Alex Palmer, 30
Geographic Sales Engineer
Schneider Electric—Square D
Alex joined Schneider Electric in February 2020 as an undergrad at Northeastern University in Boston.
“I arrived in this field by chance—or maybe it was divine intervention!” Alex recalled. “My mom and stepdad were experiencing serious medical events. I was caring for them and trying to raise money to pay their growing number of bills when I was supposed to be looking for a co-op. Northeastern University requires one six-month co-op of each student going through their Business School, and mine was supposed to start in January 2020. Naturally, this did not happen for me—but I received a call midway through that month from an HR rep asking if I would be interested in applying to a Global Marketing internship at Schneider Electric.”
Aside from a gap between February 2021 (after his internship) and June of that year to finish his undergrad education, Alex has been with Schneider Electric ever since. “After my co-op I joined the Sales Development Program as an inside-channel sales engineer for the New England Square D Team. After about 18 months, the previous New England area sales manager—Hardip Mewada—created a role on the team for me, so I became the geographic sales engineer (or “Geo”) for our Boston territory,” said Alex. “In April 2024, after one year in role, I was challenged with taking on a larger area, which we call our Portsmouth territory, and I now cover all of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
“Right off the bat, I was impressed by the warmth and absolute professionalism I received from everyone I met at our Boston hub,” Alex continued. “Despite this being a hotspot for senior leaders in a 150,000-person company, I never felt far from those individuals making the biggest decisions because of the way the company is structured. Furthermore, when COVID hit and the opportunity came for those leaders to save money by firing the dozens of interns in my wider team, they made the decision to keep us on. Even more surprisingly, what started as a six-month co-op turned into a year-long internship. What I love about Schneider Electric is the dedication to their people and their commitment to the highest-quality products. While every company faces issues, when these have come up for us, I have seen Schneider Electric own up to and grow from them. That’s what I love, and that’s what I believe we as a company will continue to do.”
Asked about a challenge the industry is currently facing, Alex pointed to the lingering effects of the tariffs. “My goal has been to get in front of customers and make deals happen,” he said. “I lean on my world-class channel partners where I can expand our reach, and I have the full support of my amazing area sales manager, Nicolette Fondl, to land projects big and small to grow our business in New England.”
Looking ahead, Alex said, “I love people, I love sales, and I love teaching, coaching, and mentoring. I have had a lot of ideas about where I might want to go—product management, people management, becoming a trainer—but at this point, if I had to choose, it would be sales enablement. I once took part in a company initiative called the Idea Factory, and I loved it. I have always been a thinker and people have said aplenty that I’m creative, but what matters to me most is that I hate the idea of a good idea not being executed on. What I am doing now is building my resources and trying to go through that iterative process of connecting the dots between ideas and relevant stakeholders faster.”
What would Alex tell someone just entering the industry? “Quickly: Learn what your job is, do it, and then do more to make business (or life) easier for the team(s) around you,” he said. “Doing your job is one thing; making an impact is another. Don’t work for the sake of it. If you’re going to be in the industry, be fully in. If your dream is to be outside of it, go that way as quickly as is reasonable.
“For being an industry that goes so unnoticed when things are going right, there is so much that you can learn and areas where you can grow,” he continued. “Find a path and master every step you stand on. I’ve learned the rules: Be responsive, get the answer, and don’t take it personally when someone’s yelling at you about lead times.
“Lastly, I would tell them to consider the company’s new and former Core Values,” he added. “I love our Core Values using the acronym IMPACT (Inclusion, Mastery, Purpose, Action, Curiosity, and Teamwork), but I also resonate very strongly with our former set, which are: Customer First (treating their problems with care and speed), Act Like Owners (taking responsibility, going above and beyond), Learn Every Day (like, every day), Dare to Disrupt (challenging the norm wherever warranted, with gentleness and respect), and Embrace Different (especially when you are on the other side of a warranted disruption). Run well with your resources, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, even if you sound stupid. Someday, you will not, and those questions will have been worth it.”
Outside of work, Alex enjoys performing/teaching Improv comedy, and manual labor. “I don’t care what it is: home improvement projects, helping out a friend, or routinely killing the vines that threaten to overtake every tree or plant along my yard,” he said. “Really, I just enjoy life. Want to go to a restaurant? Sure! Want to run a 5k? Today? I’m down. Spend hours with the most rambunctious people you know or the same amount of time in an empty room? I’m happy either way. I will admit, I like playing badminton too much, but the seriousness of Northeastern’s college team destroyed my belief that I’m remotely good at the sport. But who doesn’t love Badminton, am I right? *crickets* More than that, it’s spending time with my wife, my friends and family, and Jesus. I’m a pretty open person and it’s hard to stump me with a hobby I wouldn’t enjoy (aside from maybe something like crocheting, but maybe it’s just the spelling that makes it seem weird).”
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Each year tED magazine recognizes 30 of the industry’s best and brightest under the age of 35. Please visit tEDmag.com/30Under35 for nomination information and updates about the 2026 program. Questions can be sent to tED Editor Misty Byers at mbyers@naed.org.
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