Bill Eckstrom

Founder and President
EcSELL Institute

William L. Eckstrom (Bill) has spent his entire career in the sales arena, the first nine years in personal production and the past twelve in strategic sales management. His accomplishments as a sales producer placed him in the top 5% of his industry worldwide, and he received local and national recognition for his achievements. In sales management, Bill's record is also exemplary. He began his sales management career in 1996 with a healthcare consulting company. In 2000, Bill became District Sales Manager for a national medical equipment company and was quickly promoted to Regional Manager. Within two years he was again promoted, to U.S. Director of Sales. During this four year stretch, which was inclusive of 9/11, sales increased over 80%. In late 2004, Bill was lured away to become Sr. V.P. of Business Development for a publicly traded healthcare organization. By year end 2007, the organization's stock price had doubled and new sales revenue had grown 280%.

Bill is a nationally recognized public speaker. His presentations include topics such as team building, achieving peak performance in sales, and leadership and accountability.

Lincoln, Nebraska, is home for Bill, his wife, and their three children. His passions, along with family, often involve outdoor activities. He is an avid hunter, fisherman, and biker. His community is important to him, and Bill serves on several boards which reflect his interest in civic responsibility.

He can be reached at beckstrom@ecsellinstitute.com

Sarah Wirth

VP Member Services
EcSELL Institute

Sarah Wirth has over 12 years of experience in employee assessment, leadership coaching, and customer service. She began her career as a talent analyst for an international human resource firm, helping client organizations assess the fit of job candidates’ natural abilities with potential roles. In 2001, she began coaching leaders in organizations ranging from small not-for-profits to Fortune 500 companies. In 2006, Sarah was named chair of leadership consulting and, as a member of the senior operations team, she helped lead the organization to a 65% increase in revenues. In 2009, she joined a publicly-traded organization as the vice president of client service, increasing client contract retention by 36%.

Sarah also holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and is a member of the Nebraska Bar Association. She has served as a legal advisor for previous employers, specifically in the areas of contract, employment and intellectual property law.

She lives in Lincoln with her husband and two young sons. She loves to spend most of her free time with her children, but also makes sure she carves out some time each day for exercise and knitting.

Talk to Sarah at swirth@ecsellinstitute.com

Steve Bohnenkamp

VP Sales and Marketing
Plymouth Tube Company

Steve has spent 37 years in family-owned, industrial manufacturing businesses including Plymouth Tube Company, Watlow Electric Mfg. Company, The Marmon Group, and Chicago Metallic.  The annual revenues of the companies have ranged from $300 million - $750 million. Steve has spent the last 4-1/2 years as the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Plymouth Tube Company.  He has led sales forces as large as 150 and overseeing as many as 220 distributor organizations around the world.  During his career he has also had P&L responsibility for six international manufacturing facilities in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, and Singapore.

Steve has developed many sales management, coaching tools and metrics, many of which he has shared with his fellow EcSELL Institute members. For example he created the Voice-Of-The-Customer tool which is successfully used for new product development.

In addition to work, Steve has lectured and worked with two MBA classes at St. Louis University on their Capstone projects required for graduation. He is a former Board member of Boeing International School of Business @ St. Louis University and Hi-Line, Inc. – Dallas, Texas and currently serves as an Advisory Board member at EcSELL Institute.  Steve graduated from the University of Missouri and also Ranken Technical College in St. Louis. He is a diehard Cleveland Browns fan!

Jay Daily

VP Business Development
Hoar Construction

Jay Daily is Vice President, Business Development of Hoar Construction.  Jay assists in leading and defining business development activity along with ensuring sales training and skill development.

Jay came to Hoar Construction from the Nalco Company where he served in numerous sales and sales management positions over a 16 year period.  In his last 2 assignments Jay managed Mining and Metals sales across North America then accepted the Sales manager position for the South East Region.  These experiences provided sales challenges across extensive geographies in a variety of market sectors within different industries. 

Hoar’s Core Values and the depth of quality personnel drew Jay’s attention and desire to become a part of the Hoar family.  The amazing part of the Core Values is that they don’t live on a sheet of paper in the break room; the values are believed and practiced everyday at work sites around the country.  Hoar’s growth needs and Jay’s sales management experience matched well with one another.  The on-going journey of being the Construction Industry’s most respected and admired continues to provide great challenge and fulfillment.

The son of a career military officer, Jay grew up in Europe and the Southeast United States.  Upon graduation from West Point and flight school, Jay was able to work at his first dream job combining 2 early passions of aerospace engineering and flying as a maintenance test pilot in Hawaii.  His family finally moved back home in the early 1990s and continues to enjoy Birmingham.