Jon Medernach to retire after a triumphant twenty years at MRSI Systems
After over 40 years of a successful capital equipment sales career, Jon Medernach will be hanging up his hat and enjoying retirement at the end of the month. MRSI was lucky to have him last, but prior to MRSI he was also a tremendous asset of the Panasonic Factory Automation and Dynapert teams. The spotlight shines on Jon as we celebrate this milestone and wish him well as he transitions to fulltime fishing, spending time with his kids and grandkids and traveling – for fun, and not to work trade shows!
We all know Jon as the passionate relationship-builder, advocating for customers, educating users and ultimately, closing deals for MRSI. He will be remembered for his extensive product and process knowledge, as well as his ability to engage in conversation about any topic at all! Beyond Jon’s immense professional success, he was a massive presence in our Tewksbury Office. A personable, extroverted “geek” (self-proclaimed), he has enjoyed the technology and meeting interesting people. In fact, when asked about his greatest memories of his time at MRSI, he emphasizes the people. “Many Christmas parties and summer picnics, watching coworkers’ families grow from little kids to adults was a wonderful thing.”
On top of his legacy of extensive equipment sales and customer connections, Jon leaves us with some parting wisdom that can be useful to all – passed down from his oldest uncle. “When I was about 10 years old, we were visiting their house on the Jersey shore and he told me, while he sat sipping some Crown Royal, that if I were to get into business, the most important thing was to always be a gentleman.” Jon interpreted the message as be positive, keep your cool, keep on smiling, bite your lip, and when needed, walk away. Throughout his career, Jon learned to let go of things you cannot control and do your very best to focus on the good. He has certainly exemplified the definition of a true gentleman. Jon’s extraordinary vision will continue to leave a lasting impression on MRSI’s future endeavors.
“Oh yes, and of course; don’t forget the sunscreen, dance like no one is watching, etc.” – Jon
As we bid farewell to Jon, our North American customers will be delighted to hear that his replacement is likely already a trusted resource – Peter Cronin, our Director of Applications & Service. Peter has vast product and process knowledge including extensive photonics experience with various transmitters and receivers, which enabled him to lead MRSI’s global team of Applications and Service Engineers for the past 10 years. He has supported the MRSI sales team since 2000, when he first joined as a Sales Engineer, exercising a solutions-based approach for configuring machines. Peter was a tremendous customer-advocate overseeing Applications and Service, and this experience will fold perfectly into his new role emphasizing the voice of the customer in a Sales Management role.
Congratulations to Jon and Peter!