Tony Jackson

If you talk to Tony Jackson, he can pinpoint exactly how sports prepared him for a rewarding sales career.

The former Ohio State University linebacker explains that he was a multi-sport athlete right up through high school, participating in not only football, but basketball, soccer, swimming and track and field too.

“What sports does is teaches you humility and knowing your role on the team and that it can shift. Sometimes you will be a leader, but other times in a support role. Knowing the difference has been critical to me as a sales manager overseeing a sales team and supporting our customers too,” Tony noted. “If I’m with a customer, I know that I need to lead and engage them, but when I’m in a ride-a-long with an associate on my team, helping train them, I know that I’m there to support and provide guidance.”

Carving his Own Career Path

The Regional Sales Manager for BD Interventional, based in Columbus, Ohio, has been with the company for nine years. He emphasized that forging a career in sales in the MedTech space is one area he knew he could truly make his own – while making his family proud.

“My dad is a larger-than-life kind of person. He really commands a room when he enters it. He has been one of my mentors and heroes, but candidly, I wanted to make sure that I had my own space to grow, learn, and develop. It was important to me that my career choice be unique to me,” explained Tony.

He also shared that his affinity for working in the healthcare space stemmed from a natural curiosity and from observing the disparate medical treatment received by others in his community -- he wanted to make a difference.

“Being an African American and seeing what some of my family and loved ones have experienced in dealing with medical issues or diseases, it inspired me to see what I could do to make a difference… to help make things better. I am very proud to work at BD. I feel like we are the company that helps heal the world when it comes down to it,” said Tony.

Help from Coach Too

Tony said that another inspiring and motivating person that helped him solidify his career choice was his linebacker coach at the time. He and Tony had several career conversations off the field during Tony’s time at OSU, which enabled him to do some forward-thinking with where life would take him after college graduation.

“Coach would always ask: what do you want to do after college? I knew there was a slim chance of going into the National Football League (NFL) but healthcare sales were intriguing to me. So he connected with me with a few sales representatives in the industry and I quickly found that my goals and passions aligned,” explained Tony.

He called out that he began his career in Recruiting. He spent nearly a year recruiting technology talent and then joined a healthcare company in a sales role. Shortly after that, he joined another player in the same industry before making his way to BD.

At BD Passionate People Produce Possibilities

One word to describe BD is passion, according to Tony. “BD is such a special place. The people here are so passionate about serving customers and patients and our products are top notch in delivering care and treatment to patients. The Leadership, The BD Way and our products and solutions are just a handful of reasons why I love working here and don’t see myself leaving anytime soon.”