ERA STEP 2023 – Speakers List

STEP 2023 speakers are listed below in alphabetical order, by last name.

View the full STEP 2023 agenda and schedule. 

Matthew Amato
Global Marketing & Public Relations Manager
IBS Electronics
Session: Leveraging ChatGPT & AI to Improve Your Sales Gam

Matthew Amato is a highly seasoned digital marketing professional with more than 15 years of experience working in B2B and B2C markets and is currently the global marketing and public relations manager for IBS Electronics Group. Under his leadership, the company’s marketing and branding strategy has undergone a significant revolution that has taken the industry by storm, resulting in increased visibility and credibility globally. As a result of his contribution and strategic yet cost-effective digital marketing implementation efforts, the company has doubled its revenue in a few short years by successfully increasing brand awareness, customer acquisition, and customer retention.

Anna Baldwin
Principal
SSCA
Session: Building Resilience: Why It’s Important to Your Success at Work

Anna Baldwin is a principal at SSCA who brings award-winning strategy experience to her clients. As former chief operating officer of Native Foods and Innovative Dining Group, Anna has a unique ability to combine large-scale business strategies with the intricate tactics needed to lead people toward the business goal.

Anna leveraged her management skills into B2B and retail sales management with Verizon Wireless, where she empowered an underperforming sales team to identify what fuels them, proving they were valued and appreciated. Anna locked in a synergy between company culture and goal achievement, and the team rocketed from the bottom 10% of national sales to the top 1% nationally in less than one year.

Anna maintains a deep understanding of the relationship between behavioral science and business success. She brings her real-life experience of coaching and mentoring senior leaders and leading teams to get results. She designed and executed a wide range of programs as a C-Suite leader and consultant, including brand revitalization, performance management, B2B sales training, leadership development, licensing, strategic planning, large system implementations, and conflict resolution. She is relatable and grounded and has herself implemented much of what she recommends.

Tim Davis
Director of Sales, Product & Quoting-Americas
Avnet, Inc.
Session: Quotes Are a Necessary First Step to an Order: How to Maximize Your Hit Ratio of Quotes to Orders Booked

Tim Davis has been with Avnet for 22 years. Initially starting as an account manager, Tim has worked his way up through several positions within Avnet, including sales manager, district/general manager, director of inside sales, and director of inside sales & customer service. In his current role as director of sales, product & quoting for the Americas, Tim is responsible for approximately 500 employees and $4 billion in annual revenue. Tim is based in Phoenix, Ariz.

Charlene DeCesare
Senior Consultant
The RAIN Group
Session: 13 Golden Rules of Writing Emails that Get Attention
Session: Asking Great Questions and Listening Actively to Build Strong Relationships with Customer

Charlene DeCesare is a senior consultant for The RAIN Group and trusted sales advisor who has been helping teams develop a relationship-based approach to selling high-value services for 25 years.

She co-founded the multi-million-dollar company, EdAssist, now owned by Bright Horizons. Prior to that, DeCesare spent 10 years at Gartner leading an international sales team and helping the most respected technology companies in the world extend their brand message. DeCesare was also a membership growth leader at the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp), and the vice president of sales and marketing at Boardroom Events.

She has a B.S. in communications from Emerson College and an MBA in sales and marketing from Rivier University. DeCesare is also currently pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration degree at Johnson & Wales University.

DeCesare is a professional member of the National Speakers Association and a nationally certified Brain-Based Success coach. Recently, DeCesare also attained the national-level credential of Certified Sales Leader (CSL).

Cesare Giammarco
Consultant
Cesare Giammarco Sales & Management Consulting LLC
Session: Job One: Trust

Cesare Giammarco has been in the field of sales and sales management since 1971, with 35 of those years in the electronic components industry. In those 35 years, he has instituted, managed and integrated manufacturers reps globally into multiple organizations.

Starting in 1984 with Elmwood Sensors, a privately-owned global manufacturer of temperature sensing products, he led successful integration of the rep sales model through four acquisitions of this business, culminating with Honeywell Sensing and Controls in 2002. He retired from Honeywell in 2015 as North American sales director. Since then, he has worked as an independent consultant for global manufacturers, assisting in instituting and supporting manufacturers’ reps as their primary sales channel. He is also a special consultant to ERA on best practices to further facilitate the rep sales model.

Cesare has been recognized over the course of his career for innovative and mutually beneficial sales rep management practices and procedures that reinforce the rep model with manufacturers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration from Bryant University.

Holly Good
Director of Global Distribution Sales
Cornell Dubilier Electronics
Session: Quotes Are a Necessary First Step to an Order: How to Maximize Your Hit Ratio of Quotes to Orders Booked

Holly Good is director of global distribution sales for Cornell Dubilier Electronics, a leading manufacturer of power capacitors. Holly has been with Cornell Dubilier for 11 years, where she previously held roles in product marketing management and inside sales leadership.

Prior to joining Cornell Dubilier, Holly worked in electronics distribution, managing the New England sales territory for Carlton Bates Co. She had various roles in sales and operations with Sager Electronics, and provided sales and distribution support for manufacturers’ representative, Norris and Associates. Holly is a founding advisory board member with Women in Electronics and is active with the ECIA and ERA.

Holly has a B.A. from Southern New Hampshire University and is a certified speaker and trainer with the Maxwell Leadership team.

Daniel Litts
President
Sandler by Ascending Performance
Session: 21st Century Prospecting 

Daniel Litts has been successfully selling and leading sales professionals for over 30 years. His career includes a successful track record in business development, channel sales and executive management in the industrial manufacturing sector. This experience has allowed him to exercise creative and innovative ways to motivate, lead and inspire many sales professionals and clients.

Today, Daniel is president of Sandler by Ascending Performance in North Carolina. A hands-on leader with a passion for personal development and unifying an organization with a common vision, Daniel works with professionals to elevate their skills, improve their attitudes, and implement successful behaviors.

Daniel believes that sales growth propels companies and has dedicated his career to helping teams and individuals grow. He has a passion for developing team environments, engaging those members who focus on problem-solving and meeting their objectives, and increasing top-line revenue for clients.

John O’Brien, CPMR
Vice President
Coakley, Boyd & Abbett
Session: Quotes Are a Necessary First Step to an Order: How to Maximize Your Hit Ratio of Quotes to Orders Booked

John O’Brien, CPMR, joined Coakley, Boyd and Abbett, Inc. in 1994 as an inside salesperson. In 1995, he moved to Connecticut as an outside salesperson and in 1999 he became general manager. In 2002, John returned to the Massachusetts offices and became vice president.

John received his CPMR designation in 2002. He served 10 years in various positions for the New England ERA Chapter and has since joined the ERA Executive Committee, where he currently serves as President. John chaired the ERA Conference Program Committee in 2008 and continues to serve on the 2019 Core Committee and Sub Committees. John received the Ray Hall Spirit of ERA award in 2020. He also has served six years on the EDS Board.

John Simari
Consultant
Simari Consulting LLC
Session: Job One: Trust

John Simari held a range of sales and marketing positions at Texas Instruments (TI) prior to his retirement in 2016 after a 37-year career. For most of that time, Simari was a key contributor to TI’s worldwide distribution program.

He has held positions as worldwide distribution director, America’s distribution director and worldwide account manager for distributor and OEM accounts.

He is an active participant in ERA’s Industry Expert program and has made contributions to several recent ERA Conferences.

Simari has been an active contributor to industry activities, having served for eight years on the ECIA Board of Directors and Foundation Board. From 2015 to 2022, he was also a Business Leadership Center instructor at the SMU Cox School of Business in Dallas.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the University of Dallas. He lives in The Colony, Texas.

Walter Tobin
CEO
ERA
Session: Quotes Are a Necessary First Step to an Order: How to Maximize Your Hit Ratio of Quotes to Orders Booked

Walter E. Tobin is an electronics industry veteran with 40+ years of experience in sales, marketing and executive/corporate management positions. Prior to joining ERA as CEO, he held senior management positions at Arrow Electronics, Pioneer-Standard Electronics and at Future Electronics. Walter holds a bachelor’s degree and MBA in marketing from Boston College. He is also a former U.S. Army captain.

Stephen Turner
CEO & Founder
Turner Time Management
Session: How to Take Control of Your Time & Technology to Help You Work Smarter

With a background in technology and over 35 years of business experience, Stephen Turner, founder and CEO of Turner Time Management, has shared technology and time management tools, techniques and tips with thousands of professionals across the country.

His speaking, training and coaching has helped many organizations increase their employees’ “Technology IQ” and supercharge individual business performance. He has worked in collaboration with more than 175 manufacturer sales agencies as well as many manufacturers of over the past 17 years. His proven ability to leverage technology (including apps, desktops, laptops and mobile devices) is of great value to anyone in need of greater sales, marketing and/or productivity results.

Tim Wackel
Founder & President
The Wackel Group
Session: Anatomy of a Lousy Pitch: The 10 Worst Presentation Habits and How to Avoid Them

Tim Wackel is hired by sales executives who want their teams to be more successful at blowing their number away. His “no excuses” programs are insightful, engaging and focused on providing real world strategies that salespeople can (and will!) implement right away. His list of clients includes organizations like Allstate, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Wells Fargo, Lexmark, Philips Medical Systems, Red Hat and many professional and trade associations.

Tim is the founder and president of The Wackel Group, a sales training and consulting firm dedicated to helping organizations find, win and keep customers for life. He earned his electrical engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and currently lives in Dallas where he tries to spend as much time as possible on the golf course.