40 Under 40: Ken Conlee
Product Manager — Reflection; Grand Design RV; With company: 4 Years | In industry: 11 Years
Though Ken Conlee has only been with Grand Design RV (GDRV) for four years, his colleagues already credit him with shaping the culture of the company’s sales team. Ken started at the company as a regional sales manager for the Reflection brand covering the Northeast. After much success in that role, he was promoted to product manager for the brand.
“Ken exemplifies what it means to have drive, which is one of Grand Design RV’s core values,” Ken’s nominator says. “He works hard to exceed the goals set before him and provides the regional sales managers of the Reflection team the tools needed to excel at their jobs.”
As affordability has become more of a concern across the RV industry, Ken has found ways to reduce overall costs without compromising the quality of GDRV’s feature-rich products.
When time allows, Ken — who’s been in the RV industry for 11 years and once received the Rep of the Year award from Wilkins RV — also mentors students in the Marketing Department at the Judd Leighton School of Business at Indiana University South Bend as he continues to guide his team at work.
“Ken is an integral part in shaping the culture of the sales team at GDRV,” his nominator says. “He works hard at providing value in every interaction, whether that be with his coworkers or our dealer base. He sets the tone on how we as a team represent the Reflection brand. As a result, the Reflection team as well as the entire company are better because of Ken. He has shaped the brand to be successful by continuously listening to feedback from retail customers as well as salespeople and managers within our dealer body.”
Outside of work, Ken is the ultimate “girl dad” and loves spending time with his family. He’s a sports fanatic who can be found playing softball in the summer and cheering on the Dallas Cowboys and University of Michigan during football season. Ken and his family volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Michiana throughout the year.
Ken’s advice for up-and-coming leaders in the RV industry:
If you can excel at one thing, listen to those around you. I’ve been fortunate enough to have crossed paths with a lot of people with a ton of experience and the thing I have found most beneficial to my success in this industry is absorbing knowledge. Taking risk leads to great things but making mistakes that people before you have already made just slows down success.
What it means to Ken to be a 40 Under 40 honoree:
It is validating to know that people notice the effort put forth to be a value add to our industry. It makes the long days in the office, nights on the road and time spent away from family worth it. There are a lot of impressive people to win this award before me and I am just proud to be on that list.
