Mike Swenson, CPMR, is Inducted into the ERA Hall of Fame « Electronics Representatives Association

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ERA PRESS RELEASE
March 4, 2025
Contact: Clare Kluck / Communications Director / ckluck@era.org

Mike Swenson, CPMR, is Inducted into the ERA Hall of Fame

The Electronics Representatives Association (ERA) is pleased to announce that Mike Swenson, CPMR, CEO of Mel Foster Group, has been inducted into the ERA Hall of Fame, announced at the 2025 Conference in Austin, Texas. ERA Chairman of the Board John O’Brien, CPMR, and ERA Board President Tom Griffin, CPMR, presented Swenson with the award.

From left to right: Tom Griffin, CPMR, Mark Motsinger, CPMR (last year’s recipient), Mike Swenson, CPMR, John O’Brien, CPMR

The Hall of Fame is ERA’s most prestigious award and was established to honor an outstanding manufacturers’ representative in the electronics industry whose creativity, dignity, integrity, industriousness and accomplishments on a national basis have enhanced the representative system of selling.

Swenson is the CEO of Mel Foster Group; he joined Mel Foster 42 years ago and became president in 2003. Mike holds a marketing degree from the University of Minnesota. An active member of several industry associations, he has served in leadership roles, been a past ERA Conference Chair and has written articles and white papers for the Representor magazine. He has also served on the EDS Board in 2022 and 2015.

Under his leadership, the Mel Foster Group has completed nine acquisitions, expanded to 15 states with 70 team members, and focused on demand creation, a strong employee culture and customer relationships. He is a strong advocate for the value that manufacturer representatives bring to the industry.

“ERA is thrilled to recognize Mike with our Hall of Fame recognition in gratitude to his many years of leadership, professionalism, integrity and passion in fulfilling ERA’s mission of advancing the manufacturers’ representative model,” said Walter Tobin, CEO of ERA.

About ERA
The 90-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 who are reps’ partners in local territories. For more information about ERA, visit era.org.