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Brian Hawthorne is the president and CEO of Wikk Industries, the leading manufacturer of beautiful, custom solutions for automatic door entry, called bollards. Wikk has bollards in some of the most iconic buildings in North America including the Empire State Building, World Trade Center Oculus, Los Angeles Stadium, and the United States Capitol.
After 22 years of an incredible career at Johnson Controls, Brian made a decision that he needed a change. He came home, told his wife he had quit his hard earned leadership role, and needed to figure out the next stage of their life together. Brian had a world of experience in acquisitions and integrating acquired teams to deliver on leadership expectations. He also had an entrepreneurial drive that he couldn’t ignore. He and his wife decided to set out on a path to find a business he could buy, further his entrepreneurial desire and build a legacy, and ultimately putting everything he had at risk to purchase Wikk Industries.
Mike and Brian cover a ton of great stuff in this episode like the culture shock moving from Wisconsin to several other states, the hidden value Six Sigma certification gave him, experience with acquisitions in a corporate environment, secrets from working for a former marine, his mantra in cutting everything in half, why it took him so long to chase his dream, his creative and brilliant approach to finding a business whether it was for sale or not, and much more.
And now here’s Brian Hawthorne.
Mentions during the show:
Six Sigma Certification DMAIC – Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control
Sequoya Borgman, Managing Director Borgman Capital
MBA Program – Marquette University
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