29 min
How one CEO tackled the 'Great Recession' of 2008 ... Thomas McIlvain '67 The Nichols College Alumni Experience
-
- Education
Given all that is happening with the current pandemic, this is a very topical interview and one which might be of particular interest to business owners trying to navigate their way through a catastrophic economic event. In 2008, Bison alumni Tom McIlvain was the head of a large company with an industry heritage dating back to the time of The Revolutionary War, which supplied high-end hardwoods to many industries including the building industry, furniture industry and even the wood used in Gibson guitars. When the economy collapsed almost overnight, which started in an industry directly tied to his business, Tom was forced to make some important leadership decisions in order to save the company. Under his leadership, TBM Hardwoods made major changes in the company's business model, including the tough reality of cutting staff by over 75%, cleaning their own office and resulted in Tom forgoing salary for almost 2 years. Today, many of those forced innovations are still in place in some form at TBM and the company brings in more revenue than before the recession. Tom also shares some interesting facts about the hardwood industry including how furniture manufacturing has left the United States for Asia, why a shift in interior design preferences is bad for the hardwood industry, sustainability of American hardwood forests and how he feels when he sees Keith Richards playing a Gibson guitar made out of his product. You won't want to miss this incredibly relevant interview with a parallel to our current turbulent economic times.
Tom's recommended reading from the episode: 'Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right' by Larry Bossidy, ISBN 978-1400050840
Theme song by: Jermel Walker '12
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nicholsalumniexperience/message
Given all that is happening with the current pandemic, this is a very topical interview and one which might be of particular interest to business owners trying to navigate their way through a catastrophic economic event. In 2008, Bison alumni Tom McIlvain was the head of a large company with an industry heritage dating back to the time of The Revolutionary War, which supplied high-end hardwoods to many industries including the building industry, furniture industry and even the wood used in Gibson guitars. When the economy collapsed almost overnight, which started in an industry directly tied to his business, Tom was forced to make some important leadership decisions in order to save the company. Under his leadership, TBM Hardwoods made major changes in the company's business model, including the tough reality of cutting staff by over 75%, cleaning their own office and resulted in Tom forgoing salary for almost 2 years. Today, many of those forced innovations are still in place in some form at TBM and the company brings in more revenue than before the recession. Tom also shares some interesting facts about the hardwood industry including how furniture manufacturing has left the United States for Asia, why a shift in interior design preferences is bad for the hardwood industry, sustainability of American hardwood forests and how he feels when he sees Keith Richards playing a Gibson guitar made out of his product. You won't want to miss this incredibly relevant interview with a parallel to our current turbulent economic times.
Tom's recommended reading from the episode: 'Confronting Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Things Right' by Larry Bossidy, ISBN 978-1400050840
Theme song by: Jermel Walker '12
---
Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nicholsalumniexperience/message
29 min