Feature Stories

Victor Sultana, '08

Victor Sultana, '08

Victor Sultana, ’08 lives by the motto that if you don’t build your own dream, someone will hire you to build theirs. As the program marketing manager for Herman Miller, Inc. and the owner of Victor Axe + Tool, he has certainly put himself in a leadership position and built his own dream. While Sultana wasn’t always quite sure of the direction he was headed with his career, he insists that his education at Grand Valley helped him take the steps to figure out which way to turn. 

Sultana attended Grand Valley for the class sizes and for the energy that radiated from the campus.

“I didn’t get that new and promising feeling from the other schools I visited,” Sultana mentioned.

Sultana is sure that his eagerness to get to know his professors has been the greatest factor in his career to this day. He built his network and continues to keep in touch with many of his most beloved and helpful professors as an alumnus.  Sultana was also a member of the GVSU roller hockey team and the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization.

While Sultana started off an aspiring film major, he quickly began to take interest in business leadership and strategy. He took some time to figure out which type of leadership role he wanted to take on, and found interest in marketing. He received his degree from the Seidman College of Business in 2008.

After graduation, Sultana began an internship with the Byrne Electrical Specialists in Rockford and went on to pursue a full time position as their first marketing employee in 2009. He was the marketing lead on all products and messaging as the company transformed from an unbranded private label for the furniture industry, to an integrated brand that could be promoted to ensure quality and reliability. After approximately five years with Byrne, he transitioned into his role at Herman Miller Inc., where he supports its North American marketing efforts, specifically pertaining to technology. As the category marketing manager, his role is to communicate the company’s mission and point of view to their internal sales and external customers.

Around the same time he began his tenure at Herman Miller, Sultana began his small business named Victor Axe + Tool. Sultana sparked this idea when he built his first axe in 2011 from a Hickory log, a few hand tools from his grandfather, and a reclaimed axe head. Sultana founded Victor Axe + Tool with the vision to pair classic designs with premium materials to create meaningful, heirloom-quality products.

“I find my motivation through creating these products, and by having the ability to watch others enjoy them,” Sultana said.

Victor Axe + Tool is located in Grand Rapids. Sultana’s business has been featured in a few local media outlets such as Under the Radar: Michigan (PBS) and Rapid Growth.

Sultana has been a member of the Engage board for the Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan for the past four years.

“It’s a tremendous organization in town that does wonderful things for so many families in the greater Grand Rapids area,” said Sultana.

The organizations that Sultana was a member of at GVSU contributed just as much to his education as his education in the classroom. He has also found it to be tremendously helpful to keep in touch with the professors and staff members he connected with while on campus.

“Grand Valley is a place where I met some of my closest friends and some of the most impressive people in my life,” Sultana said.

As for the future, Sultana sees his career wide open for opportunities. He hopes to continue to be involved in education and the development of others, as well as himself.

Sultana resides in Grand Rapids.

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Page last modified October 23, 2014