4/5/2023 Lexi Larson
Written by Lexi Larson
John Shimkus (BSME 1982) is one of two alumni to be named a 2023 MechSE Distinguished Alumni for his outstanding career accomplishments. Shimkus is a retired Vice President of the IBM Corporation. He was honored at the department’s awards banquet March 24.
As an undergraduate in mechanical engineering, Shimkus worked at the Physics Research Laboratory where he assisted in material exploration using an electron accelerator. He was also a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduation he was recruited by IBM in San Jose, California, working as an engineer designing computer disk drives. While in this position Shimkus published a technical paper on magnetic recording that he later presented at IBM’s Watson Research headquarters.
IBM’s Sales Division recruited John for a technical sales role. At the time, he remembered thinking, “I would rather clean dishes for a living.” After some convincing to take the role, however, his technical background allowed him to easily connect with customers and quickly thrive in his sales role. During his first year he was honored with the Salesman of the Year Award and subsequently went on to earn numerous sales awards over the next several years.
Based on his engineering background, his deep understanding of storage products, and his sales success in the field, Shimkus was asked to lead IBM’s Storage Products Division as Marketing Manager. His understanding of both technical capabilities and user needs allowed him to provide key insight into the organization during product development and product introduction.
“The technical background, and the technical base from my engineering education is what enabled me to have such a successful career,” he said.
Shimkus also held multiple executive positions in IBM’s Services Division - leading large teams delivering service contracts valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. He next managed a large organization within IBM’s Services business in Europe. Subsequent promotions resulted in Shimkus being named one of IBM’s youngest vice presidents in the company.
Shimkus and his family reside in Chicago, and now in retirement, he enjoys golf, swimming, water skiing, snow skiing, running and traveling with his family. He is also a board member of a local organization in addition to mentoring STEM students at a local college.
At the banquet celebration, Shimkus offered well-earned advice to MechSE students. “I encourage everyone to always keep an open mind in your career, and challenge yourself, because you’re going to go off and do great things.”
Steve Vavrik (BSME 1990, MSME 1991) was also a winner of the 2023 MechSE Distinguished Alumni Award.