Council of Fellows' Spotlight: Jon Spector

DPHA created the Council of Fellows to recognize career accomplishments. In keeping with DPHA’s tradition of innovation and defying convention, election to DPHA’s Council of Fellows is not simply an honor. It also is a call to continue to serve our organization and industry. The Council of Fellows does not have an agenda or mandate. The Council is expected to undertake projects that it deems important and vital to the continued success of our industry. As DPHA has matured, the organization continues to look to the Council of Fellows as a strategic think tank.

This week we feature Jon Spector...

Jon Spector has been in the Decorative Plumbing and Hardware industry virtually all of his adult life, and has truly been a "man for all seasons" since his career has seen him be all 3 of our major membership segments - a dealer, a rep and a manufacturer. Jon started in this industry working as the warehouse manager at Brickman's in the Boston area, and over the course of his 5 years there, served several different roles ending with his appointment as showroom manager.

Jon then started his own rep firm, Jon Spector & Associates, in 1985, and covered the New York metro, Mid-Atlantic and New England areas. Jon's vision of a decorative industry was certainly evident at this point in his career, since he chose to handle and pioneer new, high-end lines that were virtually unheard of at that time; lines such as Alape, Bette, Dornbracht, HEWI and Valli & Valli. He also served on the representative council for Santile, the US distributor for Dornbracht at that time. When it was virtually unheard of for someone to represent lines other than commodity lines, Jon took the plunge.

Then in 1997, Jon became the CEO and President of Dornbracht Americas, where he remained for the next 14 years. Jon led that company in developing successful training and education programs and the implementation of several defined strategies. Among these strategies was Dornbracht's URAPP (Unilateral Resale and Advertising Pricing Policy), which not only stabilized a dealer's margins, but clearly defined any exceptions to the established URAPP program. At a time when other manufacturers claimed they couldn't do anything about enforcing rampant discounting among the dealer network, Jon and the folks at Dornbracht said "yes we can". In no small part, Jon's visionary thinking not only advanced Dornbracht Americas positioning in the marketplace, but helped reshape the thinking of other manufacturers who now more actively support the brick-and-mortar showroom.

Jon has served as the Strategic Board Chairman for Dornbracht Americas, overseeing sales, budgets and brand development, and has also served from 2009 to 2013 on the DPHA Board of Directors, sharing his invaluable experience to improve the industry.