Mickey Leech has had a wide-ranging career—from his roots selling wholesale beauty products to retailers as director of field sales for L’Oreal, to various leadership roles at MTD Products, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stanley Black & Decker that manufactures outdoor power equipment.
In 2021, Leech became CEO of Schumacher Electric, maker of automotive aftermarket power conversion products including EV and traditional battery chargers, jump starters, portable power packs and portable power stations.
Through all of his experiences, one factor has stuck out to Leech as the cornerstone of business: the people. He shares how he has been able to re-build a successful culture and its impact at Schumacher Electric.
I started my career with L’Oreal and then spent nearly two decades at MTD Products before joining Schumacher Electric. I have had the privilege of holding leadership roles across various industries. I have always been a leader who is passionate about growing businesses with good people who do things the right way.
The cornerstone of my experience has always been the people involved. That has been my biggest lesson. I believe that by striving towards shared goals and addressing each person’s needs, successful outcomes can be achieved, regardless of the specific function or industry.
For more than 75 years, Schumacher has been powering lifestyles with products sold in markets around the world. Our legacy is centered on delivering product excellence at a value, and we are a company that customers trust. But as new vehicles and lifestyles emerge, we’ve recognized when it is time for a shift.
Schumacher focuses on building upon its legacy, adding home power and EV charging while continuing to be a category captain within the traditional automotive aftermarket space. The disruption now is creating a consumer brand and reaching new audiences and lifestyles.
When I joined Schumacher, it was my goal to restore its winning team-based culture. Because we were transitioning our headquarters from the Chicagoland area to Dallas-Fort Worth, this was a manageable change. The move allowed us to introduce new perspectives and foster a collaborative team environment.
After reviewing the company’s vision statement, we further defined and clarified the purpose of the company. Velocity is the speed of Schumacher heading in one direction. Being successful as a company and aligning overall with one goal—why are we here? We are here to empower end users to benefit from mobility, giving people the freedom to work, travel and play.
We wanted to create a culture around bringing innovative products at a value to market for end users, not just driving financial results. We repositioned and redefined the core values of the company, so they are mutually beneficial to end users as well as employees.
We also changed the company dynamic to be more team focused and instituted a training program on continuous improvement and what it means to be a team. All of these new solutions have helped to grow financial results at the company and re-create a winning culture.
Our strategy is to innovate the design, manufacture and performance of our products, giving consumers more value from the brand that they know and trust. Rather than focusing on technology, our innovation lies in translating proprietary consumer insights into the use of new technologies.
We strive to deliver exceptional value across all our products and price ranges. Ultimately, this results in greater benefits for consumers to their investment.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
