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What lured you to Innova?

I knew of Innova and saw it becoming more visible in the Des Moines community. It is a company that is very creatively driven, and at Meredith (Corp.) I was very involved with custom publishing, so there was a nice connection with my previous experience and skill set. I have been very fortunate to work for IBM (Corp.), Maytag (Corp.) and Meredith prior to coming to work for Innova, and they have all been companies with very much a focus on quality. And coming to Innova and looking at some of the work that Beth (Cross, president of Sigler Cos., Innova’s parent company) and her company had delivered, it’s really right down my alley. People are charged here, and I like that kind of environment.

Was it hard to say goodbye to Meredith after 26 years?

Meredith was a wonderful company, and having been there for nearly 26 years, it was my family, my home. There is always going to be some trepidation and some feelings. I made so many good friends at Meredith, and yet for me, I looked at it as the downsizing happened, and you have a couple of options and one of them is to focus back on your future and look at opportunities. I had some wonderful mentors at Meredith and some people who did for me what I hope to do for people here at Innova, and I will be eternally grateful for that support.

How does your experience from Meredith fit with your position here?

What it really did for me was it gave me such a sound foundation in consultative selling, listening to the client, finding out from the client what they need and want and then how can we as a company help them get to that. Meredith and Innova are both very solution-driven companies, and I like that kind of selling; we are developing programs and products and services around the client. It also exposed me to a national landscape, because at Meredith, I could be working with Kraft (Foods Inc.) and then the next day be talking to a major window manufacturer. Hopefully some of that exposure and experience will allow me to very quickly bring Innova into a more national type of selling.

What are your main responsibilities?

For the business development aspect, my objective is to identify and begin building relationships with companies outside our traditional geographic area. We are looking more at companies in Kansas City, Omaha, Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, etc., as well as some brands that extend beyond those areas. For the strategic marketing and public relations area, I will work with (those departments) on a day-to-day basis, looking at marketing plans, etc. Beth is looking to me, based on my experience, to mentor the folks here at Innova. I’ve had the experience; I’ve been through some of the drills. Hopefully I can shed light on situations and also bring new employees along as quickly as we can, get them up to speed. I’ve always enjoyed that, and I’m looking forward to that part. And you look at it differently when you’re 55 than when you were 25, because I can speak with some experience.

Where did you learn your work ethic?

Initially, from my father. My dad was a veterinarian, and I learned from him that hard work is good for the soul. He was a person who worked very, very hard but at the same time loved his profession. I learned from him to work hard and really enjoy what you are doing. And then I had so many other mentors that demonstrated the saying “the harder you work, the luckier you get.”

What is one motto you live by?

A can-do attitude can overcome lots and lots of obstacles. I am a firm believer that your attitude sets a tone for you personally and also for everyone around you. I think attitude is contagious, and there is no room for negativity in this game.