2 veteran leaders retire from Sonepar
Mike Smith, senior vice president business relationship management and data insights, and Scott Schuenke, vice president strategic development, and integration management, will retire this June from Sonepar USA.
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| Scott Schuenke |
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| Mike Smith |
Schuenke started at Viking Electric in marketing before moving to Sonepar USA as vice president of marketing and communications and most recently held the position of vice president of strategic development for North America. Schuenke also led the Innovation Incubator, a program that brought together teams from across Sonepar USA to research and present innovative solutions to business challenges. Passionate about basing business decisions on solid strategy and data analytics, Schuenke championed segmentation data analytics to drive critical insights on Sonepar business.
“The freedom to try new things, to learn, gain exposure to a global perspective, the strong sense of entrepreneurship, the great people around the world (many who are my close friends), and the opportunity to be innovative, creative and to stand on the shoulders of colleagues who have accomplished incredible things has been an extraordinary thing to be part of,” said Schuenke. “It’s been a gift to be a part of the Sonepar organization.”
Mike Smith began his career at Roden Electric before moving to Eclipse, where he helped create and promote ERP and digital solutions, discovering a passion that would follow him for the rest of his career. In 2006 he joined OneSource Distributors, becoming president by the time Sonepar acquired OneSource. In 2016 Mike became chief information officer and vice president of operations and logistics for Sonepar USA.
Under his leadership, Smith’s team consolidated Sonepar operating companies under a single ERP and created a modern infrastructure platform to support Sonepar USA’s significant growth. Mike also played a key role in major acquisitions and hired a great team of people who now lead Sonepar’s IT and digital transformation. In his most recent role, Smith helped ensure Sonepar’s technical solutions are driving growth in our business and meeting our customers’ current and future needs.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to build what’s needed to make people’s lives better, which was my mandate at both OneSource and Sonepar,” said Smith. “I was given great freedom above and beyond my job description to go and solve problems for associates, customers, and the overall business every single day. I worked with an incredibly talented team, saw the world, and helped build a foundation that can scale.”
“These two talented individuals will be dearly missed but always remain part of the Sonepar family,” said Rob Taylor, President of Sonepar North America. “I am happy they will have more time to spend with family and pursue their personal interests, and very grateful for all they have done to raise the bar across the company.”
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