It’s been long said that one runs the fastest when being chased. Jeff Rudisel has long appreciated that notion, but in his case, the only thing that was hot on his heels was the fear of failure.
Let’s turn back the clock. Rudisel was working in the service department for Savin many moons ago. He’d been running Savin’s warehouse for a couple of years when he was approached by the company’s sales manager and general manager, who thought Rudisel had all of the tools to be successful in the world of sales. When Rudisel agreed to the switch, the GM reassured him that if the transfer didn’t work out, he would be relocated back to service.
That was nearly a deal-breaker. Rudisel balked and told the GM that if he couldn’t cut it, then he should be let go. It was perhaps one of the few instances in which an employee suggested self-termination due to performance.
“If I knew in the back of my mind that I had an out, I would have never pushed myself out of my comfort zone and would have failed,” noted Rudisel, a 2023 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “That wasn’t an option for me.”
It soon became a moot point, as Rudisel flourished throughout his 23-year career with Ricoh/Savin, having proven to be equally adept in the world of sales as he was in technical service, if not more so. And when Rudisel craved a change of scenery, he found an optimal fit with Image 2000 of Valencia, California, where he currently serves as executive vice president.
The last 16 years have been rewarding for both Image 2000 and Rudisel. CEO Joe Blatchford tabbed Rudisel as the ideal candidate to install a more corporate feel and add structure to the organization. With apologies to James Brown, Rudisel has impressed Blatchford as the hardest-working executive in the business.
Servant Mindset
There are fewer things more gratifying to Rudisel than knowing he’s making a difference among the firm’s many clients. “I like customer service, and whether I was in service or sales, I was able to solve customers’ issues,” he said. “I made a lot of great friends over the years because of that desire.”
Rudisel has developed a penchant for getting the job done right and on time and isn’t afraid of stepping to the fore and making quick decisions. “A lot of time is wasted when a decision isn’t made in a timely manner,” he observed. “I am told that people appreciate my approach.”
One individual who left an indelible mark on Rudisel is Rich Ferraro, his boss at Savin for 16 years and now a close friend. Ferraro was a tough manager during his 30 years at Savin, and he loved to make Rudisel the point person on projects to see how he could handle it.
“He would point to the door and say, ‘Let’s see what you can do,’” Rudisel said. “There is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for him. He took me from the service side to the sales side, and for that, I am forever grateful.”
Rudisel is especially proud of the relentless drive the Image 2000 team showed throughout 2022. Southern California and Los Angeles, in particular, have been among the slowest regions in the country to recover from the pandemic, yet Image 2000 set company marks for attaining business. The performance prompted Blatchford, Rudisel and senior leadership to allocate more spaces for the president’s club trip.
Striving to push net-new business from 40% to 50% of the overall pie and finding new solutions to add to its catalog are focal points for Rudisel over the next 12 months. He credits Sharp with becoming the dealer’s top vendor and the catalyst for Image 2000’s continuous growth.
This December, Rudisel and his wife, Dawn, will be celebrating their 42nd wedding anniversary later this year. The Rudisels met on a blind date when he was 18; they were engaged in a month, and married six months later. They have three children (Kasandra, Tyler and Alicia) and five grandchildren (Annabelle, Liliana, Savanah, Adalyn and Colton). The Rudisels love to go on family cruises.
“There is nothing better in life than family,” he added.
