John McEleney, CEO of SolidWorks (a Beaupre client) recently stepped down to move in new directions. Roopinder Tara from
CAD Insider called him “a dynamo,” and he was right. Roopinder elaborates:
“In the morning, a keynote address. Shaking hands with users and resellers all day. A press social in the evening. Even at the end of the day, his energy was still abundant, his vision clear, his words directed and purposeful. He lived, worked and wore SolidWorks, the company that has been his reason for existence for eleven and a half years.”
I’ve collaborated with 200+ technology industry CEOs since 1976, spanning the largest global brands to early-stage companies. In retrospect, I’m amazed by how few of them engaged adequately enough to significantly impact communications and public relations initiatives. Eighty percent of my CEO experiences were middle-of-the-road. This shouldn’t surprise me; after all it follows the time proven 80/20 rule. These middle-of-the-road CEOs didn’t do anything horrific; they just didn’t put any real skin in the game. While I always tried to hurdle this roadblock, I met with mixed results.
John was one of my best CEOs of all time. He personified five endearing attributes: enthusiasm; personal humility; straightforwardness; class and a belief that a great corporate (and personal) reputation is earned, not deserved.
John was Mr. Credibility. He endeared himself to customers, employees, partners, analysts, the channel and media because he told it like it is, the good and the bad, and was never myopic.
When something wasn’t right with his own product, he would share this – even with reporters. Conversely, when his company and/or products were clearly better than the competition, he wasn’t shy to say this either. But he did this with a style that proved his opinion was rooted in fact, not hype.
Mr. Credibility saw the competitive forest clearly and didn’t live in a “my company is always great” world. He made his company the undisputed leader by keeping it vigorously focused on earning customer trust, delivering software that met or exceeded expectations. He made communications and public relations programs better by being perceived as a valued, trustworthy resource who was shaping the industry, not just his company.
John, we look forward to collaborating again.
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