Jignesh Patel

“Leaders make leaders, and that motivates me to wake up and get to work.”

When Jignesh joined Ferguson 3 years ago, he brought with him nearly 15 years of experience and an intense passion for learning. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in physics, he began his career in India at a private manufacturing company, first as a warehouse associate and then in sales. Today as a product specialist at Ferguson he specializes in control valves and counts a total of 17 years in the valve industry. And despite having such a deep background, he says he still learns about the industry every day.

As a critical thinker, learning has always been important to Jignesh. And still is! He gets excited by challenges, and when faced with them always tries to learn from them and educate himself about them so he continues to grow. “I don’t fear asking questions of a more educated person,” he says. “I’m not afraid of feeling dumb. I’m totally against that! If I don’t know, I don’t know. What’s wrong with asking?” Considering how many Ferguson associates talk about asking questions of and collaborating with one another, the answer to that is: absolutely nothing!

Jignesh believes a strong learning aptitude and mindset make a great Ferguson associate. He says he believes every day is a learning process, at work as well as in life. “I don’t fear new things. Everything changes and is different all the time. To survive and thrive, I always put myself into a critical thinking mode.” Jignesh says the main thing that motivates him is learning, so he can improve himself to give a better life to his family and lift everyone who associates with him.

For anyone getting started in the industrial PVF distribution business, Jignesh adds perseverance, aggressiveness, attitude, and going the extra mile to the list of must-haves for success. “Come with the right attitude, be aggressive and don’t just lay back and quote the job assigned to you,” he says. “Whatever role you’ve been assigned, go above and beyond that to prove yourself and be elevated in that area.”