Who is the assistant to the regional manager?

Dwight Schrute is the assistant to the regional manager at Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch. Rainn Wilson plays Dwight, an intensely ambitious salesman who treats the unofficial title as a major position of authority.

The wording matters because Dwight is not usually called the “assistant regional manager.” Michael Scott repeatedly insists that Dwight is the “assistant to the regional manager,” a distinction Dwight fiercely defends. The title is largely imaginary, but Dwight uses it to justify supervising coworkers and enforcing office rules.

Dwight is one of the series’ most distinctive characters. He lives on the Schrute family beet farm, practices survivalist skills, and is devoted to both Dunder Mifflin and his own vision of leadership. His rivalry with salesman Jim Halpert fuels many of the show’s pranks and conflicts.

Dwight eventually becomes regional manager in the final season, making his earlier ambitions partly successful. Ryan Howard and Andy Bernard are salespeople, while Jim becomes an assistant manager and later co-manager, but neither is the canonical answer to this question.