It was about 13 years ago that Michael Horvath discovered the product he was most adept at selling was actually himself. The recurring revenue took the form of professional fulfillment.
Horvath never had any designs on working for an office technology dealership; he felt his job at Xerox offered a good career path. But one night while driving home from the office, the car steered itself into the parking lot of Edwards Business Systems’ Bethlehem office. He met with the branch manager and left his resume. He was eventually hired as senior sales rep.
“It was the best ‘cold call’ I ever made in my career,” said Horvath, a 2024 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “I’ve had great success here in this environment for the past 13 years. It was a real turning point for me.”
Autonomy is important to Horvath, who enjoys having the latitude to make decisions that will benefit the company—sort of a business within a business. It’s not a luxury he takes lightly. Horvath, now Edwards’ corporate director of industrial print and regional sales manager, has set the bar high when it comes to performance. It’s his approach to leadership, however, that helps distinguish him from the crowd.
“I always believed in leading by example and having the persistence or the drive to give my absolute best,” he said, “I welcome opportunities that enable me to grow.”
A graduate of Moravian University, Horvath allowed his love of music to guide him as a sales rep ion the music manufacturing industry for Allen Organ Company and Martin Guitar. He worked with domestic and international distributors, which enabled him to travel throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan. Music manufacturing was a relatively small industry and Horvath sought a path that offered career growth and development. That’s where Xerox came in to play.
Sweet Song
Two of the greatest influences in Horvath’s career were Jim Fiore and Jim Edwards. Fiore was his first manager at Xerox and he took a flier on Horvath—despite having no experience in technology sales—but found his musician background compelling enough to offer the job.
As for Edwards, he abided by the notion of following through on doing what was promised to customers. “It sounds simple, but Jim built his entire dealership around this customer-centric approach,” Horvath added.
His elevation to industrial print director for Edwards represented a golden opportunity, one that Horvath fully leveraged. He’s proud of the program he developed, which paved the way to significant net-new business opportunities. Coupled with the expansion of Edwards’ industrial print portfolio and an experienced, savvy sales team, the unit was able to drive top-line revenue and eclipsed aggressive budget goals.
With 2025 on the horizon, Horvath is looking to add another industrial print sales rep in Virginia before this year wraps while continuing to develop his sales team. “This will help us towards achieving our goals moving forward while further advancing our program and gaining additional new revenue streams,” he said.
Professional Pliability
Moving forward, Horvath feels it will be important to adapt and be open to industry changes and the evolving marketplace. “As this industry continues to evolve, we are on a continual learning curve,” he said. “Being able to adapt quickly is critical for sustainable success over the long term.”
On the home front, Horvath and his wife, Karen, have been happily married for 31 years. They have three grown sons (Michael, Mark, Matt) and a daughter (Victoria). Michael is an attorney and Mark a high school teacher and football coach, while Matt is a graduate of The Citadel and Lieutenant in the Air Force. Victoria is attending Alabama University, pursuing sports management and pre-law.
Horvath is a music director at his church and has been involved with music ministry—from leading choirs to instrumental ensembles—for most of his life. The couple’s favorite getaways include the South Carolina cities of Charleston and Myrtle Beach.
