Global CEO Excellence 2017

CEO MONTHLY / GLOBAL CEO EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2017 41 , Electrocomponents is the global distributor for engineers. We invited Lindsley Ruth, CEO of the firm, to tell us more about his and the company’s recent achievements. Electronics Company CEO of the Year 2017 Electrocomponents is a global high- service distributor supporting customers with a broad range of industrial and electronic products and services that are essential for the successful operation of their businesses. When Lindsley Ruth joined as CEO, the company was facing some clear challenges and performance results were poor. The UK business, for example, had been in decline for two and a half years. Overall, costs were way too high and customer service was not where it should have been. Lindsley tells us about his previous role, whilst also outlining the changes he and the company have had to make to turn its performance around. “Before joining Electrocomponents as CEO in 2015, I was Executive Vice President of the Future Electronics Group of companies, the fourth largest electronics distributor in the world. In this role, I was a key member of the core leadership team which transformed the organisation’s performance and expanded its global reach. When I joined Electrocomponents, it didn’t take me long to realise the potential of our company. We have a large, fragmented and growing marketplace, strong brands and a huge customer base. But I was struck by the complexity of the organisation and its processes. “In November 2015, we began a journey to transform the business and its financial performance. Our turnaround programme focused on improving the customer and supplier experience, driving an accountable and high- performance culture, and striving for operational excellence through simplification and operating for less. We have made strong progress and taken a major step forward by focusing on getting the basics right. This focus has led to a significant improvement in our 2017 financial results with faster revenue growth, an increase in gross margin, a higher conversion of gross profit into operating profit, and a substantial upgrade in headline operating profit. We have also improved our customer satisfaction and delivered total savings of £25 million.” With the focus on making customers’ lives easier, Lindsley discusses how it is essential to create value for both customers and suppliers as this is what he believes will differentiate the firm from its competitors. “We have begun to refocus the business back on what lies at its heart, the customer and the supplier. It isn’t about what customers can do for us, but rather what we can do for them. We are here to help them today by solving tomorrow’s problems. Our future will be determined by how quickly we gather insight, interpret it and deliver the solutions they need. “In order to drive transformational change in our culture and our results, we have significantly reshaped and strengthened our leadership team, a team that shares my ambition and vision for the business, for whom a satisfactory performance is no longer good enough. This is important, since it starts with the leadership and it starts with me. We are moving from a culture of saying to doing. One of our key assets is our people and we need to ensure we invest, educate and motivate them to drive best-in-class results.” Lindsley explains to us that although the organisation is focused on making its operating model as lean and efficient as possible, it is not all about driving efficiencies. He points out that the business now has a newly installed team of highly talented individuals who are dedicated to looking at ways to drive differentiation and innovation into its customer offer. He also discusses how the company is starting to reap the rewards of its transformation but there is still a long way to go for the firm. “Our market is changing, with digital transition, customers consolidating their supplier base, and the Industrial Internet of Things, for example. The changing landscape of the high-tech industry requires as great a priority on adapting to the changing times as it does on great products and great service. To survive in this space, one must have innovation at its core. We are investing to drive more innovation into our business and my role is to lead this charge. “We have taken a major step forward and I am proud of the progress we have made, but we will not rest on our laurels. As we move into 2018, we are using the strong momentum we have gained to reinvest in our brands, people and systems to accelerate growth and increase efficiency. We are encouraged by results so far, but feel we are still very much at the beginning of this journey and have significant opportunity for further improvement.” Contact Email: Lynn.Webster-Scott@ electrocomponents.com Web Address: electrocomponents.com