Honoring U.S. Army Veteran & Medline Market Director, Rob Wolfe

In honor of Veterans Day, I sat down with Rob Wolfe, who's been with Medline for almost five years, and served in the U.S. Army for six years. He most recently served as a Battalion Fire Support Officer but held other various roles, such as Contracting Officer Representative and Platoon Leader. He is currently a leader on Medline's Government team, serving as the Market Director for the company's Department of Defense segment.

I asked him to share his story about joining the military and what path led him to a career at Medline.

Wolfe graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2011 and went straight into active duty, where he was enrolled in the prestigious Ranger School, a two-month leadership program touted as one of the best in the world. He served as a Field Artillery Officer in Washington, and then shortly after, was deployed to Afghanistan, leveraging his skills to protect and lead fellow soldiers.

"It was my first real test of leadership," Wolfe says. "To lead when people's lives are on the line, and engage with the local populous and let them know you care about them."

He then spent additional time in the United Arab Emirates and Texas, furthering his leadership skills and gaining additional knowledge in supply chain training before serving in his final tour in South Korea for nine months. It was there he met his wife, who was teaching English at the time. Wolfe says that although grateful for his experiences in the military, he wanted to take his skillsets into the private sector and provide value outside the military.

"Sales was always very attractive to me, with my dad being in medical sales for over 20 years," said Wolfe. "Seeing how much he cares for customers and remembering times when he'd come home emotional because he was able to help someone see for the first time, that meant something to me."

After the military, Wolfe was accepted into Cameron-Brooks, a recruiting firm that helps transition and place veterans into the workforce. The competitive firm only accepts 15% of applicants and navigates veterans through a rigorous process of interview preparation.

"It was a four-day speed dating conference, with 13 back-to-back interviews with various companies," Wolfe explains. "Then, you narrow down your top five companies, of which Medline was one of mine."

Wolfe explained that each applicant had to do a ride-along with each of the companies, which really solidified his decision to join Medline. "It was fun for me to watch how the Medline rep worked with the customer and how engaged he was with the decision makers," he said. "After my experience on the ride-along, Medline moved to the top of my list and I knew I wanted to work there."

Wolfe also shared his experiences with the transitional period between the military and the workplace.

"The military is such a unique world and is different in terms of discipline and how you engage with others," he said. "Coming from a more rigid environment, the biggest question I had was how the private sector operates. Will I have the ability to learn from my bosses but also give feedback?"

Wolfe pays tribute to his first boss at Medline, Ben Goldstein, who made the transition into the workforce a great experience. "He took the time to coach me and was supportive and understanding, but also held me to a high standard, which I appreciated," Wolfe said. "I was able to quickly adapt by taking skills from the military, but learning a new system of operations was a challenge. With Ben's leadership, I was able to transition easily and embrace Medline's culture and environment."

I then asked, what does Veterans Day mean to you?

With a laugh, Wolfe said, "It's nice to get a free doughnut, but I rarely think of myself when I think about Veterans Day. I really think about my cousin who inspired me to join the military, my commanders and the soldiers who made an impact on how I live my life."

He continued, "The military is near and dear to my heart and I wanted to serve my country. I am grateful to have worked alongside such people. My biggest heroes are two people; my cousin, who was the first person on my family's Hispanic side – which highly values education – to put college aside and enlist in the military three days after 9/11. It was important for him as an American to serve the country that gave him citizenship from Peru.

"Second, was my first Battalion Commander. I looked up to him so much that I would have taken a bullet for him. He had this deep mantra of, 'every player, every play,' and that giving your all will instill a sense that people can count on you."

Wolfe applies the many skills and lessons from the military into his work at Medline today, saying that the Government team also serves as a true partner and coach in instructing reps on the market, which is extremely complex, emphasizing there are more steps to decision-making than in the private sector.

"Our customers have a hard job and we try our best to be as knowledgeable and reliable for them as possible," Wolfe states.