Business Leader Interview Report

To fulfill the requirements of the business leader assignment, I interviewed Mr. Matt Onofrio¬¬ (Co-owner, President and COO) of GT Midwest (GT). As a mid-size distributor, GT provides industrial supplies and fabricated parts to customers in such industries as aerospace, agriculture, and transportation. Through this interview experience, I gained an understanding of an employee-owned company structure, learned how a mid-size distributor competes in a commodity based business, and realized why Mr. Onofrio is a successful business leader. My understanding of an employee-owned company structure increased significantly. I had a misconception that an employee-owned company meant ownership by all employees; GT’s ownership is closely held by Mr.
Onofrio is a successful business leader. First, the attribute of humility was present. Without hesitancy, he talked about opportunities to improve his skills and how he leverages his mentor (father) and peer groups. He admitted making mistakes such as losing business by not being on the front-end of the technology. He readily gave credit to GT’s employees specifically mentioning the impact of taking cost out of a customer’s process¬ “decreasing the run-time from one hour to six minutes, huge benefit, the 54 minutes is way more beneficial than the cost of the bit.” Basically, he was illustrating to me how this sales person created long-term value by gaining a loyal customer. how rewarding it was to hear indirectly the impact¬¬ who innovated. Secondly, I connected the passion he exhibits and instills in his employees to create value for GT customers to the way he conducted the interview. He took the time to explain the concepts within his answers and asked if I was receiving the information that was helpful for the interview. He wanted to create value for me; not just give answers to an
Onofrio. Specifically, the real-world examples he provided will help me to connect to concepts being discussed in class. He gave advice on the practicality of an accounting major or area of focus “accounting is the language of business...numbers are the score.” He was very upfront about the importance of a company’s culture. I wished I would have inquired about how to get a perspective of a company’s culture during a short employment interview process. Mr. Onofrio was complementary of my research on his company; thus, I will continue to do this prior to meeting with company representatives as it provides a connection point. Lastly, this interview process is great for learning about different businesses and will help me with determining whether it is a career path I want to