PL: T&B Canada has enjoyed stable growth over the past decade and managed very well through the downturn. Can you tell us a little bit about the business and T&B's competitive positioning in Canada?

Nathalie: T&B has a long history of leadership in the Canadian electrical market place and is one of the largest electrical products suppliers in Canada. Just like in the U.S., we offer a broad product portfolio that cuts across the same key market segments — industrial, construction and utility.

The electrical distribution channel is more concentrated in Canada, which provides an excellent opportunity to get close to our distributor partners. It also means that everybody knows what everybody else is doing — which can heighten competitive pressure.

Canada's industrial base is skewed more towards natural resource extraction than the U.S. The oil sands in northern Alberta and the oil rigs off the coast of eastern Canada are an important source of industrial demand for T&B products. The mining industry — which can be found across the country and mines a variety of commodities including coal, zinc, potash, iron ore, copper, gold and even diamonds — is another key source of industrial activity. And in Quebec, eastern Canada and British Columbia, demand is also driven by the pulp and paper industry.

PL: Part of your vision is being "the leading and most reliable manufacturer, always a step ahead". What's important in achieving this goal?

Nathalie: It would be easy for T&B Canada to take our market leadership for granted and to rest on our past success. But that's not our style. We want to stay 'one step ahead' — of the competition and market trends. To do so, we have to be acutely aware of what is going on throughout our industry. We have to really know our customers and understand the emerging trends in order to plan now for future growth.

In Canada, we've taken deliberate steps to refine our culture and our processes to be more proactive, focused and strategic in how we cultivate customer relationships, use information and deploy resources to meet customer needs.

Some of this we've done in collaboration with our colleagues in the U.S., Europe and rest of the world. A good example is the global effort underway to integrate product line strategies and manage the tremendous equity in T&B brands across borders. We also adopted the vertical market approach to sales and are focused on providing solutions, not just products, for our customers.

Here at home, we've taken steps to create an environment that encourages the knowledge flow, sharing and flexibility that drives innovation. An example would be our Front End of Innovation (FEI) optimization. We are redefining the required actions in three key areas: innovation strategy, front-end activities and our product development process in order to increase the quantity and quality of new product ideas we generate. In each of the areas, there is a notion of process improvement, tool development, training and reviewing roles and responsibilities in order to optimize the process as a whole.

PL: You started your career in finance which is not a typical career path for becoming a general manager. How has this helped you in your role as president of T&B Canada?

Nathalie: Every business person needs to understand the "numbers" so finance can be an excellent training ground. But what helped me advance my career was my innate curiosity to 'connect the dots' and understand how what I did affected other functions. What I came to realize is that the numbers are only as good as the people behind them and that teamwork and passion is what makes the difference between a good and a great company. As president, the most important thing that I can do is to make sure that everybody understands — and is committed to achieving — our goals. It might sound like a cliché, but I really do believe that people are our greatest asset and that we are only as strong as our weakest link. Communicating well and working together is critical for personal and professional success.

PL: On a closing note, what was the last book you read or would highly recommend — for business or for pleasure?

Nathalie: "Confessions of a Radical Industrialist" by Ray Anderson. This inspirational book tells how Anderson transformed his carpet-manufacturing company to 100% sustainability while improving profits. It really opened my eyes to what we are doing to our environment individually and collectively and what we can do to lessen the negative impact in ways that can be profitable.

We've taken this message to heart in Canada and have made a big push to improve our sustainability profile. We are constantly looking for ways to use less material and energy, to recycle and to substitute non-toxic and renewable inputs for non-renewable materials. For example, our Saint-Jean facility recently installed a solar panel that will lower their energy usage by about 15% each year (see article in PowerLine, Spring 2011). We take pride in leading the corporation in this regard. The biggest takeaway is that leaders have to "walk the talk" and make change part of the business culture.