From Tech School to Global Leadership

Empowering Industry Podcast - A Production of Empowering Pumps & Equipment

This week Charli has Kerby Pope on to talk about his journey.
Kerby attended a local technical school immediately after high school for study of design drafting with a concentration on Architectural Design. With hopes of landing a career working for an architectural firm that concentrated in high end residential design and then use the proceeds to pay for college at night and earn a bachelor’s degree. The timing was bad as during the late 80’s and early 90’s the housing market was off and very little activity was taking place with residential construction. Instead Kerby worked as a mechanical drafter for a couple of manufacturing companies. The first was designing hollow metal frames and doors for prisons and then a company that manufactured phone booths. Both of which led to being laid off. Kerby then actively sought employment for 3 months when he applied for a design drafter position at Patterson Pump Company.
Kerby began his career at Patterson Pump Company as a drafter. After working in that position for approximately 2 years, a job was posted for a Test Technician. After accepting the position, Kerby decided to take advantage of Patterson’s tuition reimbursement program and completed college and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration in 2000. He was then offered a position in International Sales that same year and accepted then began in sales at the start of 2001.
Kerby was able to teach Patterson representatives and customers a lot about what makes their products superior to other manufacturers and what their capabilities were in the factory. Patterson was able to greatly improve sales in the Middle East for 4 consecutive years. Kerby was then offered the International Sales Manager position in 2005. In the position Kerby applied the same mentality used in the Middle East to increase Patterson’s presence in the Far East, South Africa, and Latin America.
In 2018 the position of President/General Manager of Patterson was opened to applicants of Patterson Pump. Kerby applied and went through the interview process with Patterson’s corporate owner, The Gorman-Rupp Company. In May 2018 Kerby was selected to be the next President/General Manager for Patterson Pump Company. Kerby served as Executive vice president under Patterson’s then President, Al Huber until his retirement at the end of 2019.

Kerby officially began his journey as President and General Manager on January 1, 2020. Two months later the world began down a crazy and uncharted path with the Covid pandemic. Kerby adds that since then “the experience has been priceless”. “It is truly unique to live and manage a manufacturing business in a time that has not been experienced before.”

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