NAILD recently held an election for the open Vendor Member position and the Distributor Member position on its Board of Directors. Both Jeff Nefouse and Doug Knebelsberger were sworn into their positions during NAILD’s virtual Annual General Meeting and have officially had their first monthly Board Call.
Jeff Nefouse, Distributor Member, has been in the lighting industry for more than 13 years but has been associated with NAILD almost his entire life. Nefouse’s grandfather, Ed Saag, started A-M Electric in 1974 and was a founding member of NAILD back in the late 1970s. Nefouse’s father, Greg, acquired A-M Electric in 1995 and Nefouse hopes to take over sometime in the near future.
Nefouse was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended college at Indiana University and the University of Kentucky with a major in history. In his spare time, Nefouse loves to cook and watch sports. He is a die-hard University of Louisville and Chicago Cubs fan. Nefouse is married to his wife, Suzanne, and they just welcomed their first child, Sol, to the world in April.
NAILD also appointed Vendor Member, Doug Knebelsberger. He joined the electrical distribution industry after double majoring in finance and operations at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and subsequently serving five years at Bridgestone Tire. Knebelsberger began his industry career with Light Efficient Design in the summer of 2015.
Serving in sales, he covered the Central Region and supported 10 rep agencies across 15 states. A couple of highlights included developing a corporate stock program with one of the largest regional distributors in the Midwest and growing the territories’ sales 45% in a two-year period.
In late 2017, he was promoted to National Accounts Manager for Distribution. In this role, he played an integral role in developing corporate programs with two of the largest distributors in the country.
In September of 2018, he was promoted to Vice President of Marketing. He is now responsible for pricing, product assortment, promotions, and branding. He was named to tED Magazine’s 30 Under 35 that same year.
Knebelsberger works directly with his Chief Innovation Officer to deliver a monthly high quality, interactive training webinar series called Pro Workshops to educate the channel on the latest innovations from Light Efficient Design. In 2020, Knebelsberger’s marketing team won three Best of the Best Marketing Awards for best Event, Selling Tool, and Print Ad.
Throughout his years with Light Efficient Design, Knebelsberger has always worked outside of his job description to support the company in any way possible. One example is he is currently the lead on putting together the company’s 2019 and 2020 business plans to present to the company’s Board of Directors.
Knebelsberger has been engaged with the industry through many NAED Conferences. He has attended several NAED regional conferences over the past three years, the LEAD Conference four times, and is on the planning committee for NAED’s Adventure Conference. Knebelsberger is also a member of a Chicago-based networking group for the industry.
Outside of work, Knebelsberger enjoys spending time with his wife of three years, Michelle, and their Cava-Poo, Ella. Knebelsberger plays men’s league hockey weekly, plays 16-inch softball, enjoys golf, and working out. Knebelsberger is an avid sports fan with his favorite teams being the Blackhawks, Hoosiers, Cubs, and Bears.
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