Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Benners.
Josh, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In high school, my first job was in retail, and it didn’t take me long to realize I had an affinity for management. Throughout school I bounced around a few times between retailers, just doing everything I could to move up the ladder. At 21 I was an assistant store manager in an office supply store and found myself very dissatisfied with the opportunities retail could afford me versus the standards and goals I had set for myself, and my then new family, so I decided to pursue a career change. I was specifically looking for something in technology, which excited me for being dynamic and lucrative.
My father introduced me to a recruiter at General Datatech, L.P. and I applied for an entry-level administrative position… essentially resetting my career progress, but without a degree and no relevant work experience I was very blessed to be awarded the opportunity. I spent the next six years at GDT with spouts in both sales and operations as well as two years in senior leadership as the Director of Launch. This time was invaluable for me, getting to work with some of the industry’s best minds and capable leaders.
From there landed me here as president of GDT Manufacturing, a wholly owned subsidiary of GDT, which has been an incredible new learning experience in my career journey.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not entirely, in fact, this question made me laugh out loud a bit. It took me quite a long time to learn the genuine difference between a leader and a manager, and the necessity of a quality mentor. I spent many years in retail alienating coworkers and associates as I maintained a laser focus on my success. I thought that to achieve, I needed power. When you are a hot headed kid the same age or younger than most of the people that work with/for you that can be a very volatile situation.
Working full time while going to school was also very difficult, and certainly added some friction to my growth at first. Throw in a marriage, children, and everything that comes with it and I had a few long years.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
GDT MFG provides high-quality, Texan made custom copper and fiber cable assemblies for almost any environment. From data centers to cell towers, suburban streets, and high rises, you name it we have provided exceptional, fully custom solutions for our customers most demanding needs. We are known for our friendly, rapid response team, sky-is-the-limit mentality, on-time deliveries and exceptional product reliability. If you order a custom assembly from us, it’s produced by highly skilled technicians in our Dallas facility with the highest quality cable and components, industry best certifications such as ISO 9001-2015, GR 326, and TPR9409, and all of our products are backed by a lifetime warranty.
What were you like growing up?
I’ve always been a very goofy, but driven person. If there were something I could take apart and put back together, I would. I had a big family, so I spent most of my time outside and still am happiest when I’m most active and outdoors. Unfortunately, I was always a terrible student.
School was boring and cumbersome, and it just never caught my interest. Whether it was sports when I was younger or work when I was older, I always had higher priorities than my formal education. I had more than several teachers let me know I would amount to nothing. While I would never tell someone not to pursue a degree, I can be a testament for boys and girls like me who are bright, ambitious, and hardworking that it is not what defines your opportunity or success. What you need to learn is out there somewhere, even if it isn’t in a pretty package with a bunch of other junk you don’t need.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9004 Ambassador Row, Dallas, TX 75247
- Website: www.gdt.com
- Phone: (214) 857-6262
- Email: mfgsales@gdt.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GeneralDatatech
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GDTWire
- Other: http://gdtcentral.com/
Image Credit:
Sallee Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
