BUSINESS Q & A
Technology vet becomes Standard Register COO
Joe Morgan says sales and technology will likely be priorities as company returns to profitability.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
DAYTON — When Dennis Rediker, Standard Register's chief executive, tapped Joe Morgan to be the company's chief operating officer, he promoted someone well versed in the technology side of the nearly century-old firm.
But Morgan — a chemical engineer — is quick to note that Standard Register is a manufacturing company, too.
Joe Morgan has recently been named Standard Register's executive vice president and chief operating officer.The company marked a return to profitability in the first quarter of 2008, results released the same day Morgan's appointment as executive vice president and COO was announced. Strong cash flow and painful cost cuts — which included the loss of 70 jobs in Dayton last July — helped make the new results possible. (Today, the company's Dayton headquarters has 491 employees. There are 3,429 company workers.)
Morgan, 48, assumes his role at a critical time, as the document services company finds its place not only in "paperless" arenas, but in fields where paper remains paramount, such as secure prescription pads.
What follows are excerpts of a recent interview with Morgan at the company's Albany Street offices.
Q Can you talk a bit about what originally brought you to the company?
A I met Dennis back around that time (2001, when Morgan joined Standard Register). The transformation of this company in this industry was particularly interesting to me. ... I had actually been with companies that had sold to Standard Register starting in the late '80s, through around 2000. So I had seen the company in the industry evolve.
Q So we have someone from the technology side overseeing the operations of the whole company. What does your career track tell you about Dennis' priorities, about Standard Register's direction?
A It's not just Standard Register. That's our industry. We're leading in some areas certainly by our market focus. But I think it's a confirmation that where we're trying to take the company is defined by the things I'm doing.
I think there's one thing to point out, too: It's that we do make things. We're also a manufacturer. And my background prior to getting involved with technology and services was in manufacturing for 15 years. I'm a chemical engineer, I worked in the chemical processes industry. ...
Q Are we seeing the start of a turnaround?
A I would say the first quarter is indicative of the plan that we've been working toward in Dennis' time with the company, no question. It's been a transformation. I would say our decisions last year to shape the company correctly from a costs standpoint, we're certainly seeing the benefits of that, and the focus of our plan around the three markets that we focus on, which are health care, financial services and manufacturing.
Q Will there be more job cuts in Dayton?
A Part of the reason we performed like we did in the first quarter is that we sized the company based on what we expected the growth of the organization to be.
I think cost management will continue to be a part of our company going forward. We feel pretty good about the size and the capability that's in the place. I think economic conditions and other things will probably dictate what the shape of the organization is going forward. ...
Where's investment likely to be in our company around resources and people? Certainly in our sales and market effort and in our technology areas. Those are going to be areas where we'll definitely be investing in more people as time goes on.
Joe Morgan
Who: Standard Register executive vice president and chief operating officer
Home: Washington Twp.
Family: Married for 25 years, a 20-year-old son and a 17-year-old daughter.
Career: Served as an executive with FLEXcon, a maker of pressure-sensitive film products and labeling materials. President and chairman of Sony Chemical Corp. Joined Standard Register as CEO of then-subsidiary SMARTworks in 2001. Became Standard Register's chief technology officer in 2003.
