Take on any Challenge
Interviewed by Olivia Wolak

Interview with Terrence Sheehan, Interim CEO, CIO		 Date Interview: 09/09/2009
Date of Credentialing:
Credential expiration:
 

So you have 15 years of company restructuring under your belt. What industries do you like?

I know the chemical and food industries best. However, most of my roles as COO or CEO involved major construction and renovation projects in which I typically acted as general contractor, so I have an affinity for the construction industry as well.

How did you get started in leadership roles?

When I was about 27 years old I had an opportunity to go to Tokyo with the president of a company that made industrial chemicals. We set up a joint venture company, the first of its kind in Japan. After that, the company needed to service its clients in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States so I was assigned to select a city for the new location and start it up.

I like the fact that you bootstrapped your way into leadership.

Without an engineering or architectural background, I designed a chemical plant and acted as general contractor, later moving into a general manager position. After almost 20 years with the company I was recruited to another chemical company that was looking for someone to modernize it. They had four older facilities in Chicago and it was my responsibility to close those and design and build a new one.

Did that lead into taking on more turnaround positions?

I stayed there for a few years and realized that it was turning into something that I really enjoyed doing. Since I left I have been working on projects wherein I take over companies in the chemical or food industries that need mainly modernization or turnaround.

I’ve learned not to be afraid to take on any challenge. If a company wanted me to take over its aerospace division and I didn’t know anything about aerospace, for example, I could be successful at it because I know plenty about managing people and running a business.

Turnaround professionals have to act quickly. What is the unique skill set you bring?

I have the ability to analyze very complex situations and distill them down to common sense.

Tell us about being the CEO of a company where your employees are rioting.

I had a CEO assignment in Eastern Europe wherein the companies were bought by the Bank of Austria and were being privatized. Prior to that, they were owned by the communist government, so it was a matter of many things coming together. Their technology was outdated and the union was very militant to the point of destruction. They were burning the cars of company executives.

Take on any Challenge -- Terrence Sheehan, Interim CEO, CIO
Terrence Sheehan has over 15 years experience specializing in the chemical, food, and construction industries.  He has successfully worked with start-up and troubled companies and is recognized for privatizing the largest chemical company in Eastern Europe. Mr. Sheehan, as a fully licensed broker, also creates and executes financial plans for high net worth individuals.

In that environment what was the first thing you did?

I went to their headquarters in Romania and spent more than two days touring the facility. There were over 200 buildings on the site. On the third day when I said we were finished with the tour, I was told I hadn’t seen everything yet—the athletic field, the gymnasium, the cattle ranch. It just went on and on. It was typical of a communist company where they were a very self contained community.

So after the grand tour, what did you do?

The first challenge was reducing the workforce by almost 80 percent, which made me extremely unpopular in a hostile country, and the second was coordinating the facilities somehow to get rid of all the excess capacity and wasted buildings that were being maintained. I put together a plan to consolidate everything into a quarter of the space and that left hundreds of acres in the capital of Romania that could be commercially developed. That was very profitable and successful.

That is an outstanding turnaround. What lessons should a leader take from that?

I’ve learned not to be afraid to take on any challenge. If a company wanted me to take over its aerospace division and I didn’t know anything about aerospace, for example, I could be successful at it because I know plenty about managing people and running a business. Also, one thing that I believe contributes to the success of not just myself, but of any person in a similar role, is not to focus on the bottom line.

Excuse me, I just spilled some coffee. Not focus on the bottom line?

The net profit. If you do the right things and you lead people effectively, the bottom line takes care of itself. I have a real problem with boards and shareholders that look only to the next quarter or the next year, or executives who are only interested in the bonuses they get in the next quarter. I can’t stand short-term thinking and have a problem with people looking for short-term rewards.

Have you ever been thrown an unexpected challenge?

I was hired by a group that acquired a portfolio company. We were supposed to move the company from an existing facility to a new facility in six months, which entailed dismantling, moving and reinstalling more than 100 truckloads of manufacturing equipment. There were two parts to that challenge. First, during a weekly meeting the previous manager mentioned that the existing building would be occupied by a new tenant in two-and-a-half months, when we originally had six months for the project. I had to compress a very tight schedule in half.

There are a lot of executives who are intimidated by intelligent, energetic, creative people. They see them as a threat. I always like having people around who could work me out of my job. They make me successful.

That’s a good challenge. What else?

While all that was going on, the company, which had a large amount of business around the country, acquired Walmart’s business.

That’s good. Or bad.

It increased the volume of our business by 40 percent. Somehow, we managed to compress the moving schedule by 50 percent, increase the volume of our business by 40 percent, and start up at our new facility in September.

What was your proudest moment?

I had 48 electricians working seven days a week, 12 hours a day to finish a project. When it was 10 minutes to quitting time on a Sunday night, I noticed that all these electricians were still working—not cleaning up, not putting stuff in their cars. When I asked what was with these guys I was told, “They just respect you so much that they are going to do everything they can to make sure you get this done.”  How I earn that respect I don’t know, but it’s there.

What sets you apart from others?

I think of myself as being creative. I look at things and ask not just how something can be improved but how it can be done differently. I’m also blessed with a lot of energy. My wife says if she sees me sitting down for more than five minutes something is wrong. One of my other strengths is that I get along well with people.

What makes you a good leader?

People respect me because I work hard, I don’t goof off, I don’t take advantage of others, and I’m honest.  Just good old values—it’s about that simple. There are a lot of executives who are intimidated by intelligent, energetic, creative people. They see them as a threat. I always like having people around who could work me out of my job. They make me successful.

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