How long have you been a BAMA member?
Joined the BAMA organization in 2014.
What do you like most about being a BAMA member?
I really like the community outreach to the local high schools. It’s great to see an organization who is engaged with teaching teenagers about manufacturing. The organized facility tours go a long way with introducing what manufacturing companies do.
Tell us about Beckwith Electric.
Beckwith Electric supplies products into the electrical power utility industry. The best way to describe Beckwith’s products is that our products make the “Smart Grid” smart. When you look on a utility pole, in a substation, or a power generation plant, you will see the large pieces of electrical switchgear, regulators, capacitor banks etc. Beckwith does not manufacture these products. We make the small embedded computing device which controls the large devices, optimizes the flow of electricity, and hardens the grid against cyber-attacks.
Beckwith has been in business for over 50 years, and started as a family owned business. In December of 2020, Beckwith was purchased by Hubbell, Inc. Both Hubbell and Beckwith are very exciting about capabilities which Beckwith can add to Hubbell’s growing product portfolio, and exciting about future grown and job opportunities for the Tampa Bay Area.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment to date?
I have learned over the years that it is impossible to accomplish anything great without a fabulous team. My greatest accomplishment is that I work with a fabulous team of dedicated and talented individuals, and humbled that they look up to me as their leader.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Undergraduate Economics 101: buy low, sell high. Seriously though, the best advice I have ever received was to treat everybody with respect. Every member of an organization adds value regardless of their role or job responsibility. When you treat everyone with respect, they feel valued. An employee that feels valued will come into work every day, do their best, and want to be an active and productive member of the team.
What is the most important skill you have developed in your career?
How to communicate with people…there is no “one size fits all” way to communicate…you have to approach different people and different situations in different ways. A manager who communicates well with his team fosters an environment where team members communicate with each other and leadership. When a team communicates effectively, the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
What are your hobbies or interests?
I’m a nerd and a geek…always was, always will be. In addition to play golf, I enjoy building and optimizing computing systems and network gear. My latest passion has been turning my house a “smart house”…having the house automate things that just make the house more fun to live in. Oh, and everything is ALWAYS better with LEDs!
