Wins & Challenges

I’m so excited to give everyone an update on some big news that’s happened over the last six months!  Big wins for SQA and some challenges along the way and a new chapter in my life moving forward.  As you likely read in our press release in late ’22, I’ve transitioned to the role of Chairman and have hired a new CEO, Mr. Michael Guymon.  This has been something I’ve thought about for several years now, and I wanted to get it done for a variety of reasons that I’ll share below.  Let’s start with the wins from this move… 

Wins

Bringing On A New CEO

On a trip with my father and Co-Chairman, Jim McKay, in May of ’22, I opened up to him that I wanted to contribute in a different, likely more meaningful way moving forward with SQA.  I love sales, I also love recruiting amazing new talents onto our team.  I grew tired of almost every other duty to call myself a Chief Executive Officer.   Specifically, leadership/management through a pandemic.  I’m super proud of how we handled Covid as a company, we implemented a Survive and Thrive mentality that worked very well and we didn’t lay anyone off which we’re very proud of because of the family atmosphere at SQA.  These items and more were super taxing, and I wasn’t as present as I should be late ’21/’22.  Work wasn’t as fun for me with the daily uncertainty of when we would work together again and other similar things.  

My Dad wasn’t surprised by what he heard from me and wanted to support me in any way he could.  We discussed critical succession ideas for the rest of the trip and a timeline for finding a new CEO.  During some time alone, I was able to write out some critical attributes that the future CEO must possess and upon return I immediately reached out to the person who is now our CEO, Michael Guymon.   

Why Michael Guymon?

So why Michael?  I wanted someone that was super technical and that had experience with sophisticated manufacturing projects under high stress.  I wanted someone that was more in tune with the future workforce and their motivations, ideal workplace conditions, and other aspects of how a company should run most optimally.  I wanted someone very different than me, someone more patient and with a different style and approach.  I loved and took pride in having something to do with our initial success. Our efforts to support more clients while improving their supplier for patient and consumer safety is our goal for the next 5 years. In order to double in size over the next 5 years, it will take a different type of person and I’m confident Michael is that individual.    

I met Michael six years ago and he struck me as someone that would be a perfect fit to take over for me at the right time.  I wanted someone that lived in LA already, but they didn’t have to be from LA.  Michael was born in Kansas, spent time in Tennessee and Arkansas, and then attended Texas A&M University.  After graduating, he immediately went to work at SpaceX and quickly emerged as an outstanding department leader.  Not only is Michael super technical, but he also excels with communication and a hands-on leadership style that everyone appreciates.  He’s already made a massive impact in substantial ways, and I couldn’t be happier with the selection I made.   

Onward And Upward!

2022 was our biggest year ever!  Record revenue due to the amazing performance of our best-in-class team.  We grew by 20% on top of a 30% increase in sales growth in our previous fiscal year. 

What are some contributing elements to this record growth?  One development was the first Supplier Excellence Committee meeting that we held in 2022.  We were proud to host several critical customers off-site at my home in the Palm Springs area.  The results were super productive, and it was so fun for me and our team to see our customers sharing best practices and helping each participating oganization solve their respective supplier quality challenges.