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Close Up: Steve Levschuk, MAS
By: Staff
Issue: 2009oct
Fresh out of college, Steve Levschuk, MAS, wanted to get into the advertising business. In 1983, after a couple of stints at ad agencies, he was advised to get some sales experience. His next stop was at Talbot Communications, Canada’s oldest promotional products distributor founded in 1886. He sold on the distributor side for three years, then changed gears and went to work for supplier King Craft. He spent 11 years building the company’s distributor base and teaching distributors how to sell calendar advertising. Then, in 1998, Levschuk went back to Talbot Marketing (the company had since changed its name) as vice president general manager. Together with what he calls a “tremendous supporting cast,” he tripled the company’s sales revenue and, in 2007, purchased 100 percent of the company from a U.S. investment organization. Levschuk is now the company’s vice president of sales and marketing based in London, Ontario.
He’s been active in the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC) spending seven years on the Board of Directors and finishing off his tenure as chairman. In addition, he has served on PPAI’s International Committee for the past four years and is currently chair.
How do you like to spend your leisure time?
I enjoy spending time with my two children, Stephanie and Adam. Both are excellent golfers. I enjoy golfing with them or simply walking while they play. Sometimes I need to referee the odd scoring variance between brother and sister. Also, we have a small cottage on Lake Erie where I enjoy hanging out at the beach and getting caught up on my reading.
What’s a little-known fact about you?
My daughter Stephanie and I had braces put on at the same time. She was 12—I was much older. Going through this together over a two-year period allowed us many car rides to the orthodontist, lunches out afterward and the always comical experience of picking elastic colors together. I always went with the basic grey, except for my last Christmas in braces when Stephanie had it prearranged that I was getting red and green elastics.
What person, living or dead, would you most like to meet and why?
I’d like to meet Ted Rogers, founder of Rogers Telecommunications, a leading provider of wireless, digital, cable TV, high speed internet and phone service. Ted passed away this year. He was a true entrepreneur in every sense of the word.
When did you know you wanted to work in this industry?
My formal education is in the advertising business. I originally wanted to work for an ad agency, making TV commercials. That all changed when I was working as a sales rep for a promotional products company. I sold 5,000 executive calendars on an “A” on a cold call—I was hooked!
What promotional product do you wish you had invented and why?
The calendar. It is timeless and, after 365 days, everyone needs a new one.
If you had a motto, what would it be?
I actually have two. One has been posted to my dresser for 20-plus years: “Today will be the best day ever!” The other is quite simply: “Treat others how you wish to be treated.”
What’s your dream vacation destination and have you been there?
I like to travel and experience new and different cultures. Many years ago, I spent an amazing three weeks in the Greek Islands with my then-new wife, Theresa. I would like to go back with her and visit some of those same islands and hit a few we missed.
Where do you get creative inspiration?
I am inspired by our team at Talbot Marketing. After meeting with or working with various sales associates around the country, the plane ride back home ramps up my creativity to another level. Another good spot is when I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym at 5:30 am. It is very quiet and I can just let my mind wander—and it usually does.
If you had to choose a different career, what would it be?
An artist. I used to paint a lot back in college. I really enjoyed making a blank canvas into something special. I haven’t painted in more than 20 years, but I think it’s time I resurrect this forgotten talent.
What actor would play you in a movie about the promotional products industry and why?
I saw these viral commercials last year on YouTube starring Gene Geiger. He wowed me with his sense of timing and ability to alter a scene with a raise of his eyebrows. But, if I cannot pick him, I would pick Mathew Broderick. He is not flashy and doesn’t get his name in the papers for the wrong reasons. He just does good work, for the right reasons, day in and day out.
If your typical day was a song, what would it be?
Because We Believe by Andrea Bocelli.
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