Episode 227: The COO Mindset: Learning to Lead with Heart with Rod Anderson

Want to become more heart-centered? We invite you to join us on Deb’s Dailies (daily blog and newsletter), a daily reflection on living and loving life as a heart-centered leader.Rod Anderson is a Chief Operations Officer in the giftware and apparel space. On the surface it may not seem like 30 years of experience in Automotive parts manufacturing, power transformers, and electric heat appliances would make someone a good fit for the world of seasonal gifts and female fashion but below the surface is a journey that has made Giftcraft Ltd. the perfect place for Mr. Anderson to be the right COO at the right time. The journey started in 1991 at a small GTA-based Tier 1 automotive components manufacturer. While there, his Mechanical Engineering background allowed him to transition into various roles during a period when the company’s revenue grew organically by over 50x under private ownership. Growing a business rapidly and organically meant wearing many hats, developing many talented people, and being willing to take on any assignment while learning and doing at the same time. After serving in multiple roles, transforming parts of the business, and playing a key role in the sale of the business twice to private equity investors, it was time to take 18 years of experiences and find out if they were transferrable.In 2009 Canduct Industries was a small niche power transformer business started in the early 90s by an entrepreneur on the strength of a single product. The owner had grown the business organically based on his technical expertise but no longer had the ability to continue growing his business. Rod was recruited by the owner to build and execute a growth strategy that would allow the owner to be hands-off except for technical input. Over the next 10 years, the business grew by 4x, acquired 3 other businesses in the sector, and reorganized into 2 product-focused divisions. Rod joined Glen Dimplex Americas in 2019 where sales growth was already underway but the organization was struggling to execute at the Operations level. Rod spent 3 years with Glen Dimplex re-organizing the supply chain, building a more efficient distribution network, assuming control of the Product Engineering process, and expanding domestic manufacturing capacity. Although there was more to do, Rod Anderson the builder realized that the ideal place for his skills was in small to medium-sized enterprises struggling to break through the growth ceiling. In 2022 Rod was recruited by Giftcraft Inc., a wholesale consumer products business that had recently been sold by the founding family to private equity investors. The newly added CEO was looking for a COO with a very specific skill set. One with experience in rapid growth environments, M&A experience on both sides of the table, someone that could design and implement business operating systems, develop people, and drive efficiencies. One year in, the journey is already an exciting one and a very eye-opening experience.Connect with Rod at:* https://www.giftcraft.com/* https://www.linkedin.com/in/rod-anderson-877483b/* https://www.instagram.com/giftcraft.ltd/* https://www.facebook.com/GiftsLtd/* https://www.youtube.com/user/GiftcraftVideos/videos This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit debcrowe.substack.com