Nexstep Commercial Products, Exclusive Licensee of O-Cedar, is pleased to announce that effective October 20, 2014, Jeff Stewart joined Bill Bouras and Erin Busch in the capacity of Director of Sales at Nexstep. Areas assigned to Jeff at this time are Northern Illinois/Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Rocky Mountain area, the Northwest, the Mid-South, and the Carolinas.

Jeff was born and raised in New Jersey, and he has lived in most regions of the U.S., including Alaska. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and he received a BSBA from the University of Colorado and a MBA from the University of Redlands.

Jeff has considerable sales management experience in the Jan/San and Consumer Products markets. He began his career with National Laboratories (now RB Professional) where he worked for more than ten years advancing to Regional Sales Manager. He moved on to become the Director of National Accounts-Mass Markets for O-Cedar Brands (Retail Division) where he was responsible for growing the O-Cedar business through Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, K-Mart, and various other retailers. After leaving O-Cedar Brands’ retail division, Jeff launched, operated, and owned Express Employment Professionals, where he helped local Chicago area businesses find qualified workers and helped the unemployed find good jobs.

After selling his business, Jeff looked to get back into the Jan/San industry as he enjoyed helping the mostly family-owned distributors grow their businesses and maintained an affinity for selling quality cleaning tools, chemicals, and soaps. He worked for Henkel Corporation (owner of Dial Professional) as the Midwest Region Manager before joining the Nexstep Commercial team. “My experience as a small business owner fostered a great appreciation for those owners of small, family-owned, and privately held businesses. These businesses are the backbone of the US economy and are what define the US as the land of opportunity. Now I have the opportunity to work with our broker groups to help distributors grow while working for a family-owned, privately held organization.”

Jeff is a sports and fitness enthusiast who enjoys helping others reach their fitness goals and improve their quality of life. He is a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Association of Sports Medicine. Jeff has been a volunteer youth baseball and basketball coach for Wheatland Athletic Association since 2005. He lives with his family in Naperville, IL. He and his wife Lupe enjoy traveling with their children and watching their children grow in their music, gymnastics, and sports activities.

Jeff can be reached at jeff@ocedarcommercial.com or (630) 222-7807.