New England Agency Launches to Serve the Infrastructure Era
NESG co-founder Michael Berube discusses how the new agency was inspired by NEMRA’s Rep of the Future model and how it is different from other firms out there.
A newly formed agency – New England Solutions Group (NESG) – boasts some familiar and well-respected faces in the industry. The four co-founders are:
• Michael Berube, Channel Sales, Solutions & Strategic Relations, leads the strategic direction and oversees key manufacturer relationships.
• Sharon Srabian, Operations & Customer Relations, oversees day-to-day operations and serves as the organization’s customer experience leader, while acting as a key manufacturer specialist for industrial and commodity sales.
• Raymond Goyette, Contractor Solutions–Electrification & Channel Sales, drives sales across New England with a specialty in contractor growth, power distribution, and electrification.
• Roshan Bhakta, Consulting Engineering, focuses on sales within the consulting, utility, and client engagement space plus champions the firm’s vision of education and demand generation across the electrical channel.
Having a specialized team that can offer a fully integrated approach is what the NESG founders say is their secret sauce. Noting that “the agency of the future doesn’t simply move products, it moves markets,” NESG’s goal is to enable manufacturers to penetrate accounts that traditional agencies cannot reach while giving customers access to a single, trusted resource across a spectrum of electrical infrastructure solutions.
To that end, NESG’s skillset runs the gamut from commodity distribution and industrial MRO to utility incentive programs, EV charging, sports lighting, transformer efficiency, and basically the entire project lifecycle.
Key to NESG’s positioning in the power sector is its recent merger with PESCO, a New England electrical representative firm with deep roots in power distribution, transformers, switchgear, and industrial solutions. The result is a Power division that can handle complex, large-scale projects that demand technical depth and broad regional coverage.
NESG’s Power division team members include Bill Flanagan, Principal-Power Power Solutions Lead; PESCO founder Pete Asselin, Power Solutions Sales; and Randy Tessier, Inside Sales Lead-Power Solutions.
Another differentiator for NESG is its Lighting & Controls team headed by two top regional talents – Ed Colombo and Jordan Santos – who serve the distribution, end user, specification, and contractor markets.
With 40+ years of experience in the electrical and lighting industry and a background that includes agency ownership, distribution sales leadership, and solutions-driven market development, Colombo’s focus is on strengthening distribution partnerships and advancing design-build opportunities throughout Eastern Massachusetts, the Cape & Islands, and Rhode Island.
Santos has nearly one decade of experience in electrical products and energy solutions sales with specialized expertise in lighting controls, EV charging infrastructure and electrical distribution solutions. His focus is on helping distributors, contractors, and end users navigate EV charging deployments, utility incentive programs, and specification-driven opportunities.
USLT interviewed NESG co-founder Michael Berube about the impetus behind creating the new agency and what makes it different from others in the field. Previously, Berube has held Vice President of Sales roles for companies such as Independent Electric Supply, Reflex Lighting, and Standard Electric.
USLT: Why start a rep firm?
Michael Berube: The opportunity to support an aging and evolving channel sparked an excitement I had honestly been chasing throughout my entire career. There is a real energy that comes with being in a position to shape how a market moves, and starting a rep firm felt like the clearest path to doing that on my own terms and at a meaningful scale.
As an agent, you have the ability to drive real change in your market. You’re not siloed into one brand, one product category, or one type of customer conversation. You’re connected across the channel – to manufacturers, distributors, contractors, engineers, and end users – and that breadth of relationships gives you a unique vantage point and a genuine opportunity to influence outcomes every day. The ability to have a national reach while staying deeply rooted in your regional market is something very few roles in this industry can offer, and that combination was incredibly compelling to me.
USLT: Why now?
MB: The timing felt undeniable. With so much transformation happening simultaneously across lighting and controls, power solutions, electrification, and infrastructure, the channel is at an inflection point. The needs are evolving faster than many traditional models can keep pace with, and that creates real space for a firm that is built intentionally, staffed with experienced people, and focused on bringing something more than a transactional presence to the market.
More than anything, starting NESG gave me the chance to truly think bigger — to stop operating within someone else’s framework and start building something that reflects what we know this industry needs and what we know we’re capable of delivering.
USLT: What is your vision for the firm?
MB: Our vision was rooted in something we identified early on as a genuine and largely unmet need in the market. From the beginning, we weren’t interested in simply adding another rep agency to the landscape — the goal was always bigger than that.
We set out to position NESG as the most trusted technical education and agency partner for electricians and electrical distributors in New England. That distinction matters to us. The word “trusted” isn’t marketing language — it’s the standard we hold ourselves in every interaction and every relationship we build. Trust is earned slowly and lost quickly in this industry, and we treat it accordingly.
What separates our vision from the traditional agency model is the commitment to being more than a rep firm. We want to be a genuine resource — an advisor and trainer that helps our partners not just move product but truly thrive. Whether that’s supporting an electrician with a new control system, helping a distributor’s team get confident in a product category, or positioning a manufacturer’s line strategically in the market — we want to be the agency people call when they need real answers.
We also remain deeply committed to maintaining the brand integrity and standards our manufacturing partners have worked hard to build. Representing a line is a responsibility we take seriously, and our goal is to be a true extension of each manufacturer’s team in this market and are genuinely invested in their success alongside our own.
USLT: What were some of the first steps?
MB: The first steps were hard. There were a lot of late nights researching the marketplace and having candid discussions with agents, contractors, utilities, and manufacturers — all of which gave me real insight across local, regional, and national markets. The hardest part was making sure the initial business plan was clean and flexible enough to move with the changes the channel would inevitably bring.
Throughout my career I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible people, and I leaned on the best of them to pressure-test the idea. During that discovery phase, there were always three people I trusted to advise, support, and challenge my vision — and those same three are now my partners in the agency.
Once the four of us committed to making the move, we got to work building a plan to turn the ideas into reality. We explored several financial models: do we start from scratch, acquire a lighting firm, a power company, a NEMRA agency? After conversations with trusted friends in the channel, we landed on a blend of startup and acquisition — and that decision brought us to where we are today. I have relationships with some strong venture capital and private equity contacts who shared M&A frameworks we were able to apply to our advantage. That led us to the acquisition of PESCO Power and a clear direction: drive sales and revenue in a different way than the channel has traditionally seen.
USLT: How difficult was it to get lines as a new agency?
MB: The real challenge was landing the right lines, the ones that reflect who we are and who we’d be proud to represent. Many of the major lines in our market have been represented for 20+ years. That’s not going to change overnight, and we know that. Representing a conglomerate takes time, effort, timing, and proof of concept. Our focus is on building a great business, aligning with the right partners, and letting our growth open those conversations naturally.
The expansion from a traditional NEMRA model into a broader specification focus is the natural next step when the time is right. Building that segment requires a trusted team and a sales cycle that typically runs 18 to 24 months — so it’s firmly in our three- to five-year plan, though the right opportunity could accelerate that. It helps that Ray, Sharon, and I all came from distribution with proven sales and business development track records, so some of those conversations have already started coming to us. My background as an electrician before transitioning to this side of the business also gives me a perspective on product and channel development that informs how we approach growth. When the time is right, we’ll be ready.
USLT: What were some of the other challenges?
MB: Underestimating startup costs was an early reality check. I come from the sales side, and that’s honestly where my instincts have always lived. The financial and operational demands of standing up a business from the ground up required a level of discipline and planning that goes well beyond closing deals and building relationships.
Fortunately, building the right team around me from the start allowed us to navigate most of the pitfalls that others in our position might not have anticipated. Roshan and Sharon are operationally sharp, each having managed and run multiple P&L businesses across their careers. Their experience created a strong foundation on the business side, and while challenges have certainly come up, very few have caught us completely off-guard.
The hardest part so far has been introducing our vision and agent model to distribution partners and the broader channel as the new guys on the block. Agents traditionally work across all channel partners, and we are no different in that regard — however, our relationships tend to run wider and deeper than most. We have clients throughout the channel requesting support on a variety of opportunity types, which we strategically filter through distribution. This approach drives both sales opportunities and specification growth, leveraging the relationships our clients have built within the channel and connecting them to the right solutions at the right time.
Most of our key distribution customers in this new venture were past competitors in a previous chapter, and now the agents in the market have stepped into that competitive role. It’s an interesting and rewarding dynamic shift.
New England is a market that rewards hard work, consistency, and effort above all else. We’ve been fortunate to find that even among new competitors, there is a spirit of mutual respect and, in several cases, genuine support. It’s a large geographic market, but at its core it’s a close-knit industry community of people who have known each other, or known of each other, for many years. Reputation travels fast in that kind of environment, and how you show up matters. Communication, transparency, and follow-through are everything.
USLT: What are some of the challenges in recruiting manufacturers?
MB: The biggest challenge has been navigating toward the right manufacturers for our vision. We want a balanced line card — strategic manufacturers who bring real value to end users, contractors, and engineers, alongside strong key lines that serve the daily needs of distribution and channel partners. We’re still looking for the right partners, not just names on a card.
What we’ve come to believe is that most manufacturers are looking for something beyond a transactional relationship. They want demand generation — whether that’s conversion opportunities at distribution, specification and project growth, or simply a more engaged agent who’s focused on the future rather than just reacting to requests. We can deliver all of that. Bringing a strategic mindset to every opportunity means we’re adding value through service and solutions, not just price.
USLT: What has surprised you the most from distributors?
MB: Most of the distribution partners we’ve met genuinely understand the value of having an agent in the market who has walked in their shoes. I’ve been on the other side of plenty of competitive projects and situations as a distribution salesman, but at the end of the day, this is a people industry. Every meeting with a past competitor has gone well. There’s a friendly, respectful competition in the Northeast — they know I’ve held their exact position and so has my team. Now we’re an ally in the field and a strong resource with our line card.
Distribution is also where most industry professionals truly learn about the business. It’s a remarkable part of the channel, and it’s where I tell younger people to start. You can build a fantastic career in distribution, especially given how many areas there are to specialize in under one banner. That’s part of why we structured our line card the way we did — Power, Lighting and Controls, Electrification, and Contractor Solutions mirrors the natural departments within distribution: Lighting, Switchgear, Inside Sales and branch support. We wanted it to be clear that the NESG team can support your team, regardless of the department.
USLT: What do you wish you’d known beforehand about starting an agency?
MB: There are a lot of opinions in every market, and plenty of voices that will encourage you to stay within the norm and to do it the way it has always been done, to manage expectations rather than push beyond them. Early on, that noise can be harder to filter than you might expect, and it’s worth being prepared for it.
What I’ve learned is to trust the vision you’ve built from real experience. That doesn’t mean being closed off to feedback — good counsel from the right people is invaluable, and we’ve leaned on it throughout this process. It means knowing the difference between perspective that genuinely sharpens your thinking and opinion that would simply pull you away from what you know to be true about the market.
Build your agency on industry knowledge, strategic thinking, and a genuine passion for the channel and the people in it. Those three things, working together, create something that’s difficult to replicate and even harder to compete with over time.
And always keep sight of what your role truly is in this ecosystem. At the end of the day, you are the marketing arm of your manufacturers — their presence in the market, their connection to the customer. The agencies that embrace that responsibility fully, and show up for it consistently, are the ones that earn lasting trust from manufacturers, distributors, and customers alike.
USLT: What have you learned as an agent that would help manufacturers and distributors?
MB: Listen to the market. So many reps I’ve worked with over the years defaulted to telling their partners what they should be selling and focusing on, rather than actually stopping to listen. In doing so, they missed the signals that were right in front of them — customer requests, utility programs, national trends, emerging technologies making their way into the regional conversation. Sometimes it’s a localized trend that’s about to catch fire, and simply being tuned in means you have the opportunity to be first to market with the right solution. That kind of awareness and responsiveness is what separates a good rep from a truly great one, and it’s something we take seriously in how we approach every manufacturer relationship we build.
The market is constantly evolving, and the distributors who thrive are the ones who evolve with it. Taking the time to learn about new technologies – controls, energy management, and periphery channels like Mechanical or Building Management Systems – can meaningfully expand the support you’re able to offer the electrician standing on the other side of your counter. Don’t overlook new products that may solve the same problem more efficiently or cost-effectively than what you’ve always carried. Educate your team and your customers based on core value, not just price point. And always remember that for most contractors, availability is the deciding factor at the end of the day — having the right product, in the right place, at the right time is still the most powerful thing distribution can offer.
USLT: How has your membership in NEMRA benefited the firm?
MB: When we launched NESG, our initial priorities were largely foundational — bookkeeping, team benefits, commission structures, and the operational building blocks that don’t always get talked about but matter enormously in the early stages. Beyond the basics, we were looking for guidance on the things we didn’t yet know to ask about. How do other agencies structure themselves? What are the common pitfalls, and how do you avoid them? Where do you turn when you need counsel from someone who has navigated the same road?
We were familiar with NEMRA from our time in distribution, but stepping into the agency world gave us a much deeper appreciation for what the organization provides — not just as a resource, but as a community of peers who are genuinely invested in each other’s success and the health of the broader industry.
Some of the NEMRA agents in our market have been directly influential in shaping the vision we built for NESG. Barry Wolff with Illuminate-The Yusen MacPherson Group and Chuck Role with David Role & Co., Inc. have been mentors throughout my career, offering candid advice, encouragement, and perspective at key moments along the way. In one form or another, both helped fuel my desire to grow, and the opportunity to emulate their approach to relationships, business, and empowering the next generation of industry professionals became a foundational motivation for starting this firm. That standard is something we carry into everything we do at NESG.
As a new NEMRA member, we are genuinely excited to align with peers across other markets, exchange best practices, and contribute our own experiences to the ongoing conversation. Being part of something larger than our day-to-day is important to us. It’s easy to get consumed by the channel – the urgency of the business, the daily demands – and organizations like NEMRA provide the perspective and connectivity that keep you thinking about the bigger picture.
On the NEMRA Lighting front, we’ve had some great early conversations with Division Vice President-Lighting Jeff Bristol, and as we continue to build and refine our lighting offering, joining that segment is very much part of the plan. The ability to share regional trends, learn from peers across the country, and contribute to the advancement of the industry is something we take seriously. The industry is evolving faster than ever, and that kind of collaborative, cross-market intelligence has never been more valuable. NEMRA provides that for NESG, and we look forward to growing it.
