“It was one of the single most rewarding things I’ve had the opportunity to do in my career.” Rockwell Automation’s Blake Moret shared highlights of his first 18 months as CEO at this week’s Automation Perspectives media event in Houston.
You might think that company stock reaching record high levels would be enough for Blake Moret to call 2017 a most memorable rookie year as CEO of the Milwaukee-based leader in industrial automation.
But in his keynote address to media gathered for the company’s Automation Perspectives event in the lead-up to this week’s 26th annual Automation Fair in Houston, stock valuations and other matters financial took a back seat to a more human side of the business.
Instead, Moret led with Hurricane Harvey, the storm that dumped 50 inches of rain on the area only 10 weeks earlier. Rockwell Automation was among the companies that joined early in the relief efforts. “We deployed our disaster recovery teams here to help get our customers up and running,” said Moret, president and CEO for the past 18 month and soon to be chairman. In nearby Beaumont, Texas, for example, the river overflowed as a result of the natural disaster—submerging the electric motor drives that pumped the community’s drinking water. Within 24 hours, the Rockwell Automation team delivered the new drives necessary to restore water service.
And in March of 2017, Rockwell Automation was one of only three companies to receive the Catalyst Award for its Culture of Inclusion journey, Moret continued. “We’re very proud of it.” The Catalyst Award honors innovative organizational approaches that address the recruitment, development and advancement of women and have led to proven, measurable results.
The company’s Culture of Inclusion journey began in 2007 with senior leaders renewing their commitment to diversity, inclusion and engagement in response to employee data that showed women and people of color at the company had lower retention rates than white men, and there were gaps in levels of representation for key demographics. A key feature of the diversification strategy put in place is an understanding that in order to effect sustainable change, the dominant group—in this case, white men—must be aware of the impact of their privilege, be engaged and partner with women and underrepresented groups in a meaningful way.
“Even though we’re an automation company, people remain our most important asset,” explained Moret. Surely an honor such as that for a benchmark program is cause to rest on your laurels. But Rockwell Automation had yet another ace up its sleeve.