It’s the end of an eight-year era at TABS.
Above: Scott Maccabe and Larry White
Last month, Scott Cullen and I had the pleasure of interviewing Scott Maccabe, the outgoing chief executive officer, and Larry White, the incoming CEO, of Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS). For me, this was an opportunity to reflect on our long association with the company.
Since 1996 we have been fortunate to have worked with every president of TABS. Here is the list of CEOs that we were able to enjoy productive relationships with over 25 years:
- Dick Walker
- Brian Merriman
- Rick Taylor
- Mark Mathews
- Scott Maccabe
Each of them brought something different to the table. When Brian Merriman became president, we had a contract in place from his predecessor. I advised Brian if he wanted to opt-out, it was not a problem. His response was an emphatic, “I want to continue, and we will talk about next year.”
The CEOs that followed continued to work closely with us. A huge part of this continuity was the TABS’ tenured and unbelievably cohesive executive staff. They clearly saw and approved of the value we offered for Toshiba. Looking back, it has always been a fun experience visiting the company. It was a healthy combination of work and play. As part of our contractual arrangements, we usually visited Toshiba in December to review our new contract. Carol would even sometimes accompany me. It has always been one of the highlights of the year for her as well.
We first met Scott eight years ago when he followed Mark Mathews as CEO. In our initial meeting, we were concerned that he had no copier/print industry experience. At that point, he had been working with Toshiba for 10 years in the storage business.
We also felt Scott would not go too far astray because the TABS executive staff in place would be very supportive and a great help to him. He listened closely to them, and then, he stepped it up quite a bit. He demonstrated a management style that we came to know, understand, and appreciate. Scott was all about grooming people to become better at their jobs.
We ended up working closely with Scott than all the other CEOs. On occasion, he would confide in us regarding his personnel plans and would often ask for our opinions. He had a “got-your-back” style of management that we recognized the people at TABS greatly appreciated.
Once, he shared with us an experience in which he and his senior staff were on a call with Japan, and his staff was being belittled. Scott informed the person that he would not accept his people being spoken to in that manner and hung up the phone. Larry White confirmed that conversation.
Scott showed a great concern for the staff and would reach out to help individuals he believed he could help and offer his advice. One of the staff confided to CJ and me how helpful Scott had been in discussing their career and possible opportunities available.
An acquisition by Toshiba TEC (TTEC) in 2012 set into motion a series of events that put Scott into his role at TABS in 2013. TTEC had purchased IBM’s point of sale terminal business for $850 million in the third quarter of 2012. Based solely on public information, it became clear that the deal was not panning out well.
Our suspicion was confirmed when Scott was eventually asked to resolve the problems with that business. He had to do this while remaining in his position as president and CEO of TABS. This assignment meant he was travelling from Southern California to North Carolina on a regular basis. His management style of astute delegation of responsibilities to people on the TABS staff enabled Scott to handle both jobs with great success.
Over nearly a decade, Scott and I have developed a strong personal relationship, and I know he will not be upset with me if I shared with our readers one of his comments about retiring.
“In terms of retirement in general, I am still having fun,” Scott told me. “I love working with the Japanese and this print industry, but it is time for me to support my TABS leadership team to develop further. In my view, good leadership is knowing when to pass the baton.”
To me, that says all that needs to be said. With Scott stepping down from his CEO role, Toshiba has created a position for him to serve as an adviser to TABS. This is something Japanese companies will typically do. While he appreciates it very much, it is not what he would really like to do.
We at The Cannata Report hope someone will recognize this man still has a lot to give, and if they’re smart, they’ll hire him in a heartbeat. Though he may be past the age when people often say you should pack it up, all I can say is I am 20 years older than Scott, and my experience says he can still bring it.
In our recent email exchanges, he once again demonstrated the quality of his leadership and his character as a man. This is what he had to say about transitioning from his leadership role: “I am not worried about transitioning leadership to Larry. He has been with Toshiba 18 years and knows the business. He is a good man. He cares about the company’s customers, partners, and staff. Larry has been a solid sales leader. I phased him into the COO role for him to expand his managerial exposure and skills and prep him for this move. The past year-plus, he has significantly shown his business acumen. He will do fine.”
We could go on and on because it is so easy to say positive things about Scott. We are both committed to staying in touch, and Carol and I fully expect to entertain Scott and his lovely wife Barb when they visit New York.
We wish the best of luck to Larry White and know that he will do a fine job. We look forward to working with our sixth TABS president and his very able team.
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