Schaumburg, IL (Sept. 28, 2023) — Pulse Technology, a technology company serving the IT, managed print services and other needs of businesses throughout the Midwest and beyond, announced that Matt Jessen, an Account Executive from their Merrillville, Indiana, location, has placed first in a national technology competition sponsored by Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America.
Sharp is a worldwide manufacturer of office technology equipment, and Sharp is one of the product lines that Pulse Technology carries.
Jessen topped a field of more than 500 competitors from across the United States in a three-stage “demo contest” competition testing the skills of how a technician/account executive could handle a variety of workplace challenges that could arise in the operation of technology equipment. The competition took place over a three-and-a-half month time span and involved competitions in Chicago and New York City.
Every competitor was provided with a series of customer scenarios, each presenting challenges requiring a solution for a hypothetical challenge. Each competitor had to create a solution using Sharp technology.
“It definitely gave us each the opportunity to be creative and be able to anticipate possible outcomes,” Jessen said.
The first round of the competition took place at Pulse Technology’s Schaumburg, Illinois, location. Chosen by the Sharp territory manager in the first round of competition, he went on to the regional competitions which brought dealerships from across the country together at Sharp’s Chicago location. He was selected as a finalist at that level and proceeded to the final round at Sharp headquarters in New York City.
Some of the scenarios he faced were technology challenges at a hypothetical nonprofit that provides employment opportunities for disadvantaged individuals, and another round was for a hypothetical medical group where the challenge also included specific compliance issues and how the technology plays into that situation.
When all of the rounds were completed, Jessen was chosen as the national winner of the competition.
John Sheehan, senior VP of B2B channel sales at Sharp, said, “Matt’s exceptional delivery, flow and time management coupled with his vast product knowledge and personality shone for our judges.”
Chip Miceli, CEO of Pulse Technology, said, “We are very proud of Matt’s excellent work that led to this first-place finish. It’s great to win this recognition and we know that it was Matt’s knowledge and efforts that made it happen.”
He added, “These ‘what-if’ scenarios in competitions such as these help us all to think on our feet and to anticipate how to solve any situations that may come up. It’s all part of how we work to be certain that the needs of our customers are always taken care of.”
“It was great to be able to draw from real-life experience—what we do every day here, in these competitive scenarios,” Jessen said. “I am very pleased that Pulse Technology has secured this number one spot among all of the competitors in this event, and we congratulate the others also on their hard work and creativity.”
Jessen has been with Pulse Technology for two years, serving the company from its Merrillville location. He has been in the commercial, business-to-business IT sector for about 15 years. At Pulse, he handles all of the company’s offerings including managed network, MPS, document management, videoconferencing and other areas.
He is a resident of Chesterton, Indiana, and in his spare time is a member of an adult soccer league. He also enjoys music and gardening.
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About Pulse Technology
Pulse Technology is a leader in the field of print management, network services (IT), and other office solutions including furniture design and sales, office products, mailing equipment and their supplies, as well as custom and promotional products, with a history dating back to 1955. Pulse Technology is the re-branded name for several well-known area businesses: Des Plaines Office Equipment, McShane’s, and Kramer Leonard. With locations in Brookfield, Wisconsin; Merrillville, Indiana; Rockford and Schaumburg, Illinois, Pulse Technology serves the needs of businesses across the Midwest.
The firm provides products and services to a diverse client base that includes schools, hospitals, law offices, accounting firms, and financial institutions, among others. The firm has won the Sharp Document’s Hyakuman Kai award for sales excellence since 1988 and the Elite Dealer by ENX Magazine since 2007 and has been named to the Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing businesses across the United States. Pulse Technology has also won the Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award, and the ENX Magazine Difference Maker recognition. The company is a 2021, 2022 and 2023 recipient of Best Places to Work (IL) from the Workforce Research Group and promoted by the Daily Herald.
