 
Industry Icon Leyland Talks About Career,
Life After Retirement
April 23, 2012
by Sahely Mukerji, smukerji@glass.com
Bob
Leyland, director of sales at Kawneer Co. in Norcross, Ga., will
retire
on August 3, after 37 years with the company. He began his career
with Kawneer in 1975 after graduating with a degree in marketing
from Michigan State University. He started with the company as a
sales trainee in the Niles, Mich., headquarters, and after climbing
through the ranks, was named director of marketing in 1996. He assumed
executive leadership of the sales and marketing organizations in
1999, and has continued to lead the North American sales organization
since 2004.
USGNN.com recently talked to Leyland about his career and
plans after retirement. Below are excerpts.
USGNN: What would you say has been your greatest contribution
to the glass industry?
Bob Leyland (BL): I would say my involvement in people development.
The reason I spent 37 years with the same company is the people
within the industry and the company. I've had a number of positions
throughout my career, I've had a chance to hire people, and help
them grow in their roles, and that is very important to me.
In another area, I've been through a number of acquisitions and
integrations. Kawneer was acquired by Alcoa in 1998. There were
a lot changes that had to be managed in those kinds of circumstances.
More recently, we went through the commercial integration of Traco
into Kawneer and Alcoa. Now we have got two industry-leading brands
put together to serve our customers. I lead the commercial integration
side of that.
Lastly, as you know we are in an industry that is cyclical in nature.
When you are challenged with the market downturn--and I have been
through four in my career--there's always pressure to generate an
acceptable level of profitability, and we've been able to do that.
Our company aligns itself very closely with the customer. We are
able to sustain through the downturns and help our customers through
those as well. We share with them some of the things that we implement
to mitigate risks, and most Kawneer customers make it through the
downturn. I am connected with those customers on a daily basis.
We also participate in different organizations: the American Institute
of Architects, the Glass Association of North America and its Building
Envelope Contractors Division. We have sponsored many of their events
and I have spoken there. We support a lot of the industry. We have
an obligation to participate in those and serve the industry, and
I have done that.
USGNN: What are you most proud of in your long career?
BL: Couple of things: Being able to participate and lead
an industry-leading company. I started with Kawneer right after
graduating from Michigan State. The people I have had the chance
to work with, the customers, and the opportunity to take on more
responsibilities, is one area. It's also been really important to
me to be a leader in our own organization. I have worked with and
for very strong leaders and I have learned from them a tremendous
lot. We are part of a group that, from a product standpoint, has
continually tried to raise the bar as it relates to quality and
performance and how they impact the environment.
USGNN: What was the lowest point of your career?
BL: I would have to say when you have to face difficult
decision to make sure that you remain profitable in a downturn,
sometimes you have to size yourself to remain profitable. Those
are always difficult decisions, and I am, in particular, challenged
by that. My role in the company is as much as to be a job creator
as anything else. So, when it goes the other way it makes for difficult
decisions.
Also, when you are getting acquired, there is uncertainty around
that. We have been really pleased to have a parent organization
that has embraced our business. Working through uncertainty is a
challenging issue.
Candidly, I haven't had many low points. There have been a few,
but we have been able to work through with our company and people
resources. Nothing really stands out than something else.
USGNN: If we asked somebody in the glass industry what your
legacy is, what would they say?
BL: I would like to think that they would say that I have
been a dedicated, ethical, high-integrity person who has led a successful
company, managed product performance and people development. A guy
who had tried to live and operate with a sense of integrity. I would
like to think both my colleagues and customers will think of me
as a positive influence, who supported and sustained a very strong
brand, and that people will respect and feel good about that.
USGNN: What do you plan to do after retirement?
BL: I do not have any immediate plans. I will take some
time to relax a bit and contemplate what might be of interest to
pursue. My wife is a teacher and she has one more year to teach,
so I have one year to figure that out. I have been working since
I was 12, as a paper boy. So it might be healthy for me to just
stop and think for a bit. I still have a high level of energy, so
I will do something. I live in a golf course community, so I might
get a chance to get better in golf. I am excited about what the
next chapter of my life will bring, but I will go one step at a
time.
USGNN: What do you think has Kawneer contributed to the building
environment?
BL: A number of things. The company is a 106 years old.
We have been involved in contributing to the nonresidential building
industry for over a century. We have introduced and innovated many
products. It pre-dates me. There are many contributions. I have
got samples of products that were installed in early 1900s that
are being replaced with new Kawneer products now. It is satisfying
to see products that lasted that long and to replace them with better-performing
products. We have also continued to train people in the industry.
There are many people in the industry who have gone through Kawneer's
training program. We have had that in place since after World War
II. The products are only as good as the people who put them in.
We invest a lot in the training area, and that will continue. It
is part of our obligation and set of values. I have traveled around
North America and met people who have said that they have gone through
our training program and are able to install products to perform
as they are supposed to.
USGNN: Where does Kawneer go from here?
BL: It is fair to say that Kawneer will continue to strive
to be an industry leader. We will be focused on providing better-performing
products to the built environment. We will continue to look at how
we can bundle products, provide a broader range of product solution
with Kawneer, Traco and Alcoa. We will add to this overall portfolio
and improve building performance and allow our customers to capture
a larger share of the pie. Both Alcoa and Kawneer are very committed
to sustainability, and from a product manufacturing standpoint,
we will continue to do that.
I am also very pleased that when I retire I will do that with a
very strong commercial organization in place with both Kawneer and
Traco and with Colin Brosmer assuming my position. It was important
to me to know that when I leave I would be confident that the person
who came in would be successful in the position. And I feel good
about that.
I have worked with Colin directly for the last five years, he has
reported to me for three of those five years. He has a broad background.
He manages the front end of our business, including customer service,
estimating, project management and drafting, and oversees 250 people.
Prior to that he was in the sales management role in Canada for
us. Now he will lead the sales organizations for both Kawneer and
Traco in North America.
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