Bruce Marvin: Still Family After 25 Years

After 25 years at City Electric Supply and even longer in South Carolina, it’s safe to say Bruce Marvin knows his way around. And even though his location hasn’t changed in that time, a lot of other things have.

Bruce Marvin Starting At CES

He joined the industry early, working for a small electrical distributor through high school and college. But after school, he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to do.

“But one day, out of the blue, a sales rep from Siemens found me and said, ‘Listen, there’s a new company coming to America from England, and they want to open a branch in your area. Are you interested?’” said Marvin.

The Siemens rep was talking about CES Lexington, one of the earliest branches in the state.

“I went to an interview. They hired me as one of the first employees. I watched the branch grow from scratch,” said Marvin. “I started behind the counter, but pretty soon after that, I became the operations manager.”

Moving On Up

In both positions, he learned more about the industry and the company, which proved useful when his branch manager moved to another branch opening up nearby.

“When my branch manager left to go to a new branch, I became branch manager at CES Lexington,” said Marvin.

He learned the ropes quickly as a branch manager with some helpful advice from his mentor, VP of Operations Jim Lawson, who was his district manager at the time.

“I can tell you exactly what he told me,” Marvin began. “He said, ‘A successful branch manager doesn’t have to be the best in a specific area — the best in sales, the best in collections. A successful branch manager just needs to have a handle on all areas of the business.’”

That advice stuck with him until now as he continues to learn every aspect of the business.

“I’m now the district manager, and I’d say that advice helped get me here,” said Marvin.

Happy To Be Here

And he’s pretty happy with where he is.

“I’ve spent my entire life in South Carolina, which is absolutely a benefit in this position,” he said. “I like the role. I’m using a whole new set of skills, and I no longer know what my day is going to look like in advance. But that’s exciting.”

As exciting as it is, in a way, it’s still a little bit familiar to Marvin.

“In my 25 years here, I’ve seen CES grow a lot, but it never felt awkward or like it wasn’t a family anymore,” he said. “It’s always been a really welcoming environment, and I’ve had a lot of help from the people within the company that make it feel like a family. It felt that way in the beginning, and it still feels that way now.”

It’s nice to know, as Marvin will tell you, that after 25 years, some things don’t change.

Thank you for your incredible work, Bruce Marvin, and for all that you’ve accomplished in your time with us! We can’t wait to see what you do next. Whatever it is, you have the CES family right behind you.