|
 |
INVESTING IN THE REGION
|
The RCGA’s
Leadership Circle exists to create added membership value by providing
a unique and invigorating forum to connect executives of small,
medium and large companies to the broad base of influential leaders
in the St. Louis region.
"People don’t look at the Midwest as a necessarily high-powered,
high-tech corridor. But we don’t take second place to anybody in
the world,” says Dan Blakeley, who knows the global impact firsthand
as senior area executive at EDS, one of the largest IT companies
in the St. Louis region.
Above:
Dan Blakeley
When Blakeley joined the computer services company almost four years
ago, he was in charge of 70 employees and $14 million in revenue.
On the fast track ever since with no intentions of slowing down
soon, Blakeley now coordinates the efforts of 700 computer professionals,
representing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue.
Blakeley brings to the negotiating table an expertise in information
solutions, which represents close to $20 billion in business, and
E. solutions, which is worth another $5 billion of EDS revenue.
He also focuses on launching new products to help the telecommunications
sector manage day-to-day schedules of their call centers.
“I spent the first year at EDS learning what the company does. If
it’s anything to do with technology, we almost guarantee we do it
somewhere in the world,” says Blakeley, a registered pharmacist
whose sales and marketing career began in the pharmaceutical industry.
Before EDS, he helped run several small companies, including the
software developer Impact Technologies.
As a board member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Blakeley
takes care of business in the community as well as in the office.
This team player spearheads a pilot program to get major corporations
to consolidate all their used computers and donate them in good
working condition to area schools.
Ask the Leader
What
is the biggest business risk you ever took? Did it pay off? Would
you do it again?
“The largest
acquisition that our company committed to in November 1999 increased
business size by 30 percent and resulted in our stock dropping in
value by 20 percent in just a couple of weeks. Members of the investment
community seriously questioned the acquisition, but we understood
the value of the acquisition (merger) and the value we could create.
It just took a little while to demonstrate to the investment community,
and we would definitely do it again.” —Barry Beracha, president
and CEO, Sara Lee Bakery Group
“I took a leap
of faith and jumped into unknown territory when I went from corporate
America to my own business. The decision to be an entrepreneur is
a different mindset because there is no guarantee of a paycheck
everyday. You have to believe in the unseen value proposition, relationship
you are building, effort and energy. You have to believe that there
will be a return in your investment—and that takes faith.” —David
Steward, chairman and CEO, World Wide Technology
“Starting a
new information technology company with a family, kids in college
and an established career was a big risk. It has paid off handsomely,
and I would do it again in a heartbeat!” —Frank Foster, managing
partner, Trinity Technology
“I believe part
of being an effective leader is being able to make risk assessments
as well as to manage risk. One of the biggest business risks I have
taken was investing heavily in resources when the industry was behaving
in the opposite manner. It paid off handsomely as we were able to
deliver integrated services to our selected market segment at a
profit and gain market share. Absolutely, I will continue to select,
take, and manage risks on an ongoing basis.” —Joyce Blackwell,
director, customer service, and senior location executive, St. Louis,
IBM
For more information on Leadership Circle, please contact John Diefenbach,
associate vice president-membership sales, 314/444-1184 or jdief@stlrcga.org.
|
|
|
|
|
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
|
