Our Leadership Team

Automation Experts

When it comes to automation, it’s about people. Power/mation is lucky to have an experienced leadership team that collects new technologies and services to be a part of our continually expanding product offering. Our experts create opportunities for your personnel to expand their skills while improving the efficiency of your company.
Al Rausch, President

Al Rausch began his journey at Power/mation in September of 2023. His impressive track record speaks volumes of his expertise and leadership capabilities. With a rich background serving in varied leadership roles across diverse industries, Al’s insights into strategic growth planning, technology innovation, and ensuring business model and cultural alignment are exceptional. His tenure of eight years with the Glen Taylor group of companies in the Travel Tags division and an extensive 22-year association with the Merrill Corp – encompassing significant logistics experience – is a testament to his depth of knowledge.

Al’s commitment to excellence is further demonstrated in his various roles as an executive leader and his significant leadership experience spanning over 25 years. Recognized for his vision, Al excels in driving long-term growth and value. His experience not only promises growth for the company but also the fulfillment of our vision for the future.

Eric Grott - Chief Operations Officer
Eric Grott, Chief Operations Officer

Eric Grott joined Power/mation in February of 2023 as our Chief Operations Officer with responsibility over accounting, operations, purchasing, and warehousing. Prior to joining Power/mation, Eric served as CFO/COO at a custom thermoformer, New Plastics Plus. Eric brings over 20 years of experience leading finance and operations teams across both private and publicly traded entities.

Bob Ricci - VP Sales and Marketing Power/mation
Bob Ricci, Regional VP of Sales & MKTG - WI, ND, SD

Bob Ricci is our Regional Vice President of Sales for Wisconsin, North Dakota and South Dakota. Bob has a broad set of experience in both sales management and automation. Prior to joining Power/mation in February of 2017, Bob was the Regional Sales Leader for Border States Electric in their NE Region where he had sales management responsibility over both their industrial and construction markets’ sales. Before his time at Border States, he spent fifteen years with Werner Electric in Minnesota serving as Vice President of Technology (Automation) and then as Vice President over both the Automation and Construction teams.

Bob has a wealth of experience and industry knowledge. In addition to his twenty plus years of experience in electrical distribution and automation, he worked for thirteen years at Jerome Foods (Jennie O’ Foods) designing automation systems along with managing the automation and electrical maintenance teams. Bob is also a Navy veteran.

Adam Jackson smiling for a picture from the chest up while wearing a light blue long sleeve Power/mation button up shirt
Adam Jackson, Regional VP of Sales - IL IA NE

Adam Jackson joined Power/mation in May 2007 as an Account Representative out of the Wood Dale, IL office. He spent five and a half years developing a territory on the south side of Chicago before moving back to his home state of Iowa. In 2016, Adam joined the leadership team and focused on growing Power/mation’s presence in Iowa and Nebraska. Adam’s role expanded in 2018 to include responsibility for Illinois.

Dave Jagt - Director of Engineering
Dan Colvin, Regional VP of Sales - MN

Dan began his role at Power/mation in October of 2023. He is a seasoned senior sales executive with an extensive 27-year background in industrial automation, where he has demonstrated a robust aptitude for steering high-achieving sales teams towards significant revenue growth, while driving operational efficiencies within the organization. Most recently he was with Banner Engineering where he progressed through many roles within sales and product management and led the US and Canadian sales organizations to consistent growth for over 10 years.

Known for his exceptional leadership qualities and relationship-building skills, Dan has leveraged these attributes to bring tangible value to Power/mation. His ability to align cross-functional teams under a unified vision and his strategic insights will not only drive sales excellence but will also be fundamental in fostering lasting client partnerships and nurturing a culture of success within the organization.

Julie Ross, Director of Sales Operations

Julie Ross began her Power/mation journey in 2000 as an Inside Sales Assistant. After a brief period spent away from Power/mation to raise her children, she returned, and then in 2014 was promoted to Inside Sales Supervisor for our Wisconsin and Illinois territories. In 2019 she gained responsibility for all of Power/mation’s Inside Sales personnel. With her unmatched organizational knowledge and team leadership qualities, Julie was again promoted in 2023 to Director of Sales Operations. Julie now holds responsibility for the entire customer order process from order entry to fulfillment: “Knowing our customers are being taken care of with exceptional service is what makes me strive to do the best for Power/mation, our team members, but most importantly, our customers.”

 

Sue Loff smiling for a photo from the chest up while wearing a dark gray shirt with a black cardigan
Sue Loff, Director of Pricing & Strategic Initiatives

Sue joined Power/mation in May 1995 with a background in customer service and management in the finance industry. Learning about industrial automation distribution on the inside sales staff eventually found her managing the inside sales team. In that role she was integral in developing the Power/mation Customer Portal, which gave our customers 24-hour access to inventory, price and availability. Now she leads the purchasing and pricing team with a customer-focused approach, striving to meet our customers’ on-time delivery needs by having the right inventory available at a competitive price. Sue also led the team that launched Power/mation’s next generation ecommerce platform: Power/mation Shop.

Director of IT - Jason Schlangen
Jason Schlangen, Director of IT

Jason joined Power/mation in December 2018 as the Director of Information Technology. Prior to joining Power/mation, Jason served as the Director of IT Infrastructure at Oldcastle APG for three years, overseeing over 200 locations across North America. Before that, he led IT at Anchor Wall Systems & Anchor Block Company as IT Manager, where he worked for ten years.

Director of IT - Jason Schlangen
Scott Omodt, Corporate Controller / Finance Lead
Scott joined Power/mation in May 2023 as our Corporate Controller and Finance Lead. Prior to joining Power/mation, he held roles ranging from Finance Director to Corporate Controller within the manufacturing and installation industries. Scott has over 20 years of experience in leading finance, controllership, and operations across both public and privately held companies. He brings his passion for improving processes, building teams, and driving performance to better serve internal and external customers.
Director of IT - Jason Schlangen
Ashley Jacobs, Director of Human Resources

Ashley joined Power/mation in January 2024 as the Director of Human Resources. She comes to us from the Manufacturing industry with robust experience in strategic HR leadership, talent acquisition, training & development, and HR Operations. Ashley is passionate about developing people and streamlining processes through the effective use of technology & automation.

With a focus on enhancing workplace culture and aligning HR strategies with business objectives, Ashley is poised to drive growth and foster an inclusive environment at Power/mation.

Director of IT - Jason Schlangen
John Hein, Director of Procurement
John joined Power/mation in February 2024 as our Director of Procurement, responsible for procurement and inventory management. Before joining Power/mation, he brought extensive experience from the manufacturing industry, specializing in global strategic sourcing, operations, leadership, program management, and continuous improvement.

John is passionate about developing people and optimizing processes through the effective use of technology and automation. With over 20 years of experience, he has led finance, contracts, program management, operations, and supply chain teams across both Fortune 500 companies and mid-sized organizations.

View Our Automation Solutions

Whether you need one automation product or an entirely customized system, our leadership team and the employees they manage will provide you with the tools you need to run your operation smoothly.