Body Chris grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, and a strong work ethic was important to her from a very young age. Her father instilled an intrinsic drive for success in her and her siblings, which still motivates her today. “Our dad would say, ‘just don’t disappoint me,’ and that was motivation enough to get good grades, come home on time, and be generally good kids,” she said.
Her first job was working at Dairy Queen, where she learned lessons in customer service and what’s involved in owning a small business. From there, she pursued a major in finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Initially, she thought she would pursue a career in investment banking, but it turns out she was destined for a career in sales. Her childhood experience as a Girl Scout planted this seed at a young age. “I was always determined to set the record for the most cookies sold. I convinced my mom to drive me to areas that were ‘under-served’ by Girl Scouts instead of competing with the other girls in my neighborhood and bundled cookies together for a ‘special deal.’”
Chris has been working in the IT industry for 32 years. With experience at various companies, including IBM, Corporate PC Source, and Zones, her career at CDW began in 2011, when she joined the company to lead Corporate Sales and Sales Operations. Her predecessor, Chris Rother, turned the reigns of the commercial business side over to Chris while she continued to lead the public side of the business. As a new coworker at the time, Chris shared her gratitude for Chris Rother’s warm welcome and amazing partnership as well as the wonderful leadership team she inherited.
I convinced my mom to drive me to areas that were ‘under-served’ by Girl Scouts instead of competing with the other girls in my neighborhood and bundled cookies together for a ‘special deal.’