Jan 19 2016

Line Goyette

He is new to the world of Schneider Electric, but not to the industry. Before arriving at Schneider Electric in April 2015, Juan Macias worked for 15 years at ABB Inc. in the United States and Mexico, and then 10 years at GE, the last 7 in Canada in various leadership positions. Juan holds a BSc in Industrial Engineering from New Mexico State University and an MBA from Rollins College in Florida. He describes himself as an industrial engineer by training and an electrical engineer by profession.

I met the new president of Schneider Electric for Canada the first time in May 2015 at Electro-Federation Canada (EFC)’s annual conference in Banff, and again at EFC’s Future Forum last fall. His openness and availability are impressive for a busy man with ambitions for the industry he serves.

My first question: was he happy with his arrival at Schneider Electric?

My assimilation was really seamless. I feel I’ve been working at Schneider Electric for at least 10 years. I think this comes from two places. One is my experience and my career in the industry. I’ve worked in medium voltage in the U.S. and Mexico and then 10 years in grid automation. Both were important to my assimilation. The second is that Schneider Electric has a very open and welcoming culture.

This culture is very important because as an industry we need new people, and recruiting and retaining people is part of our role as an industry. It is up to us to go to colleges and universities to attract new talents, to make them aware of the role of our industry, so being proactive is important. We have to change our message to attract and retain the new generation, to make them aware that we are a fast-paced industry.

What goals have you set for yourself at Schneider Electric?

I want to grow this business, grow the portfolio of products in Canada, and improve our business results. My second task is to retain and develop the best talents. This is one of my passions, to find the right people and create an environment where they can grow. It’s the same with my children, a 19-year old boy studying mechanical engineering and a creative daughter who is excelling in photography. My wife and I have always worked to create a learning environment and clarity of purpose for them.

What is different about the new generation?

Communication is key; it is a networking generation, not a hierarchical one. They are very at ease with communicating in all directions. From a leadership perspective, we have to create that environment in the workplace. If you resist it, you won’t retain new talent.

When asked about successes in his own career, Juan replied without hesitating:

Development of great talents. I am proud to have contributed to the development of several careers in our industry. I work with people that I hired out of university and who today are engineers with great achievements. I have been very involved in automation and control, and for years have belonged to a team that has pushed the industry towards innovation and technology that drives it. Innovation is essential to our market and I have become a strong advocate of it.

Digital technology, for example, could help us improve the performance of our micro grids. Through the Internet of Things, we could optimize energy consumption and eliminate waste. We could have a huge impact on energy distribution and storage. If we could adopt these new technologies faster, we could generate better results more efficiently, reliably and sustainably.

If you could relive the last 10 years of your life, what would you do differently?

I really would not do things differently. When I look back at difficult times, I mean difficult economic times, you know it was a torture to go through, and you often think, I should have done it this way or that way, but now I see those experiences as learning ones and they have made me the leader I am today.

And that leader is?

I am an inclusive and motivating leader. I would say a goal-oriented leader.

What qualities do you feel a successful leader should have today?

To me there is really no difference from before. Every era has its own complexity. From a business perspective desirable qualities include a good, sound strategic imagination, ability to create growth strategies, ability to problem solve, and of course some key leadership attributes, such as communicating, connecting with people, ability to really create resonance to attain the objectives. Today, you really have to be able to create connections and communicate.

What decisions do you find are the most difficult to make?

In my career I’ve been through three recessions in three countries. The most difficult decisions are people decisions, to reduce the workforce because this affects families. You have to be a very focused leader and do what you need to do.

If you could change one thing about our industry, what would it be?

I would suggest two things. One is technical. I would like our industry to adopt new technologies fasters. We can be more progressive in adopting new technology. I would also like for us as an industry to be more purposeful, to have a more diverse workforce, more gender diversity. If we are not doing enough, we don’t retain talent. It starts at the beginning, attracting women to engineering, supporting universities and schools. When I look at the Canadian workforce, men from all nationalities are well represented, but women are underrepresented. We haven’t done enough.

What industry developments are you most looking forward to? How do you see the industry benefiting from them?

The Paris Summit in December is presenting us with a lot of opportunities, the Internet of Things being one of them. There is much we can do to have an impact on energy consumption.

In conclusion

My motto is to do you what you do with energy and conviction. I am very passionate about our industry and my work. Our industry is at the core of everyday life, it is mission critical. So, we have to welcome innovation and great talents.