regional Sales Manager, West Coast following the promotion of Steve Castle. Robert has held the position of Inside Sales Supervisor and has been with the company since 2007. Many of our customers know Robert for his creativity and innovative vision to design solutions for unique applications.
“I have been working with our West Coast customers through my inside sales position, but I am really looking forward to working with them one on one. I am excited to understand their challenges and helping them grow their business and opportunities,” said Robert Spiva.
Josh Sawyer Promoted to Inside Sales Manager
Josh Sawyer has been promoted to Inside Sales Manager assuming the position Robert Spiva has been managing. Josh has been with the company since for 15 years in our engineering department where he has advanced to Design Group Manager. Josh not only has a deep fundamental knowledge of how our equipment is designed and built, but he also knows the limitless possibilities that our lifting solutions can achieve for our customers.
“I look forward to continuing to help our customers find solutions to their unique and challenging applications. I have had the privilege of doing that while working in Engineering for the past 15 years and am excited to now be involved in the beginning consulting and quoting stages. I also will be focusing heavily on process improvement. I firmly believe in streamlining our processes so that our efficiencies can increase, and in the process help our customers even more,” said Josh Sawyer.
Transition Plan
“These organizational changes have been planned and orchestrated very thoughtfully to provide excellent opportunities for our people who are prepared to step up into expanded roles as the company grows. We are blessed with deep talent and expertise throughout our team, and we are positioned well for the next stage of our amazing journey to grow and provide our customers with superior service,” commented Chris Kuehni, Autoquip. President and GM.
The organizational changes and promotions will coincide with the transition plan announced with Louis Coleman’s retirement at the end of September 2023. Louis will remain with the company through this time and will be the senior advisor to assist with the transition and provide guidance and mentorship for the new sales leadership team.
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