Border Plans for Growth and Tomorrow

From Border States:

Last week Border States Electric (BSE) announced David White, Executive Vice President, will be promoted to President of BSE on April 1, 2018. White has 28 years in the electrical wholesale distribution industry (17 years with Shealy Electrical Wholesalers). White has also been actively engaged in the industry, serving on NAED and AD boards.

“Since joining Border States in 2016 David has provided strong leadership to our regional vice presidents and our sales and marketing teams. He has delivered results and quickly gained the confidence and trust of our customers, vendors and employee-owners. David is an effective leader and will be a great president for Border States,” said Tammy Miller, CEO and Board Chair.

 “I’m honored to be given an opportunity to become the next president of such an outstanding organization,” said White. “We have a tremendous team of dedicated, hard-working employee owners who come to work, each and every day, with a mission of serving our customers and supplier partners. With their support, I’m committed to carrying on the tradition and success Border States has experienced for many years.”

Additional promotions on April 1, 2018 include

• Jason Seger, current Senior VP Supply Chain will be promoted to Executive Vice President Regions. Seger will move from Fargo to Kansas City and his direct reports will include all regional vice presidents.
• Jason Stein, Senior Vice President C&I, will be promoted to Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing. In his new role, Stein will oversee sales and marketing for each of the three core markets, Industrial, Utility and Construction.
• Ryan Stall, Senior Vice President IT and Strategy Enablement, will add responsibilities for operations. His new title will be SVP IT, Operations and Strategy Enablement.
• Mike Busch, Vice President Human Resources, will be promoted to Senior Vice President Human Resources and Organizational Development and will join the executive committee.

“These promotions are an integral part of our succession and executive leadership development plan,” said Miller. “I am excited about these promotions and the opportunities for David, Seger, Stein, Ryan and Mike. I am confident our succession plan and executive leadership development will support our long-term vision and position us well for continued growth and success for our customers and greater opportunities and rewards for our employee-owners.”

Some observations from reading between lines:

• David is Tammy Miller’s successor. Question becomes, when?
• With Jason Seger moving to Kansas City to be, essentially, more central to the regions (east coast, southwest, central), this could further set up Border States for more acquisitions as a “national” company.  It can be easier to manage and interact with the business from a central location than from Fargo (no disrespect, just easier to travel and less time in planes.)
• Ryan’s promotion highlights how much technology has been woven into operations and the opportunities for operational improvement.