Brent just introduced a lot of significant changes and I wanted to make sure that I took this opportunity to put all of the changes in context for all of you that have been in “my world” for so long.
Since the beginning of my time as a leader here at CB, we’ve talked about how much stronger we’d be as a company if we could only focus on collaborating effectively instead of competing against each other throughout the company. When Brent approached me months ago about the opportunity of verticalizing our sales force into regionalized territories, with me effectively becoming the 5th AVP, I initially had mixed emotions.
On the one hand, it would guarantee an immediate reduction in territory conflicts, would align all of the sales channels, and create upward mobility and a more defined career path for so many of my employees.
On the other, it would mean a significant reporting change for many of the people I’ve worked with for many years here at the company. It didn’t take long for me to see that the upsides of this reorganization far outweighed the emotional connection to the world I’ve worked in for so many years. In fact, this realignment will truly rejuvenate us as a company and give us a unified goal in a way we’ve never had before.
The most significant changes to the CAT will be the change from a horizontal to a vertical sales structure. Historically as a company we've had someone over the U30, someone over the IAG, someone over SAG, and so forth. As we move forward, each of the 5 AVPs will own everything in their territory vertically, from Enterprise down through the IAG.
As soon as these changes take effect, each of you will roll up to someone who has complete control and authority of all resource allocations in their territory. Some of you will still roll up to me. We’ve never used this structure before as a company and it will, for the first time, enable us to consistently make the right choices for the business without politics.
Here’s how the Senior Leadership teams will look in each territory:
- I will own the West Coast team, which will include 7 Enterprise offices and the CAT employees that serve the West Coast out of the Phoenix Office under Evan Ross.
- Jason Lovelace will own the territory comprising of Chicago, Florida, Kansas, and Nashville. Mindy Hynes will report to him with ownership of the SAG, TAG and IAG teams.
- Andy Streiter will own the territory comprising of New York, New Jersey, Minneapolis, and Detroit. Ray Dinglasan will report to him with ownership of the SAG, TAG and IAG teams.
- Beth Prunier will own the territory comprising of Cincinnati, DC, New England, and Philadelphia. Alex Bean will report to her with ownership of the SAG, TAG and IAG teams.
- Will Emmons will own the territory comprising of Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, and Houston. Aminu Timberlake, Dustin Dolatowski and Bill Meidell will report to him with ownership of the IAG, SAG, and EBU teams.
These changes have allowed me to build bigger and better roles for many of the people who have worked so hard for me for so long. Ray and Mindy will be able to lead not just IAG but also SAG and TAG employees as well -- a great opportunity for them. We’ve been able to bring Alex Bean back into the inside world, a place where she has excelled for so long, alongside Ray and Mindy
Lastly, Brooks Hughes and Lauren Osman will be able to examine verticalized territories in Retail and Healthcare, respectively, examining whether we’ll be able to wring additional productivity out of those areas for the company.
So the question remains: What does all this mean for each of you? For most of you, the simple truth is that it will be business as usual. If you think you’re in the right position today, you don’t need to do anything. This reorganization mainly affects the Senior Leadership teams. You may or may not have a new senior leader, but things will continue more or less as-is. If you think the new Retail or Healthcare positions might be for you, I would advise you to reach out to Brooks or Lauren about opportunities in those worlds.
All in all, each of us has new and expanded opportunities that give us the chance to truly hit the ground 2009 running fill speed. In the near future, I’ll reach out over the blog, chat and in person over the next couple weeks to answer specific questions about the changes and how you can take advantage of the opportunities created by this reorganization.
For those of you on the West Coast who will report to me in 2009, I look forward to all we’ll accomplish together. For those of you whose worlds will now roll up elsewhere, I’m excited for the opportunities this new alignment will provide you and can say it has truly been an honor being your leader. I’ll still be based out of Chicago, so please, don’t be strangers.
The CAT has been my world for over 6 years, and I can promise you I wouldn’t have agreed to this new organizational structure if I didn’t believe it would create opportunities for each and every one of you who are doing the right thing. This reorganization is a major step to creating consistency in our sales force and for many of you it represents the brass ring we’ve always been talking about in terms of getting all groups on the same page philosophically. So get out there and grab it. I wish all of you the best of luck in 2009.
H
