Group President, Paul Sternlieb, kicks off Global Speaker Series hosted by College of Business
A Fortune 500 business executive kicked off the Global Speaker Series event on September 18th at Concordia University-Chicago. It took place in Krentz 120 with around 30 students and faculty members. Paul Sternlieb, Group President, Global Cooking at Illinois Tool Work Inc.’s Food Equipment Group, offered about 30 students and faculty members some career tips based on his years of experience working at a variety of businesses. The Global Speaker Series is hosted by the CUC College of Business.
A spark in Sternlieb’s career journey came from his father who worked for the company Gillette in the IT field. All things computers and Gillette would enter and exit his home, he was constantly around the company growing up. Growing up around this company allowed him to appreciate and create a passion for companies that made tangible products.
Sternlieb attended the University of Pennsylvania and majored in computer science. After he graduated he spent five years in IT consulting at a company called American Management Systems. Sternlieb then went back to the University of Pennsylvania to earn an MBA degree. There he spent the next five years working again as an associate more on the strategy side for McKinsey and Company and then became an engager manager. An engager manager was responsible for “leading teams and running projects day to day.” Out of the five years at McKinsey and Company, one was spent in Amsterdam. Building the resume, he adds to it with the career of working for Heinz. Sternlieb was able to work internationally and spend three and a half years in London running the frozen foods portfolio of Heinz with the title of Marketing Director.
While Sternlieb worked for Heinz, a $10 billion publicly traded company, he worked six months in Russia, and as mentioned above, he worked three and a half years in London as their Marketing Director. Heinz taught him practical challenges of running a business from managing teams to bringing together cultural differences.
“I could apply what I learned in consulting into a real world environment. I was no longer just in consulting but I was making change, making things happen.”
Based out of North Carolina, Danaher Co. was the next career change for Sternlieb. There he would become the Vice President General Manager of a $20 billion publicly traded diversified industrial manufacture company. Taking this position allowed Sternlieb to have responsibility, manage a complex business, and lead a multifunctional team. Danaher was also a place where Sternlieb was able to manage a highly autonomous structure and complex business, along with managing underperformers.
“It was a true cash cow. Generated loads of money in cash and had very low investment.”, said Sternlieb. His goal was to reinvigorate growth and improve margins for Danaher Co.
Currently, Sternlieb works for a fortune 500 company that is a Global Cooking Equipment within the Food Equipment Group of Illinois Tool Works (ITW). With over $14 billion in revenue, it is located out of Glenview, Illinois and is over one hundred years old. The company manufactures and sells appliances for restaurants such as ovens, refrigerators, and stoves that you can actually find in the kitchen at our school, Concordia. Sternlieb was able to join this company as their Group President and have a broader role than he has had at previous companies. ITW is a global company and is well known for their 80/20 business model. Sternlieb describes it as “80% of what we can get comes from 20%.” Meaning, 20% of customers driving 20% of your products.
Sternlieb wanted to end not only on a Q&A but a case study since he is speaking to business students. The case study was dealing with K-12 schools and questioning how to grow in that market segment and gain share. As many questions were brought up by students, one student mentioned price which lead Sternlieb to discuss “How can we deliver more benefit for the same price?” One answer was to make the product being used in these schools simpler. If people are using these ovens only at school and not at home, extra buttons and settings will complicate things.
One thing mentioned by Sternlieb is a “try before you buy” program. Instead of cutting prices to try and sell the product such as an oven to get consumers to commit to the product, they allow them to try the product, and if they like it, they buy it.
Sternlieb then gave insight on what ITW actually does that is similar to the case study. Simpler ovens are created for K-12 schools to use. He described some ovens to look almost like “controls from airplane cockpits” which can look “daunting to those who aren’t professional chefs.” ITW created an oven called the ABC Combi Oven that is less complex and has less buttons so the consumer doesn’t get confused.
ITW focuses on schools who can afford the product and need the products, a “qualified purchase criteria.” To get the word out about their products, an employee of ITW was assigned the job to become a full-time ambassador. His job was to be active and participate in School Nutrition Association that takes place at schools and visit the segment they target. Sternlieb stated that “he’s done such a great job that he was honored by the association this past year with a major national award.”
Services offered are just as a big deal as getting involved. ITW offers to the consumers who purchase their products extended warranties and a hotline if they were to approach challenges. From a promotional standpoint, ITW offers to their buyers a free installation and demonstration
“I’ve never taken a job for status, never taken a job for money” said Sternlieb. Passion means everything in a career. Seek out challenging assignments, don’t be afraid to explore the unknown, get the most out of teams, and lead others. These are just a few of Sternlieb’s personal lessons that he has learned over time.
As Sternlieb would say, “There’s always someone who wants to eat your lunch.” Don’t get complacent, be paranoid.
