Hilti's Outperformer Program: How it Shaped My Career Path

What do I want to do when I grow up? What’s my purpose? What’s my impact? How can I help the world while supporting myself financially? These are the kinds of questions that many of us grapple with. When I was job-hunting in 2023, they were all I could think about.

I wondered, how could I afford to be selective and not compromise? I needed to find a place where I could learn, make an impact and explore different career paths. Luckily for me, I found exactly that in Hilti – a company deeply invested in supporting the development journey of its people.

From Bob the Builder to Hilti Professional: My Exciting Start with Hilti

I was drawn to Hilti’s mission to make construction better through innovation and to support an industry that has long struggled to boost productivity. Following the initial recruiting screening, the interview process was challenging and required hours of preparation. It began with an HR interview, an interview with a General Manager, and a full day of group and individual assessments conducted by the Executive Management Team. The assessments started well before the sun came up and ran all day, but I was full of energy. When Jahida Nadi, General Manager for the West, called to offer me a position within her team, I was all in!

The Outperformer Program offered an opportunity to learn from different leaders, work within multiple sides of the business, and travel internationally…. Plus, the thought of playing in concrete and working with cutting-edge tools sounded like a lot of fun!

As a kid, I loved watching Bob the Builder, but I never envisioned myself wearing a hard hat, walking onto a wastewater treatment plant at 6 a.m. with a hollow drill bit, vacuum cleaner and hammer drill (which I didn’t even know existed until last year), ready to demo Hilti’s SafeSet solution for one of our largest customers. But what an incredible opportunity it was – to engage with the people who build critical infrastructure and to help make their jobs safer, more productive and sustainable. How could anyone pass that up?

Zachary at Intuit Dome, where the Los Angeles Clippers reside.

First Impressions: A Warm Welcome to Hilti

My first impression of Hilti was simply awesome. My Regional Manager, Thomas Tabor, went out of his way to meet me at John Wayne Airport on an early Saturday morning in mid-July. He was headed to a volleyball tournament, wearing flip-flops and a swimsuit, yet he took the time to drive three hours round-trip to welcome me to Southern California. How many leaders would do that for a new hire? (At Hilti many will, but I didn’t know that at the time).

From day one, Thomas set clear expectations: work hard, get out of your comfort zone, be open to feedback and you will succeed. It quickly became clear that the Account Manager role at Hilti is not your typical door-to-door salesman profile. You become the CEO of your territory and bear the responsibility for Hilti’s market development. You invest heavily in relationships, negotiate large contracts, consult construction leaders, present industry-leading innovations from the jobsite to the C-suite and work hard to continuously improve customer experiences and grow your book of business. It was a huge responsibility, but also an amazing opportunity to take ownership and make a real impact.

Sales was a development journey all its own. I was excited to be on the revenue side of the business because I love being in the action … and there was a lot of action! You must learn quickly and build the confidence to engage with customers and add value to their businesses. Fortunately, Hilti invests heavily in training, so the learning curve was steep but manageable. The culture encourages falling forward, learning from mistakes and constantly improving. Between presenting new products, solving customer challenges, learning applications and ensuring the best customer experiences, the days were busy and rewarding.

I had incredible teammates in SoCal. They set the standard for excellence, and beyond our region, the whole organization functions as a unit. Our Division Manager, Traci Wincup, goes on field rides to help push business forward. We collaborate with other regions to share resources and strategies. Engineers, Solutions Consultants, Technical Directors, Product Managers, Strategy Directors and even our CEO, Mike McGowan, all make time to visit our customers face-to-face and support us in the field.

If it’s not already clear, this isn’t the kind of job where you sit in a gray cubicle under fluorescent lights, waiting for 5 o’clock to roll around. There is no distant boss hovering behind closed doors and no long days of isolated work with minimal collaboration. This is a dynamic, hands-on environment where teamwork and innovation are part of the everyday experience.

Zachary with fellow Hilti team members on a project. 

Setting Goals and Building Partnerships: My Sales Rotation at Hilti

At Hilti we are expected to set clear goals for our territories at the beginning of each year. For me, this meant closing out two large projects that were winding down and finding new, recurring business to hit our sales targets. We identified key accounts where there was potential for deeper partnerships – these companies were family owned, valued innovation, had a specialized scope of work and were well positioned to grow … a perfect cultural fit for Hilti.

Building these relationships takes time. Between lunch-and-learns, drop-ins, executive meetings, field demos and productivity analyses, we made very slow progress, and we kept “swinging the bat.” And suddenly, after months of little traction…. an opportunity arose.

One Thursday afternoon, while on vacation, I received a document from an executive in one of my key accounts. He asked if our anchors could support the welded pipe supports shown in his plans. On the surface, it was just an anchor quote. But realizing there was a much larger opportunity here, I forwarded the document to Thomas, who pulled in mechanical engineers, Ashkan Pfasar and Jesse Fate. Together, we put together a full proposal for using Hilti products and installation methods for the entire pipe support system at the plant. By Friday, the proposal was sent, and by Monday, the contractor was eager to learn more. It was all hands-on deck from there.

The project was based in Georgia, so we collaborated with our East Coast teams to ensure seamless on-site support. Engineers, materials managers, logistics specialists, project managers, account managers – you name it, we mobilized the entire Hilti ecosystem to ensure that we would win and deliver this project to our customer.

Unfortunately, when my sales rotation ended, the deal was still pending. I left California to move to our headquarters in Dallas with the territory on track to hit its sales targets but had not yet closed a major contract or flipped a tool crib. It felt like I hadn’t achieved a big win.

A few weeks later, Thomas called to inform me that our contractor had won the bid, and our team had secured the largest single purchase order in our region’s history. Before I knew it, my excitement echoed across the Dallas Walmart parking lot, and anyone within earshot could hear the celebration! It was a great way to close out the sales chapter of the Outperformer journey.

Zachary outside the Hilti Headquarters in Schann, Liechtenstein. 

From Sales to Operations: Embracing Structure and Process

In August of the following year, I joined Leslie Mitchell’s team in Solutions Operations – a totally different mindset from sales. This rotation helped me view the business from an entirely new lens. The flexibility I needed to meet customer expectations in the field was replaced by the structure and processes necessary to deliver on the promises I made as an account manager at scale. I traded my red polo for a neon t-shirt and jumped onto the packing line to fully understand the order execution process.

Leslie set clear expectations and built a network of mentors around me. Everyone at Hilti has a unique skillset, and finding opportunities to leverage the knowledge and talent around you improves the quality of work and creates better outcomes for the company. I went through LEAN training to learn the operations lingo, experimented with new packing processes, quantified productivity savings and worked across the organization to solve complex problems. I piloted packing changes with the help of LSO Team Lead, Dolores Vazquez and explored opportunities for automation within our order processes. It was fascinating to see how Hilti’s dedication to innovation, digitization, and productivity applies not only externally, but within the company itself.

A Future Full of Possibilities: My Vision and Aspirations for My Career

I’ve recently joined the Power Tools and Accessories team under David Walker and am working to launch new, innovative products that deliver safety, productivity and sustainability to the construction industry – like our first chainsaw!!! Beyond that, who knows? The future is full of opportunities, and I’m excited to support Hilti on a global scale and learn from our markets around the world.

I still don’t know exactly what I want to do when I grow up, but I do know who I want to be. I want to be a leader who coaches, empowers and strives to achieve ambitious targets. I want to be part of a diverse, driven and talented team. I want to be a lifelong learner and seek continuous improvement. I want to be someone who challenges assumptions and pushes for innovation in business. I want to be a builder of a more sustainable future for our planet. I want to be the CEO of my future and I’m grateful to be a part of an organization that supports my career development.

Zachary and team at the Structural Engineers Association of Southern California.

Explore Opportunities at Hilti

At Hilti, we are committed to creating opportunities for our team members to connect to one another and develop meaningful and long-lasting careers with impact. Learn more and explore our opportunities in North America and worldwide here: Jobs | Hilti Careers