Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Landry.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have always been involved in technology start-ups. I have never worked for a big company. After working for a few start-ups, I founded one myself. I started a company called Servigistics in the late 90s and worked to build it from the ground up into a company of over 250 employees and over $40M in revenue. Servigistics was acquired in 2009 by a private equity firm. So for my next venture, I partnered with leadership of Barkawi Management Consultants, a supply chain consulting firm based out of Munich, Germany, to help them build a presence in North America.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
My current path with Barkawi Management Consultants has been pretty smooth. But the road leading to where I am today definitely has not been very smooth. My career has spanned over 30 years, and in those years, there has been economic swings and internal business growing pains, like cash flow challenges and building a solid brand. Also, when you’re working in a start-up, it’s typically a new solution with no existing patterns in terms of success or failures. So there are bound to be uncertainties.
One of the biggest challenges I have faced is finding the right people. They have to be both a cultural and technical fit and that can be difficult to ascertain from just a few meetings or interviews. Another major challenge is knowing how to prioritize business issues. You want to be able to fix everything at once, so it is a challenge in itself to identify which issues are pressing and which can be resolved at a later time.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Barkawi Management Consultants – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Barkawi Management Consultants helps clients improve the performance of their supply chain or aftersales service operations, by addressing 4 key areas: people, processes, strategies, and technology. We combine our expertise in the systems, data analytics and science of supply chain functions with our strategic partnerships with best-in-class solutions providers to bring technology transformations to our clients.
I would say that as a company, we are most proud of our relationship with our customers. Unlike a typical consulting company, we seek to build long-term relationships with our clients and are able to provide additional services to our clients after the initial assessment. We work hand-in-hand with our clients to also implement the solutions and deliver the required long-term support to help our clients get the most out of their investment.
Additionally, I’m proud of our internal culture of giving back to the community as well as to our employees. We work hard to ensure our employees are happy, gathering feedback and fostering career development where we can.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future is to continue to work together with my team to grow the Barkawi North America office. I look forward to building our brand alongside great teams in both North America and in Germany.
Contact Info:
- Address: 100 Galleria Parkway
Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30339 - Website: http://www.barkawi.com/en-us/start.html
- Phone: 678.213.2940
- Email: USAInfo@barkawi.com
Image Credit:
Ken Wardlaw Photography
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