Jason joined Border States in 1999 and has passionately served the organization in a variety of roles, both in the corporate office and in the field. With over two decades of leadership experience that spans sports, school, community and business, he has helped lead the organization through multibillion-dollar growth with a track record of taking care of and developing great people, empowering people to succeed and achieving results that matter. He attributes his success to the people he works with and learns from every day, at every level of the organization.

Jason joined Border States in May 1995 as a Management Trainee. He worked in various customer and vendor-facing positions of increasing responsibility, including Product Manager, Account Manager, Regional Industrial Sales Manager, VP Sales and VP Northwest Region. Jason was named Executive VP Sales and Marketing in 2018 and Chief Information Officer in January 2024. He joined the Leadership Council in 2009, and in 2010, Jason was appointed to the Executive Committee and also participates on the company’s Compensation Committee.

Colleen joined Border States on September 30, 2024. Prior to this, she served as Chief Human Resources Officer at SP+ Corporation, a leading developer of technology solutions in Chicago, Illinois, supporting more than 20,000 employees. Colleen has a deep background in human resources, including roles as VP Human Resources at SP+ Corporation, Human Resources Director at CNA Financial and Head of HR for Sears Retail at Sears Holdings Corporation. Her significant experience in business has focused on services and having a decentralized team that directly supports the customer. At Border States, Colleen leads the Human Resources team and provides the vision, strategy and direction to support all employee-owners, ensuring Border States has the most talented team in the industry and creating results that align with our strategic plan. Colleen is a firm believer that leadership is not a title, and everyone can be a leader. As an officer of the company, she is a member of the Executive Committee and serves on the Total Rewards, Ethics Hotline and Executive Compensation Committees. Colleen is an Illinois native and a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign.

Jeremy joined Border States in December 2011 as the CFO. He is a member of the Leadership Council, Executive Committee and the Board of Directors, and leads the finance, accounting, customer financial services and risk management functions of the company. Before working at Border States, Jeremy was an Audit Partner with Grant Thornton, LLP, a national public accounting firm and international accounting organization. He has experience working with public and private companies in the technology, manufacturing, distribution and construction industries. Jeremy worked in London, England, from 2005–2007, gaining experience with international financial reporting standards and has significant experience with mergers and acquisitions.

Richelle joined Border States in 2011 and is currently responsible for leading all procurement functions for the organization, including procurement operations (costing, purchasing, procurement services, alliance sourcing) and regional procurement (inventory and demand planning, cost analyst, alliance inventory). Throughout her 11-plus years as an employee-owner, Richelle has held multiple supply chain roles across the inventory, costing and sourcing functions with leadership and balanced experience in operational and customer-facing roles and, most recently, she served as the Director of Procurement Operations. Richelle has a passion for defining and implementing strategies to address and improve business needs and for team development and career planning. She was a recipient of tED Magazine’s “30 under 35” award in 2018 and the United Way’s 35 Under 35 Women’s Leadership Program in 2019–2020. Richelle is active in the Fargo, North Dakota, community and serves as a member of the YWCA Programs Committee and the BIO Girls Believer’s Circle Advisory Committee. She also is a member of BIO Girls Board of Directors.

Matt joined Border States in June 2005 as the Southwest Region Manager, covering six branch locations in Arizona, New Mexico, El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. He was named VP Southwest Region and a Leadership Council member in 2006, and was named Executive VP – West in January 2021 and joined Border States’ Executive Committee in April 2021. Matt was named to his current position in April 2024. His 38-year career has been focused exclusively on electrical manufacturing sales, sales management, and regional leadership and executive leadership positions within electrical distribution.

Ryan Evans joined Border States in January 2019. As a member of the Leadership Council, Ryan is responsible for growing our construction market by working closely with key vendors, our marketing team and the sales leadership to develop strategies and initiatives that solve our customers’ greatest business challenges. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Ryan spent the last 22 years in the electrical and industrial distribution industry, most recently from Sonepar where he served as VP of Sales for World Electric. Ryan started his career in the warehouse as a summer temp at age 16 and worked his way up through warehouse, outside sales, branch management, district management and profit and loss leadership positions.

Megan joined Border States in February 2023. She is responsible for leading our revenue shared-services function, consisting of marketing, sales enablement, customer success and digital customer experience. Megan has over 18 years of experience with business and technology companies leading and executing on customer-centric go-to-market teams. Most recently, Megan held the position of Executive Director of Revenue Enablement at Deluxe Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is experienced in creating business strategies centered around helping the customer and driving scalable, transformational change across the business. Megan is active in the Brainerd Lakes Area (Minnesota) community and serves on our Women’s Experience Employee-owner Resource Group.

Shane joined Border States in September 1993 in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, location. Having a customer mindset and serving in a variety of positions has provided Shane with a deep understanding for people in those same roles today. As VP of Sales and Marketing for the Industrial Market, he has the opportunity to build the growth strategy in that market for the company. Shane also gets to work closely with the market Sales Directors and Managers to ensure we can exceed our customers’ expectations by giving our field sales team the tools to succeed. He enjoys listening to customers and learning how Border States can improve and acting on their feedback. Shane sees working with a wide variety of employee-owners to deliver solutions to our customers as one of the most rewarding parts of his job.

Don joined Border States as Southeast Region VP with the acquisition of Shealy Electrical Wholesalers 2016. On January 1, 2021, Don was promoted to Executive VP – East Region and joined Border States’ Executive Committee in April 2021. He was named to his current position in April 2024. Don entered the distribution industry in 1998 as a Sales Trainee with a regional Midwest industrial distributor. After a successful tenure as a Sales Engineer, he joined a Southeast regional electrical distributor as a Supplier Partnership Services Manager, working in Alliance business development and management. He progressed at that company through roles with increasing P&L responsibility as District Manager, Division Manager and Region VP. Don next partnered with a telecom entrepreneur in an indoor wireless telecom systems (DAS) startup business. After the successful start of that business, he returned to the electrical distribution, joining Shealy in 2013 as an Area Business Manager, a role that quickly expanded into a Construction Core Market Sales VP role.

Geoff joined Border States in January 2019 as VP of Vendor Relations. He leads strategic vendor relationships as a primary contact to ensure growth and profitability initiatives are executed consistently across our three core markets — construction, industrial and utility. Geoff also is responsible for our Affiliated Distributor (AD) relationship and the associated strategies that benefit our valued vendors and customers. He has more than 20 years senior level experience in the electrical, lighting and datacomm industry. Geoff served Philips Lighting as Director of Distributor Sales in 2012 managing the AD and Imark relationships and served on the NAED CAP Council during that time. In 2015, he was named President/CEO of Auburn Armature Incorporated (AAI) in Western New York. While at AAI, Geoff led the reorganization initiatives, due diligence process and ultimate sale of the entity. Geoff is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in communications. He also holds certificates in strategic finance from Harvard Business School of Executive Education and sales management strategies from the University of Michigan Business School.

Patrick joined Border States in December 2000. He held a variety of positions, including Strategic Business Relationship Specialist, Utility Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Electric Utility Marketing Manager, Utility Market Manager and Director of Marketing. He was promoted to VP Marketing and became a member of the Leadership Council in 2013. Patrick was named VP Midwest Area – North Central Region on April 1, 2018,  assumed the position of VP Customer Experience on April 1, 2021, and was named to his current position on April 1, 2024.

Tony joined Border States in 2003 and has served in several roles within the Branch Support Center (corporate office) in Fargo, North Dakota — Buyer, Inventory Supervisor, Purchasing Manager, Pricing and Sourcing Manager, Procurement Director, VP Procurement and VP Operations. Tony was named to his current role in 2024 with responsibility for safety, supply chain design, sales order operations, warehousing and logistics strategies for the organization. He has a passion for overall process improvement and efficiency in conjunction with a focus on end-to-end process improvement in the supply chain. Tony graduated from North Dakota State University (NDSU) with a degree in management information systems. He also holds CPIM and CSCP certificates from the Association for Operations Management. Tony serves on the Board of Directors for the NDSU College of Business and has served on the Eaton Distributor Advisory Council. He was named to tED magazine’s 30 under 35 list for electrical professionals in 2013.

James joined Border States through the Shealy Electrical Wholesalers acquisition in 2016 where he was VP of Operations. James was promoted to VP Strategy Enablement and joined the Leadership Council at Border States on April 1, 2017. He was promoted to VP of Operations on April 1, 2018, as Senior VP Supply Chain on November 1, 2020, and to his current position on April 1, 2022. James is responsible for delivering a highly innovative and effective supply chain that makes our customers better. He is a key leader in the organization for delivering efficiency, process improvement and has worked closely on integration projects and delivering maximum value on strategic projects.

Jeff has been in the utility distribution business for over 27 years, serving in a variety of roles, including sales, branch and sales management, operations, customer service and Division President. He has extensive experience securing and growing alliance relationships at large and small utilities. Jeff serves as the Secretary/Treasurer for the North American Association of Utility Distributors (NAAUD). He joined Border States in 2019 as Utility Sales Director, supporting the Great Lakes Region in the Utility Sales Management role, was named Utility Alliance Director in February 2021 and promoted to VP Strategic Alliances on April 26, 2021. Jeff was named to his current role on April 1, 2024.

Wiley joined Border States as a Customer Service Representative for the industrial market in October 2012 and worked closely with the surrounding refineries, mines, local contractors and original equipment manufacturers. In January 2015, he entered Border States’ Management Trainee Program — now the Distribution Leadership Program, where he was given the opportunity to attain a better understanding of each department at Border States, vendor relationships and employee-owner development. Wiley became the Branch Manager in Dickinson, North Dakota, in April 2017. He also has led and assisted in several branch moves, including Denver, Colorado; and Fargo and Watford City, North Dakota. Wiley became the Area Director – Big Sky in April 2019 and was named to his current role in April 2024.

Shane began his career at Border States in September 2003 as a Warehouse Associate in the Phoenix, Arizona, branch. In April 2005, he transferred to Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the Warehouse Supervisor. While in Albuquerque, Shane held several positions, including Inside Sales Representative, Quotations, Project Manager and Operations Manager. He also completed the Border States’ Management Trainee program. From June 2010 to October 2012, Shane served as Branch Manager in Farmington, New Mexico, and then was named Branch Manager in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Shane most recently served as Area Director for the Midsouth, where he was responsible for sales and operations within Border States’ eight Midsouth locations. Shane graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in business. He was named to his current role in April 2024.

Zach began his career with Border States in November 2013 as a Procurement Analyst for the South Central Region, soon after becoming the Branch Manager for Lubbock, Texas. In October 2015, Zach was named Area Director for Texas and New Mexico, leading nine branches to grow our business to $290 million in revenue. He has 15-plus years of management and leadership experience with a background in sales, safety, transportation, service excellence, performance management, customer service and managing a profit and loss. Zach is grateful that, throughout his career, he has had the support of the people surrounding him to continue to grow both professionally and personally. Zach values our employee-owners the most as they each have unique attributes that challenge him to make our organization more successful. Zach is a business management graduate of Texas Tech University and was named to his current role in April 2024.

Steve joined Border States in 2015 with the Shealy Electrical acquisition and has served as Regional Sales Director, leading the industrial sales segment in the southeast, and Area Manager. At Shealy, Steve served as VP, managing the industrial segment for the southeastern United States. Prior to that, Steve worked at Square D Schneider Electric for over 25 years in the Carolinas, where he held the roles of Area Manager, Channel Manager, Process Improvement Manager and Sales Representative. He holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Valparaiso University. Steve was named to his current role in April 2024.

Nick started with Border States in July 2018, where he was Senior In-house Counsel and Director of Employee Relations and worked within the Human Resources team to address labor and employment matters and ensure state-by-state compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In March 2020, Nick became the Director of Legal and Managing Counsel, where he led the Legal team. He was named to his current position in August 2023 and also serves as a member of the Leadership Council. Nick has a passion for providing practical, solution-oriented legal advice and enjoys the common purpose that comes with working in an in-house legal role. Before joining Border States, Nick worked at the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office for three years as an Assistant Attorney General and served as the General Counsel to the North Dakota University System and the State Board of Higher Education. He also worked previous in-house counsel roles for American University in Washington, D.C., and the State of Massachusetts. Nick lives in Fargo, North Dakota, with his wife, Tasha, their son, Ike, and Norm, their 100-pound Newfoundland/Labrador mix. In his free time, Nick enjoys spending time with family and friends, coaching baseball, playing golf and traveling.