Emerging Leaders Lean Into Learning at UID

By Denise Williams | Channel Connection

Excited.

Flattered.

Grateful.

Appreciative.

Appreciated.

Validated.

Proud.

Asked how it felt to be selected for inclusion in NBMDA’s Emerging Distribution Leaders (EDL) program, these are some of the emotions described by a sample of members of the 2025 cohort. Pamela Kehoe with Aetna Plywood even confesses to experiencing — for just a millisecond — a touch of nervousness, which was canceled out almost immediately by the thrilling prospect of self-betterment. Besides feeling pleased with her company’s pull toward “forward thinking,” it dawned on Kehoe that as Aetna leadership plans for the future of the business, they also, by extension, must consider who they’d like to help shepherd in that change and growth.

In addition to Kehoe (pictured, right), the company chose to support three other employees through EDL this year — including site operations manager Eric Thatcher. Approaching 20 years with Aetna, where he started out working in the warehouse, he makes no bones about his appetite for “more.”

“I’m always ready for more,” he says. “And I ask for more all the time. Whatever you throw at me, I’m going to take.” EDL seems like exactly the kind of opportunity that he would’ve gladly raised his hand for … but that’s not how it works.

An Elite Club

To take part in the tailored coaching program, which equips distribution channel standouts with additional knowledge and skills needed to excel at a higher level, cohort members must be nominated by their executive management team. It’s a financial investment for the company and a 9-month commitment for participants, so selecting candidates likely to follow through and deliver a high ROI on that decision is key.

What that looks like changes from person to person in terms of time working with the company, role, age, and experience in the industry. It runs the gamut from employees like Thatcher and Atlantic Plywood’s Mike Viviano, who have demonstrated value to their company over the long term, to those like Kehoe and Fessenden Hall’s Jonathan Carroll, who haven’t been in their current roles quite as long but whose tremendous potential already has grabbed the attention of leadership.

Whatever traits and attributes brought them to EDL this year, the cohort of 32 professionals kicked off their training by diving into the University of Innovative Distribution (UID) this past March. The three days of immersive education represents one of four segments that EDL participants must complete in order to “graduate” and receive recognition at the NAFCD + NBMDA Annual Convention in the fall.

Feasting on a Buffet of Knowledge

It was the third trip to UID for Thatcher, who found the event to be similar — but also different — from his previous experiences. For one, he explains, attending as part of the EDL cohort as opposed to enrolling as a general attendee added another layer of focus for him. “It’s not that I wasn’t focused before,” he clarifies, “but it meant thinking on a different level.”

For UID newcomers Viviano, Kehoe, and Carroll — a self-proclaimed lifelong learner — their initiation to the battery of courses, covering an impressive range of topics that changes each year, was impactful.

Viviano (pictured, left), an assistant sales manager for Atlantic, reports taking something away from each speaker whose class he selected, whether it was new information or a nugget that reinforced current practice. What he learned at the Purdue University-hosted event is already coming in handy, he says.

One course that particularly resonated with him addressed pricing of different products. Merchandise that is carried in abundance by multiple sellers and that moves easily would be categorized as an “A” product that doesn’t necessarily demand targeted sales attention, the instructor had advised. On the other hand, an item your company carries but few others have in stock is one that should be leveraged as a money-maker. “That's something that I kind of was already doing,” Viviano reports, noting that the class gave him confidence that he should stick with the strategy. “I said, ‘OK, good — I'm definitely going to keep doing this. It's important.”

UID was a great primer for Carroll, who before joining his current employer about 18 months ago worked for a plywood manufacturer that was doing business with Fessenden. “I was really excited to have an opportunity to get a better understanding of the nitty gritty of distribution,” he shared, after spending years on the supplier side. That included areas outside of his daily role and responsibilities, like supply chain and inventory management, for example. “I walked away with an understanding that even though something’s not necessarily under my purview, I should at least understand or get a deeper grasp of how my company manages some of these things.”

Kehoe, who works in outside sales for Aetna Building Solutions, didn’t know what to expect from UID. With the mindset of “this is going to give me tools to use in my career moving forward,” she went in with a pledge to herself to be open-minded and to be a sponge, soaking up as much knowledge as she could. What came as a surprise, she admits, was just how much there was to learn. “I wasn’t expecting that I knew so little,” she explains — especially with respect to technology, which admittedly is not one of her strengths. Kehoe was amazed at all the education directed at AI and its application to everything from risk mitigation to customer communications. “I was like, ‘What?! Are you kidding me?,” she says of her reaction. “Why am I not doing this?’”

“I think it will take my skill set to the next level as far as sales and customer service,” she predicts. “I'm not that tech savvy, but [after UID] I'm definitely going to try to be. UID was a big eye-opener for me that I need to look into more technology tools and resources.”

Making Connections

The event is great not just for learning, these four emerging leaders agree, but also for networking. And sometimes, as Viviano illustrates, both at once. 

Flying into Indianapolis from his home base of New Jersey, Viviano met a group of professionals in the hydraulics business who also were en route to UID. The group ended up dining together the night before the workshops began. “We briefly went over what each industry does and talked about how we each handle our customers, how we're going to potentially handle the tariffs coming up,” and other topics relevant to them all, he recalls. “That was pretty meaningful. They all live local to me, and I got their information.”

Idea exchange is a theme that Carroll can appreciate as well, given the potential at UID to interact with people in similar roles and discuss experiences with various lines of product and markets — whether the same as his own or different. “There also were a lot of people there from different industries,” he points out. “The big takeaway for me is that we’re all dealing with the same stuff. I don’t know if that’s encouraging or not but, from my perspective, at least I’m not alone.”

UID was also a platform for networking with current business partners, continues Carroll (pictured, right). One of the highlights of UID for him was getting quality face time with a couple of attendees who were onsite representing one of Fessenden’s major suppliers. “I knew them, let's say by reputation,” Carroll notes, “but hadn't really spent any time with them.”

Kehoe had a similar experience, finding UID to be a perfect setting to get to know some of her own team better — people she had worked with at Aetna to some extent but never got to know on a personal level. She also made a strong connection with one of the presenters, all of whom she found to take a superb hands-on approach to teaching.

Beyond UID

The consensus appears to be that UID was informative, productive, and worth the time and energy it demanded. But it’s only the first leg of the EDL journey for Carroll, Kehoe, Thatcher, Viviano, and the rest of the 2025 cohort. Still ahead for them is completion of a virtual master manager program this summer, followed by the final two EDL components, to be executed this fall onsite at the annual conference in Chicago. None of the group are sure how exactly these upcoming activities will unfold but seem confident that whatever is in store for them will be beneficial. Whatever it entails, they say, they’re ready for it.

“It’s in some ways extra work,” Carroll concedes — but it’s far from a complaint. He’s grateful for the opportunity to learn, he emphasizes, but also for Fessenden’s trust in him. With that motivation at his back, “continued networking and forging some bonds” are high on his EDL wish list for the remainder of the program. He’s also eager to get “deeper insight on the financial side of things” through some of the additional coursework.

Kehoe has no idea what the next 7 months will bring, but instinctively recognizes that the curriculum, association involvement, and networking will introduce her to new ways to adapt and evolve as a distribution professional. “ I'm looking forward to learning new things that I never even thought about but that are probably going to blow my mind,” she speculates.

Thatcher (pictured, left) also isn’t sure what to expect but says that he’s looking forward to the “unknown,” especially if it involves doing something different and meeting new people. “I’d like a new challenge,” he offers, as he works toward the goal of expanding his operations role to include all of Aetna’s branches — not just the two in Lexington, Kentucky, and White Bear Lake, Minnesota.

While each EDL participant is ultimately the architect of their own destiny, they all express a shared motivator: their employers’ clear belief, by enrolling them in EDL and UID, that they have what it takes to achieve what they want.