ERA PRESS RELEASE
March 24, 2025
Contact: Clare Kluck / Communications Director / ckluck@era.org
The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) announces that Tobi Cornell, CPMR, President of Kruvand Associates, has joined the ERA Executive Committee as the Senior Vice President of Membership.
“ERA is very pleased to have Tobi Cornell join the Executive Committee as the new Senior Vice President of Membership,” said John O’Brien, CPMR, Chairman of the Board. “As president of a large and successful rep firm in Texas, and with many years of experience volunteering in this industry — including leading one of our main chapters — we know Tobi will champion the manufacturers’ rep function and work to foster the continued success of ERA membership during her tenure.”
Tobi Cornell graduated from Texas Christian University in 1994 with BBA, and entered the electronics industry that same year working for manufacturers’ rep firm, DJ Sales (Dallas, TX). Tobi worked in inside sales covering the Houston market for 2 ½ years, and then moved into outside sales in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area for DJ Sales. In 1998, manufacturers’ rep firm Kruvand Associates acquired DJ Sales, and Tobi took on the distribution manager role, in addition to account responsibility. She continued to work in that capacity for 17 years, and was named vice president of distribution in 2015. Tobi continued fostering and growing close relationships with Kruvand’s manufacturers, channel partners and customers in her market, and was honored to be named president of Kruvand in 2023. Tobi also currently serves as president of ERA’s Southwest chapter.
“I’m honored to join the ERA Executive Committee and excited to strengthen the membership sector of ERA,” said Cornell. “ERA provides a unique, indispensable value to its members, and I look forward to amplifying that message and spearheading initiatives that drive our collective, long-term success.”
The updated list of officers on the Executive Committee are:
Chairman of the Board – John O’Brien, CPMR
President – Tom Griffin, CPMR
Sr. Vice President Fiscal & Legal – John Hutson, CPMR
Sr. Vice President Industry – Ellen Coan, CPMR
Sr. Vice President Education – Lori Bruno, CPMR
Sr. Vice President Membership — Tobi Cornell, CPMR
Sr. Vice President at Large – Kingsland Coombs, CPMR
Sr. Vice President Manufacturers – John Guetens
Sr. Vice President Distributors – Lou Copley
Sr. Vice President at Large — Ken Bellero
Chief Executive Officer — Ed Smith
About ERA
The 91-year-old Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is the international trade organization for professional field sales companies in the global electronics industries, manufacturers who go to market through representative firms and global distributors. It is the mission of ERA to support the professional field sales function through programs and activities that educate, inform and advocate for manufacturers’ representatives, the principals they represent and the distributors wh
> Reflections on year one: Building a stronger foundation for ERA
Reflections on year one: Building a stronger foundation for ERA
The first new program that we have implemented is the new MentorUP program sponsored by Master Electronics. Let me first thank Master Electronics for stepping up and providing funding to build our mentorship online platform and professional design. I have personally had some of the best mentors in the business and still rely on them for guidance and support. I believe one of the greatest gifts someone can give is their time, guidance and support. The initial response and sign-up for the MentorUP program has been robust and extremely positive. The first cohort of mentors and mentees will meet July through December 2026. This program can be a game changer for our organization and membership!
The next new program that will be rolled out will be a Market TAM portal for ERA members only, hosted on ERA.org. This portal will show extensive market TAM data for U.S., Canada and Mexico by HTS codes and area. Data will be able to be sorted by area and product type. Mexico ERA started this program and then ERA National took it over and expanded this to cover all three regions. There is a lot more to come in this department, so stay tuned.
We have also spent time with distributors and helped them shape new programs for reps, in order to work arm-in-arm with them in the local markets. I’m pleased to say there is strong engagement in this area from both sides. Working with all “three legs of the stool” is fundamental to making for a stronger community to help the end customers get the best service possible. More information is coming on this in July and August.
On the manufacturer’s front: with the help of Mike Swenson and other people such as Cesare Giammarco, we have prepared three new presentations that show the value of reps to manufacturers, which we will post on ERA.org in the near future. The one that I am most excited about is a “Rep vs. Direct Calculator” that can be adjusted by marketplace or used as an overall look at across regions. We continue to show it and get feedback from our community and will continue to improve these value-add tools.
We have a busy summer at ERA National planning another fall STEP (Sales Training for Electronics Professionals), sponsored by TTI. This live, virtual sales training should be taken by all ERA members to sharpen sales skills and make you personally more valuable to your business and customers. Most professional industries have a mandated amount of continuing education; if we want to call ourselves professionals, we should continue to learn the latest and greatest tools and ways to go to market.
We have picked Julie Carr and Brooks Mattice as our 2027 ERA Conference Chair and Co-Chair, respectively, and I want to personally thank them for their time and effort. They have one of the most important roles in leading the ERA Conference. The number of volunteers in the committee is also very humbling and impressive, so thank you all for your time and effort.
Last but not least — the charity work being done by local ERA chapters in raising funds for local charities really humbles me when I visit the different regions and see the amount of effort and results in giving back to the local communities. We will continue to visit and support as many of these events as possible. Keep up the great work. The local chapters are what differentiates ERA from all others.
As you can see, there is a lot going on and I am excited about the future of ERA and our industry. We are in a super cycle so sit back and enjoy it.
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