Years ago, the vast majority of distribution executives came into the industry with many of the same backgrounds and professional experiences.

“Most executives like me came up as salespeople. We came up through the sales arm of the company,” says Mort Harris, president of Replenex Inc., who has more than 40 years of experience in sales and distribution.

In recent years, though, Harris has seen things evolve in terms of how young distribution executives develop.

“The biggest change that has come about is they are now coming from different areas and backgrounds,” Harris says. “And if I had to make comparisons to 40 years ago, they are far superior today. You have to be a better business person to survive now.”

As far as coming from different professional experiences, consider the four young executives profiled in this article:

• One works for a bearings distributor, but admits to having no mechanical inclination.
• Another talks of having mechanical aptitude—but no affinity for details
• One practiced law before joining distribution.
• Another is a former Army engineer.

Perhaps these aren't the first things you'd look for in a future leader, but some industry observers say having a knowledge or background in a field other than your company's expertise can be a vital part of an executive's success.

“Having in-depth knowledge of some field other than your own is something that is critical for a young person coming along—especially in sales,” says Todd Youngblood, CEO and managing partner of the YPS Group, a sales process and sales training group.

“If I were dispensing advice, I'd say if you're going to be a sales guy or a finance guy or whatever, go learn something else, go live something else, that is dramatically different.”

The four people profiled here are all under 40. They have many of the same business instincts that executives of previous generations had. But they also have talents that reflect the changing philosophies and skill level of today's business climate.

“When I grew up in this business, it was all about product and price. Now it's about process and productivity. Today, you have to have a better understanding of the whole company and how it all fits,” Harris says.

There was a time when the notion of Courtney Jones, working at B & D Industrial would have been laughable—especially to her.

“I'm a language, not a math and science person, but products bored me. And I'm not mechanically inclined,” admits the 33 year-old mother of two, who is the corporate marketing manager for B & D.

B & D Industrial was founded by her grandfather (John Nations) in 1947. Today, her uncle, Andrew Nations, is president and CEO. Jones worked there during school vacations. But by her own admission, “when I worked there summers, to be honest, I'd think thank goodness, this won't be my future,” she laughs. “None of us, I'm sure, grew up dreaming of being bearing salespeople.”

She graduated from American University in 1995 with a degree in Spanish and Latin American studies, and Portuguese, she explains.

From there, she began work at a North Carolina-based computer company, helping to oversee its export division. This gave her a chance to use her language skills as that company began marketing itself internationally. She felt no home sickness for B & D.

A few years into that job, Andrew Nations surprised her by asking her to come to B & D to help them start their own international division. It took a little convincing to get her to make the move, Jones says. On the plus side, much of the experience she'd accumulated at the computer company seemed transferable to what B & D wanted to do.

“It was an exciting challenge. The company I had been working for was a lot smaller [than B & D] so it was like being able to do what I had done but on a larger scale,” she says.

At the same time, though, she was apprehensive about the family connection. What would happen if the move didn't work out?

“It was a bit daunting because it was the family business. If I failed, what kind of implications would that have? I was concerned that if anything went wrong, it would be awkward,” she says.

These doubts aside, Jones, then 25 years old, returned to Georgia and B & D as general manager of the international sales group. At first, she was using her language and marketing skills in what became a learning experience for her as well as the company.

“When you market yourself internationally to a region where your brand is completely new,” she explains, “you quickly learn what you need to do.”

In addition to her international marketing responsibilities, Jones soon found her position evolving as she was spending time on B & D's corporate image and communications-related work. This gave her more flexibility and required less travel, she says, which today is a definite plus with two young children at home.

“I've always enjoyed variety. I get bored doing the same thing, so this job has been a fun challenge,” she says. “We originally thought I'd be doing more project type of work but I've got involved in more strategic stuff. I've really enjoyed it. I do everything from creating our corporate newsletter to working on the Web site to strategic planning.”

Distribution has always been—and still is—a male-dominated business. But the percentage of women in the industry has picked up somewhat, at least from what Jones has seen at various conventions and trade shows.

“However, I think it's picked up more on the manufacturing side,” she says, “but not a lot on the distribution side.”

She is quick to add, though, that it has had little negative impact on her to date.

“I learned that you have a choice. You can try to be one of the guys,” she says. “Or you can also be yourself and people will enjoy that and the different perspective you might bring to the table. For the most part ... I've never felt anything but support and a great camaraderie.”

Part of the reason for that is the mentoring Jones got from Linda Miller, vice president of human resources and information technology at B & D. Jones cites her as being part of the original reason she agreed to return to B & D in the first place.

At the time of the offer, Jones admits, she had concerns about the male dominated situation that was common in distribution companies. A lengthy phone call with Miller soon followed, she says.

“I talked to [Miller] for two hours,” she recalls. “I was fascinated by how she'd made a career in the industry.”

Working with Miller has also been an important part of her own development, Jones says.

“I've enjoyed seeing how she can be a strong leader, but also very approachable, and still very feminine,” Jones praises. “She's a great example of how you can be yourself while also still having a backbone and being a strong leader. You don't have to be something you're not.”

In addition to Miller, Jones includes B & D president and CEO Andy Nations as a mentor. She also cites the influence of her late grandfather, John Nations, who passed away last year.

“He taught me the value of integrity,” she says. “Do something when you say you'll do it.”

While Courtney Jones admits to having no mechanical inclination, Steve Jenkins of Carolina Fluid Components has always had the “mechanical gene,” as he puts it.

But while Jenkins is fascinated with mechanical components and systems, he admits to paying little attention to the various details and minutiae of those mechanics.

“So an engineer without a mind for such details says to himself that something like technical sales would be a good field,” he says.

The company was co-founded by his father, Marty Jenkins, whom he cites today as his “key mentor.” While in college at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, Jenkins worked in different companies as part of the university's co-op program.

Upon graduation, he decided on Carolina Fluid Components because, “believe it or not, this was the best offer I got,” he laughs.

He's been there for 14 years, and is currently the product manager.

“It's worked out really well,” explains Jenkins, 37. “I tend to understand the principles, concepts and big pictures of systems and how to solve them. But the actual desire to detail all that out is just not in me.”

Jenkins' position “allows me to do a lot of different things. I can … promote our suppliers and promote our company properly so we can earn enough respect to get opportunities from other key suppliers.”

Todd Youngblood has known and worked with Carolina Fluid Components for seven years, he says. He has seen how Jenkins and CFC have been able to gain their customers' respect and confidence.

“Steve couldn't tell a lie if you put a gun to his head,” Youngblood says. “That oozes out of him. He has an ability to develop a level of trust.”

CFC was founded as primarily a hydraulic distributor. But over time, the company has had to change as its markets changed, Jenkins recalls.

“We had to change not only our products, but also the way we bring those products to market. So [over the years] we've morphed into what we consider an automation company,” he says.

CFC deals with industries such as medical equipment, tire and automotive, textiles and semi-conductors, Jenkins explains.

“We need to know how to make customers' machines produce their products faster and better,” he says. “The key for us is to take various components from suppliers and assemble them into solutions for the customer.”

This year, Jenkins is working on improving the company's overall sales process, something he sees as being erratic throughout his industry.

“This industry seems to be well behind the curve in terms of sales process engineering,” he says. “We have to differentiate ourselves by learning more about the sales process and recognizing that if you skip a step, the odds of closure on the deal are lower.”

While salespeople are told to “always be closing,” Jenkins and his staff seem to “always be training.”

“In the past, if a guy was good at just hydraulics, he could make a good living at that—and could make the sale just because he knew that product,” he says. “Today, you not only have to know that product, but six more as well, and be able to relate to each customer in a particular way.”

With that in mind, Jenkins goes out on sales calls occasionally, he says.

“It keeps you sharp,” he explains. “If I'm going to be able to relate to anyone else in management, I need something fresh from the field that makes sense, that speaks from the grass-roots level. That's where the best decisions are made in our industry, at the customer level.”

Mention the legal profession to a distributor and he might get nervous or a bit dubious.

Matt Cohen, vice president of Replenex, spent several years as a practicing corporate attorney before working at the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based distributor of industrial maintenance, repair, operating and safety supplies. The company also offers integrated supply services.

“The law was a good vantage point to see how other businesses run and general business issues,” Cohen says. “You get to see a variety of different businesses, how they run and the operational issues that come up.”

Thirty-six years old, Cohen is the fourth generation in his family to work at Replenex, which was founded in 1946 as the S & S Jobbing Co. by his great grandfather and grandfather (Sam and Sid Cohen). While he worked at the company during time off from school, he was drawn to other fields.

After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992, he went to law school, earning his degree in 1996 from the William Mitchell College of Law in Minnesota.

He worked at a small law firm, he explains, and sees comparisons with corporate law and the work he's doing at Replenex.

“I started in a service background and it was personal service,” he says, referring to his law practice days. “This now is personal to me because our business is based on service.”

But ending up at Replenex wasn't necessarily part of his professional career plan, he admits.

“I always loved what we did here,” he explains. “But I didn't really want to work for the family before I'd established myself independently. So going to law school and making my own way before I did anything else was definitely by design.”

Before returning to Replenex, though, he earned his MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Business in 2002 “because I knew I was weak as far as relating to finance and numbers,” he explains. “So when I finished that, I came back home, so to speak.”

Like many of his colleagues, Cohen has seen his industry change rapidly, especially in recent years. And many of those changes are not taught in schools.

“The nature of distribution is always evolving. Service has become an integral part of it. You can't distinguish yourself on product [alone],” he says. “I'm not the only 3M distributor in my backyard. So I have to provide a value proposition, and that relates back to service.”

Cohen cites two people in particular as strong influences and mentors in his professional work. One is Mort Harris, whom he credits with bringing integrated supply front and center as part of the company's product offerings.

“He was the one who said that integrated supply is going to become synonymous with industrial distribution,” Cohen says.

Cohen also has great respect for a former law partner, Ron Zamansky, praising his “dedication and commitment to servicing the customer, or client, in that legal environment.”

“He really exemplified what it means to provide good service, so you could make sure that whatever the client needed you could provide,” Cohen says.

He also credits both men for showing him the importance of being a good listener—a trait that is essential, Cohen has found, in both the legal and distribution professions.

“God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason,” Cohen recalls Harris once telling him. “So if you use them in proportion to how you have them, you can learn an endless amount of things.”

Dean Wagoner, president of Dillon Supply, Raleigh, N.C., agrees and says listening and communication are among the skills he looks for in young leaders.

“The success of any organization is a result of a team effort. Whatever your company's goals are, you want people who are able to communicate them to the team members and realize they don't have all the answers,” Wagoner says. “But communications should go both ways and include listening and realizing there are people out there who have good ideas.”

It's a trait that helps Cohen enjoy his work at Replenex and in distribution in general.

“Every day there's an opportunity to learn something new, especially if you listen,” he says.

In the mid-1990s, Scott Dickson was in the U.S. Army, serving as an engineering officer—a job he now describes in a tongue in-cheek manner.

“Army engineering was mostly building stuff and blowing it up,” he laughs.

While that may not sound like a classic training ground for a distribution executive, Dickson refers to it as a major positive influence in his career path.

“What I got out of it that was invaluable was the management side; the responsibility and human relations side, and solving problems on the fly,” he says.

Dickson is vice president of Teco Pneumatics, in Pleasanton, Calif. Teco is a distributor of pneumatic components and electro-pneumatic control systems. While “blowing things up” may not be applicable to what he does at Teco, the 38 year-old is glad for his time in Army fatigues. Dickson entered the Army after graduating from college.

“You have to go from 'I'll show up for class whenever' to “You better be on time, son,'” he says. “That was a really important part of maturing from college age to working life.”

As for how he arrived at Teco, Dickson laughs and explains that his is “an age-old story. My father [Jon Dickson] is one of the owners of Teco.”

He had worked for the company as a high school student, before earning his engineering degree (Colorado School of Mines) and later an MBA (St. Mary's, Calif.).

The major customer base for Teco has been semi-conductor capital equipment, Dickson says, but that's been shrinking a bit recently. Coming on fast is bio-technology and medical devices, he adds.

“Then comes packaging and paintball guns, believe it or not,” Dickson says. “Even cow-milking machines; exercise equipment.…Essentially, we're the guys who make the machines that make the chips,” used in those industries.

In recent years, Teco has been 80 percent to 90 percent focused on OEM applications, Dickson says. Some of its product items can be viewed as commodities and that's something Teco has made efforts to deal with. For example, Dickson explains, Teco will take an item like an air cylinder and modify it to make it unique to that customer.

“So that would solve their problem, while also giving us a lot more protection [from commoditization],” Dickson says. “We look at what customers are purchasing and try to see where we can profitably expand our lines.”

“We have a very engineering-oriented sales force,” he explains, “and we are getting repeat business. By doing so, we're less commoditized.”

His father, Jon, is still involved with Teco, but not in day-to-day management, and they compare notes often. While Teco and the pneumatic industry have undergone changes, many of those have been technologically oriented. But both Dicksons have seen other changes—not all of them for the better.

“Thirty years ago, you shook hands and that was your contract. That was what happened then,” Dickson says. “Customers were stable. Suppliers were stable. But now it's much more of a 'What have you done for me lately?' world. That's a fundamental change. And we need to be more adaptive to that.”

Todd Youngblood has known Jon Dickson for many years, he says, and has worked with Scott for the last few.

“Scott's very direct and, along the lines of integrity, he's never going to steer you wrong. You ask him a question and you'll get a very direct and honest answer,” Youngblood says. “And he won't waste your time. He's very consistent in that regard and very focused.”

Dickson's background includes some finance—a trait Youngblood thinks serves him and Teco well.

“He's a sales guy, fundamentally. But he also has a lot of finance knowledge,” Youngblood explains. “And that gives him another perspective that a lot of folks don't have.”

Dickson's mentors over the years include his father, of course, but he also speaks fondly of the influence of a professor at Colorado School of Mines, Dr. Steven Daniels.

“I was not the best of students and he was patient with me and spent a lot of office hours getting me through Organic Chemistry II,” Dickson says. “Over the summer, he also taught a special section of class, not usually offered over the summer, so that I could graduate in August. That was very important, as I was being commissioned and already had my first [Army] duty station slot in September.”

The man who was once building stuff and then blowing it up in the Army now tries to prevent things from blowing up, as Dickson's work day is nothing if not varied.

“Putting out a fire at a customer who's complaining about something, being at a new customer's place, finding a startup who's got an idea and nothing else, sitting down with a banker,” Dickson says in describing his “typical” day. “We're trying to help the customer solve whatever they need and hopefully make a buck along the way. It can really be all over the map, and that's enjoyable.”