MAC Vol.2

Summer is around the corner  Students & Alumni!

We kindly welcome you back to the WWU Marketing Program’s newsletter, Marketer Alumni Connection, where we bridge the past, present, and future of marketing excellence. We are back with the following updated features to help you get better connected:

• Featured Alumni Spotlight
• Marketing Trends
• Internships & Job Opportunities
• Chatbox to ask us ?'s

Josh Hamilton is a 1998 Western Washington University Marketing Program Alumni and we had the pleasure of learning a bit more about him and his career! Josh and his family love travel and have been to places like England, France, and Italy recently. He also enjoys playing golf, tennis, pickleball, and getting out to any Seattle sporting events he can! Josh's wife is also a WWU alumni, communications major, and his son is also considering WWU once he graduates high school!

We asked Josh a few questions about what graduating looked like for him and what challenges did he run into... Read below to learn more

What was your career path after graduating with a marketing degree?
"I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated. I spent my first year as a headhunter for a couple different companies. Then I started my real career at Weyerhaeuser. I worked there for 15 years. During that time, I had about ten different jobs. Inside sales, account management, product manager, outside sales in Oregon and then in Washington and I was a manufacturers rep for Trus Joist, a Weyerhaeuser company for a while. Every time they needed somebody to do something, I would volunteer, and it gave me really good, diverse background and experience.

After Weyerhaeuser, I worked briefly for LP Building Products where I managed their engineered wood business for Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii. I enjoyed my time there but after two years I got an amazing opportunity with a family-owned wood products distributor that I couldn’t pass up. I’ve been at IWP now for about eight years. I spent five years as a general manager for our Tumwater, WA branch and took over as president of the company about three years ago. We have five branches in OR, WA, CA, and ID and service the entire west coast."

What are some challenges you've faced in your marketing career, and how did you overcome them?
"I have had the pleasure of working for many really good people throughout my career and a few tough ones. My biggest challenges came when I was working for people that did not share my same view, ethics, or work habits. It is true what they say, employees quit people, not companies. It has shaped the way I want to help lead my current company. As leaders, we are here to remove obstacles for our employees to make it easier for them to succeed at their jobs."