Unstoppable People: Jeremy Medina

Milliken’s Unstoppable People series highlights Milliken & Company associates who guide us to success and embody our values: integrity, excellence, innovation, sustainability, and people.

The parallels between coaching his children's sports and his regional flooring sales reps may not be immediately apparent, but Jeremy Medina is committed to building his team no matter what field they take. "I love working with kids—outside of work, we spend a lot of time at the softball and baseball fields. It's a special thing to coach your kids and their friends, watch them grow, and build their teams. I love building teams on any level, right?"

That love of team building makes Jeremy uniquely qualified for his role as Regional Vice President in Milliken's Flooring Business, overseeing the Midwestern United States region. In the year since he stepped into this role, Jeremy has grown his own coaching skills as he supports a team of 12 flooring sales reps. "There's not a typical day. One moment, you're bringing samples to one of your reps. The next, you're troubleshooting a potential issue before hopping back to a conference call. I still meet with customers, but now I'm more focused on how I build my team. What do my reps need from me on a daily basis? What does my team need to grow?"

Jeremy has spent 21 years in the flooring industry, 20 of which were in sales roles. "I like the sales job, but when this position opened, I knew I wanted to take on this different challenge. It was a chance to collaborate with a team and grow together." And Milliken has been where he's been able to do it all.

"I spent 17 years at a competitor before coming to Milliken, and I thought I would have stayed there for the long haul. But I didn't want to pass up the culture here at Milliken. The way Milliken treats people and the way we go to market made an impression on me. Now that I'm in the RVP role, I can help Milliken continue to move forward. I don't want to sit back and watch; I want to contribute my ideas and help my team understand where we are going and how we will get there."

Throughout the conversation, Jeremy's passion—and penchant—for coaching is not lost. "When I was in sales, I was focused on solving problems. Now, I'm more of a partner, supporting my team when they need to develop solutions. I'm offering tools, and they are doing the work, instead of me just telling them how I would do something.

"The work I'm doing, it matters to people. That's not lost on me. It makes you feel good to know it's making an impact."

Want to join our team of #UnstoppablePeople? Visit our careers webpage to learn more about your next opportunity.

Do you know an Unstoppable Person you’d like to recognize? Nominate them at [email protected].