Lead by example. It’s just that simple.

Ernie and Charles Wilson will always be the heart and soul of our company. Their humility and sense of humor was standard operating procedure ever since co-founding the place back in 1946. Throughout both of their careers, it was never about the products they sold. The brothers’ focus was always on connecting with others, including all Ernest employees, whom they considered family.

Spending time with family is at the top of Tim’s list of favorite things to do. That’s an especially good thing as the CEO of a family-owned business because with over 600 employees, his definition of family is a bit broader than most.

He prides himself on the people he has on his team — their passion, the dedication they have to their work, and their willingness to collaborate to help find the best solutions for our customers. In fact, some of his greatest joys come from celebrating the professional successes and personal milestones of his extended family.

Keeping up with Brian is tough. He’s so full of life, you never know what’s coming next. We think his previous jobs working on a cruise ship, serving as president of his city’s Little League, and managing rock bands perfectly prepared him for his life today — as father to two great boys, stepfather to two more, dedicated husband, keeper of the family animal menagerie, and Chief Customer Officer.

Brian consistently puts his incredible energy to work for everyone here at Ernest. With his great ability to make customers comfortable, his commitment to understanding their needs and objectives, and his ability to always have fun in the process, Brian is a great asset to his clients and to us. We look forward to many more years of trying to keep up with him.

Mike was a part of the Ernest family long before he joined the team as an employee. In his work for a number of our suppliers, he saw firsthand what a difference that family feeling makes. Now he’s doing his part to demonstrate our strong commitment to service on a daily basis. Mike does that by looking at things from all perspectives to help our clients and his coworkers succeed.

That passion for success probably comes from his love of sports. He’s a big Miami Dolphins fan, and when he’s not rooting for them, you might find him riding dirtbikes in the desert, waterskiing and jet-skiing, or hitting the slopes on his snowboard.

Karri is dedicated and committed to everything she does. Whether it’s cheering on her son at all of his soccer games or solving challenges for our clients and employees, she’s in it 100%. She has proven herself over and over again as part of the Ernest family.

Her experience in accounting, finance, and HR has given her the day-to-day perspective that helps her shine as our CFO. Or maybe it’s her annual trips to recharge in the surf and sun in Costa Rica that do the trick. Either way, her future looks bright.

With a record like Mickey Mantle, the charisma of Joe DiMaggio, and the heart of Lou Gehrig, we think if Vince ever decides to retire from us, he has a bright future as a coach. His passion for nurturing success in everyone around him — from his family to our leadership and especially his new recruits — brings new life and energy to Ernest every day.

Since 2008, Ernest has been the house that Vince built. Vince is not only getting top talent to join our Ernest family, but as keeper of the culture, he is making sure that we maintain the perfect climate for them to prosper and succeed. It’s really too bad that his favorite team, the Yankees, haven’t discovered him. Their loss is definitely our gain.

One for all, all for one. That’s how Clint Howard sees the relationship between individual and collective success. As SVP of Learning, he hopes to lead Ernest to global improvement by spearheading initiatives to develop personalized, relevant content for each employee. His deep experience at the company and passionate support for the Ernest Way will play an integral part as the Learning and Development department turns its focus to expanding its resources to help us realize Ernest’s vision for the future.

When he’s not busy helping every Ernest employee be the best they can be, Clint’s busy helping his family learn and grow, too. Between home improvement projects, weekend camping trips, four kids, and one “smart but dumb” golden retriever, he’s certainly got his hands full—and we have a feeling he wouldn’t have it any other way. Whether Clint is training or being trained, his commitment to shared success is just the kind of forward momentum that makes all the difference.

If you ask Eddie what he thinks makes Ernest so successful, he would tell you it’s the people. When people work together, great things happen. This belief in teamwork and his ability to build relationships with everyone around him make him a huge asset and a great leader.

He says it comes from lessons he learned on the college basketball court. We think it’s just part of his balanced, good-natured approach to life. Whatever the case, we’re learning new things from Eddie every day and are thrilled to have him on our team.

Kenny loves a good competition, both personally and professionally. So it makes sense that he would return to Ernest, the company that launched his packaging career, after a decade of working for a competitor.

As our SVP of the Western Region, he is keeping his competitive nature on the golf course and has become passionate about sharing his years of knowledge and experience with the younger members of our sales force. And if you ask Kenny what day was his favorite day at Ernest, he’ll tell you it was the day he came back. We have to agree and couldn’t be happier to have him.

Both professionally and personally, Scott has a special talent for rallying people. Whether he’s coaching his kids’ baseball and soccer teams or bringing all the Ernest offices together under a compelling new brand, he knows the power of a strong, confident message. He’s a firm believer in the company’s commitment to Moving Packaging Forward and takes the idea to heart even in the way the company markets itself.

He attributes this passion for our brand to the fact that the family culture at Ernest makes you always want to do your best. We know it’s really because he’s a savvy marketer who truly loves his work.

With more than 25 years of sales and leadership positions in the packaging industry, he’s bringing deep experience and strong strategic thinking to the Ernest team. David was drawn to Ernest for our unique energy and our shared passion for solving the toughest packaging challenges. He’s looking forward to building on this enthusiasm as he helps us push the boundaries in how we serve clients and expand our reach.

When he’s not drumming up packaging business, you may find David exploring his passion for Formula 1 racing. While he and his wife enjoy feeding their need for speed with this new hobby, with two kids away at college, he cherishes the time he gets to spend with family whenever they’re home.

Jeff’s passions lie in training and developing people, and instilling culture. Jeff’s beliefs in hard work and industry knowledge make him a perfect person to help Ernest build our continued success. With his hard-earned expertise and warrior attitude, we know he’s an incredibly valuable asset to our team—and our Ernest family.

When he’s not out driving sales, Jeff loves spending time with his wife and four daughters. Although they’re almost empty-nesters, family is a huge part of his life. So is fitness. He was an amateur boxer in USA Boxing’s Master’s program until just recently. Because right now, he’s all about Ernest.

Roger Merritt likes to build things from the ground up. As VP of E-Mation, he’s excited to head up our new initiative centered on packaging automation, materials, and technical service. With his 25 years of experience in the industry, we’re excited to have him leading this charge.

Outside of work, Roger has plenty to keep him busy. A lifelong music lover, he’s been playing the guitar since he was 15. He also loves playing golf (“I just swing as hard as I can—I’m really bad”), walking, or riding his beloved Vespa around the beach.

When it comes to protecting temperature-sensitive goods Larry Zaiter is passionate about developing new products, optimizing process controls and increasing sustainability. He’s been working in cold chain packaging for almost 20 years, getting his start at one of the most respected leaders in the industry and his interest in the segment heated up from there.

Outside of work, Larry and his wife are empty nesters in McKinney, TX. They love to play golf, travel, and spend time with family.

When it comes to building an international presence, Mike Hansen knows what it takes. For more than two decades before joining Ernest, he worked for a leading international packaging provider where he was tapped to run the National and Global Accounts program. As Vice President of Global Services here at Ernest, Mike will be focused on tapping into new markets and opportunities. His goal is to start by extending our relationships with existing customers that have national and international locations we don’t currently work with. He plans to build out a global-ready team to work closely with the CRMs, Regional VPs and DCRs who are already tending these relationships, adding another level of support to grow the business.

Outside of work, Mike loves spending time with his family. With three kids and six grandkids all in the SoCal area, he has plenty to keep him busy. He and his wife try to attend every event and game, including soccer, football, baseball and basketball. The family loves vacationing together, and they have a place on the Colorado River where they go boating, skiing and wakeboarding. He also likes to get in a round of golf when he can, and enjoys watching football and basketball.

Matthew Cheng knows how to think big. As Vice President of Operations in charge of our new Ernest Elevate initiative, Matthew will focus on expanding our infrastructure to support a broader, higher-profile type of customer.

Fun fact: Matthew was a professional gamer in his late teens. Being paid to play Counterstrike allowed him to travel, buy his first car and put himself through college. We’re happy to have him playing for us now.

When Louise Summerton found Ernest, she realized we represented everything she was looking for. People. Community. Connection. And of course, fun. As our VP of Learning, she’s excited to bring her passion for growth and development to a family-owned business that values and invests in our people. Her goal is to help our entire operation learn the skills needed to take our business to the next level, facilitating individual advancement at the same time as helping us achieve our company-wide growth goals.

Outside of work, Louise stays busy with her husband, sons. The family, who moved to the US from the UK loves to hit the slopes in nearby Lake Tahoe whenever there’s snow. At home, they spend a lot of time watching Jacob practice gymnastics and Alex play football (that’s soccer, to us Americans) or hanging out with their cats, Stella and Cosmo. Louise is also addicted to reformer pilates, which she does several times a week.

Since joining our Sacramento division back in 2018, Justin Burke has proven his value in a number of roles — from Strategic Accounts Manager to Director of Client Relations then General Manager. From there, we tapped him to be Managing Director of Learning, where he focused on aligning learning experiences with the developmental needs of the business to support our long-term goals. During his time at Ernest, Justin also spearheaded our Ernest Technology Council to help us open up communication about technology needs, explore new ideas, and help make our systems better. He is a learner and a processor who is always game to help us find the best ways to move forward together.

Now, as Vice President of Information Systems, Justin works closely with our technology partners plus leadership and E-Teamers in every division to ensure we’re all connected, communicating openly and on the same page as we roll out exciting new initiatives. This role combines his experience bridging the field and corporate initiatives to help us navigate the next phase in our technology journey. While he says he’s “not a technology guy,” what we really need is a facilitator who can connect with people, understand their challenges and pain points, uncover the right technology tools and prioritize the right systems and support to meet those needs on a global scale. From the street to AI, Justin is the glue that binds it all together.

When we brought Stella Zielinski on as Director of Human Resources (HR), she told us she wanted to grow the department from the ground up and turn it into a core business partner rather than an administrative arm of the organization. Just over a year later, she did such an incredible job that we promoted her again. As our very first Vice President of Human Resources, Stella now has a seat at the leadership table — and she’s changing the way we think about HR.

Stella is thrilled to continue this journey and give HR a voice at the executive level, because interacting with the people involved in every aspect of the business gives her a unique perspective and the ability to identify patterns that no one else sees. She also loves working for an organization “whose lived values are their stated values,” which is rare these days.

Voice like gravel, hands like a vice grip and two steel-toed boots that are ready to kick ass and take names.

Try to keep up with what I’m throwin’ down. Most people think my job is to bring the brawn to our crew. But don’t sleep on my brain, brothers and sisters. It’s a bad mammer-jammer. That’s how I really flex. With my mental muscle, baby.

Despite his appearance, Dudley is so much more than a three-day-old cake donut. Inspired by E-Teamers, he’s been revived, refreshed and rejuvenated. His job? To remind us to always come to the table with fresh ideas for our clients and to never, ever go stale.

When this sweet treat says, “¡Hola!” you know that new ideas are soon to follow. Our Coordinadora de Cuentos de Advertencia joins us as part of our Mexico expansion and is Dudley’s partner in keeping things fresh.