Jessica Presutto didn’t come to CNC Indexing & Feeding Technologies thinking she would one day be a sales coordinator at the company. In 2012, she was hired to oversee all administrative duties, accounting processes, part shipments, and to answer telephones, all while supporting the other (only) three employees.

When the sales manager left the company, Jessica was thrusted into the role of handling all sales and parts and service calls. She rose to the opportunity, learning quickly how to quote bar feeders, rotary tables and high-pressure coolant units. Jessica had to learn such technical attributes as the difference between Swiss-type sliding headstocks and fixed, says her nominator, Courtney Ortner, chief marketing officer at CNC Indexing & Feeding Technologies.

“She figured out that a fifth axis is a trunnion-style table and just because a part is 6 inches doesn’t mean it fits on a 6-inch table,” she adds. “Customers began sending Jessica prints and schematics to quote accessory options, so she spent time with applications engineers to learn how to read both.

“After almost a year of being in this new role, Jessica embarked on an overseas trip to visit all the OEMs to expand her product knowledge,” Ms. Ortner explains. At that point she had enough expertise to sell the products herself. She began to make sales calls to local shops and exhibit at trade shows.

Jessica has worked hard to expand the company’s customer base to not only include end users, but distributors and OEMs such as Haas, Eurotech, Ellison and REM/Morris Midwest. In the short time that she transformed from an administrative assistant to a sales manager, Jessica has increased sales by 12%, overall.

“She took on the challenge to expand her skills and knowledge to secure a better future for herself and also to assist customers in finding the right machine tool accessory that fits their manufacturing needs,” Ms. Ortner says.

To read about all the 2019 Emerging Leaders, visit “Meet Production Machining’s 2019 Emerging Leaders.”

To nominate an Emerging Leader for our 2020 awards, visit our nomination page.