We are thrilled to welcome Gregg Eagan to the Insyte team as our new President and CEO and in an effort to help us all get to know him a little better, we asked him 10 questions that highlight who he is as a leader both in and out of the office. Make sure you ask him about something you learned when you get a chance to chat with him next!
What excites you most about leading Insyte Consulting?
Insyte Consulting has the ability to facilitate the success of so many manufacturing, technology and startup companies. When these businesses succeed and prosper, true economic impact is created, and the people of our community prosper.
What are your top priorities for your first 90 days in your new role?
Meeting our business and community stakeholders to gain a full understanding of their needs and the opportunities to help them across Erie, Niagara, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Allegany counties, while developing relationships with the rest of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership groups in New York and nationally. Working in partnership with all of these groups and developing synergies across the stakeholder base and our region is a key focus of mine.
What leadership principles guide your decision-making?
I am customer focused with the intentions of goodness for all people through success in business conducted in ethical ways. I am strategic and carry that all the way through to tactical clarity and execution. I focus on employee empowerment within a performance-based management format, building business agility and adaptability, while developing world-class performance. Some career-long sayings that I have had posted on my office walls speak to my thinking and include:
- “The best ideas come from anywhere” -> Empower people for ideation, listen, understand, communicate and execute on aspirational goals. The right people, developed properly, in the right situation are incredibly differentiating in business success.
- “Execution” -> There is almost always an abundance of good ideas, the key is execution and that is what most companies struggle with. I focus on mastering execution.
- “Under-Over-Around-Through” -> Resilience, there is always a way to find success, and so we will find it.
What’s one lesson from your career that has shaped the leader you are today?
I have participated in what some have considered unbelievable transformations of companies, that have taken place when teams were able to be managed well. There are usually a couple of “silver bullet solutions” that when identified and properly executed, a complete transformation in profitability, culture and conditions takes place. It is a beautiful thing to see for all of the people and stakeholders of those companies.
How did the manufacturing industry impact your upbringing in Western New York?
As a child, my father took me on Bethlehem Steel plant tours, including the Sparrows Point Shipyard and the Williamsport Wire Rope Mill. I saw some amazing things. The Eagan family was a Bethlehem Steel family, my father, Uncle Terry and Uncle Ed all worked in Lackawanna. We experienced the downfall of that business and shared in the impacts on this community. My family moved out of state, we saw other families uprooted and torn apart, and witnessed the domino effect of the loss of supporting local businesses throughout the Western New York counties. The restaurant my parents owned and operated, “The Bounty Inn,” in Lakeview, had to be sold and later went bankrupt. I have long kept a Bethlehem Steel coffee cup at work as a visible reminder to myself to drive to success to prevent that history from being repeated.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
I have been known to be both, as a person who committed incredible hours to manufacturing business success on a global basis for all families, while being equally committed to being the best husband and father I could be for my family. Manufacturing is often a 24/7/365 business, as is committed parenting. I am a “whatever it takes to be successful for everyone” person.
What’s a surprising fact about you that most people don’t know?
I was a non-traditional Chemical Engineering and Executive MBA graduate. I came to chemical manufacturing in my mid 20’s after paying my way through college by working as a production worker, milking cows, being a security guard, washing windows, being a delivery man, driving a fork-truck overnight 10 PM to 10 AM, being a construction worker, working with the public, pumping gas and more. I gained firsthand understandings of what employers and employees are really up against while succeeding. I suspect this is one of the driving forces in my instinctive employee empowerment leadership and management style. Part of Insyte’s attraction to me has been the extensive and diverse real world professional experience the employees have, similar to my early life and professional career, they have seen and accomplished so much in the manufacturing business, technology, innovation and entrepreneurial business world, bringing unique value to our customers.
Outside of work, what hobbies or activities help you recharge?
Spending as much time with family as possible and being actively and positively involved in their lives is most important to me. They are a constant reminder of why success in all things is so important and worth all of my energies.
What does the rest of your family do?
We cover a lot as a family. My wife, Sheila, is a homemaker and manages our Christmas Tree Farm in Eden. Our eldest son, Dwight, is a lawyer, Adele is a literacy specialist and real estate agent, Chase is a financial planner, Lincoln has a land clearing and excavation business, and our youngest Aubrey is on her way to a Ph.D. in Audiology.
If you could have dinner with any person – past or present – who would it be and why?
My mother, who taught me resilience and servant leadership by example always.
