UCLA Anderson Board of Visitors member Tom Epley is a "Turnaround CEO." In a new story posted on the UCLA Anderson web site, it says that "Since starting his career as a young MBA graduate in the management training program at FMC Corporation, Epley has led more than a dozen companies with revenues ranging from $50 million to $1 billion."
Recently, Epley has applied his turnaround talents to providing aid in Africa. From the article:
His friendship with Bob Klitgaard, an acclaimed expert on undeveloped countries and then dean of the Rand Public Policy graduate school, brought a rare opportunity for an extensive visit throughout the area that has since become South Sudan. That led to a three-year research and writing project, resulting in The Plague of Good Intentions - We Broke Africa, Here's How to Fix It. In the book, Epley applies principles from his corporate experience to issues such as food production and infrastructure development in central Africa. His conclusion is surprising. Years of study convinced him that most aid efforts in the area do far more harm than good.
Epley's background as a turnaround specialist provides a context for his view of Africa. He had a string of successes managing diverse businesses at FMC. Then he joined investor Irwin Jacobs who owned the Bekins Company and stakes in many other companies. "We acquired firms, quickly assessed where the values were and rapidly generated returns for investors," he says. Epley moved to California to revitalize Bekins and then went on to do the same with one holding after another.
"Cultural change is the fundamental thing I do when turning around a company," he says. "You have to line up the dynamics of the people in a company - like a magnet lining up particles." One of his axioms is, 'Go northwest.' If north is the perfect strategy, Epley does not spend six months figuring out where true north is. He points a firm in a northerly direction, gets everybody pulling the oars together and gradually adjusts course to get to true north.
Here is a 2008 video of Epley talking about his work in Africa:
To read the entire article, click here.
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