David Drewry

“Early on in my career, as an outside salesman, I was more focused on personal goals and myself, thinking if I did my job, everyone else would do theirs without needing help. The deeper I got into my career, I started seeing that this guy needed a leg up, or that I needed to go to the warehouse to help pull an order. Moving into the sales management role further broadened my horizons and my understanding. I had to worry about my inside team, two different branches, and the overall district. It became clear how much we depend on our fellow associates and how interconnected we are to one another.”

Ten years ago David got his start at Ferguson by chance. It had been 5 months since he had graduated from college, and he still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. One night, after applying for jobs and passing out résumés all day, he had dinner with a family friend who asked for a copy of his résumé. That friend gave it to Ferguson branch manager, Rick Chandler, who was looking for a new industrial associate right there in David’s hometown of Memphis. Because David comes from a family of plumbers, he liked that aspect — so after he went through the interview process and was offered the job he said “yes.” But we can’t quite say the rest is history.

David says now that he was “young and dumb” then. After spending 6 months in Cincinnati for training and returning to Memphis to start his industrial career, he left Ferguson 7 months later to follow friends to Mississippi. Luckily that’s not where David’s Ferguson story ends! A year and a half later Rick reached out to ask David to sell for him again, this time in Baton Rouge. At that time David wasn’t interested in returning to Memphis, so Baton Rouge offered him a new adventure. Within 3 weeks he made the move. He ended up spending more than 8 years in Baton Rouge before getting the chance to take what he’d learned to South Texas — an opportunity he jumped on!

One thing David says he has learned over his career, and even before his industrial career when he worked construction to pay for his college education, is that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, you have to work to prove yourself to the people you’re around today. He also appreciates there’s a learning curve for everything, and you have to be patient with yourself along the way. He believes in asking questions, and says he still learns something new every day, even from associates who haven’t been in the business as long as he has.

Today David says he can’t see himself working anywhere else. “I love what I do, honestly. I love that it’s challenging every day. I love the way we’re structured, how management is structured. I love the way we take initiative to bring new opportunities to associates. I’m not going anywhere!”