Alex Tomiczek, 28
Senior Sales Engineer
Lutron Electronics
Alex joined the industry through Lutron’s Sales Leadership Development Program in June 2019 upon graduation from The University of Alabama. “I worked in manufacturing during college, at a paper mill in south Alabama,” she recalled. “My background is chemical engineering, and I enjoyed the process engineering aspects of my role there, along with controls engineering, which often overlaps between chemical and electrical backgrounds. Besides that field experience and one circuits class in college, I had no knowledge of electrical engineering, installation, or distribution.”
After seven months soaking up the Lutron culture and learning about the industry along with Lutron’s customers and product portfolio, Alex moved to Houston to manage the electrical distribution business in the South Central territory (Alabama, Arkansas, the Florida panhandle, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas). In the four years since, she has moved from associate sales engineer to sales engineer (in 2020) to senior sales engineer (in early 2022).
Alex noted that she was drawn to Lutron because of its emphasis on innovation of quality products. “Lutron’s culture also blew me away,” she said. “Everyone I met genuinely cared about steering me in the right direction, even before I was hired full time. In college, I didn’t realize that technical sales was an option for me until I met Lutron. I heard among my peers that it was growing in popularity as a career path but had never considered it for myself. I ended up taking a leap of faith by joining Lutron (and in turn, the electrical industry), and I’m very glad I did. I have grown tremendously—in confidence, public speaking, going out of my comfort zone, and solving challenging problems.”
Alex’s thirst for knowledge and passion for teaching and impacting others keeps her excited about the industry. “I work in a very niche environment—dimmers and lighting control systems,” she explained. “Not many people know how dimming works or what questions to ask. As I train people, I’ve tried to provide an insider view into what dimming technology is at its core and give people the tools they need to be successful selling our products.”
She noted how more and more people are becoming specialists or breaking out of their day-to-day routine to learn. “People increase their value to their company by having this deep knowledge in a given area,” she said. “Several distributors are forming teams of lighting controls specialists to serve their branches. Distributors have so many lines and SKUs to sell that I know my material only makes up 1% of their business. While I want some mindshare from them to help grow their business, I also try to stay humble and be a friendly face at the end of the day.”
Looking ahead, Alex said the next step in her career journey at Lutron will be taking on a role in luxury residential specification in the South Central territory. “Luckily, I am not moving geographies, but I am transitioning to a completely different business sector,” she said. “Instead of working with established, loyal customers like distributors, I will be making more cold calls than ever before and seeking warm hand-offs to clients whenever possible. The specification community does not know the broad portfolio of solutions that Lutron has to offer in the residential and commercial spaces that they design each day. I will be striving to change that through education and consultation. My goal is to create a superior experience for customers that I engage across any of our businesses. I will stay connected with the industry contacts I have in distribution and can help guide them in the right direction.”
What would Alex tell someone just entering the industry? She shared several tips. “Smile. You can make someone’s day just by being kind,” she said. “Take the time to network and treat everyone with respect because you may be working with them some day. Electrical distribution does a great job of promoting from within. Someone you met who worked in the warehouse or at the counter may someday be the branch, district, or regional manager. If you foster a relationship with others who start with you, you can grow together in the industry, and you will already have those lasting relationships where you need them to get your job done.”
Outside of work, running and cycling top Alex’s list of activities. “In 2022, I started running again for the first time in years and discovered that I love it—and have since run several 10ks, a duathlon, and my first half-marathon was in Houston this January (2024),” she said, adding, “My dad has always cycled—our garage had multiple road and mountain bikes growing up. My husband and I are now road biking through Houston on the network of paved paths.”
Alex also enjoys reading and spending time in the kitchen: “One of my goals for 2023 was to read more,” she said. “I challenged myself to read 10 books this year, and I did it. I have even been listening to audiobooks while I run! I increased my goal to 15 books for 2024. Cooking and baking have always been fun for me, too. Some new recipes I’ve tried this year are homemade soft pretzels and cinnamon buns. Baked brie and fresh guacamole have always been staples for entertaining that I stole from my mom.”
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 2024 program. Questions can be sent to tED Editor Misty Byers at mbyers@naed.org.
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