100x EXECUTIVE BIO

Steve Johandes is a successful entrepreneur (his company grew from $40M to $400M under his leadership) turned executive coach, Vistage Chair, Advisory Board Member and specializes in working with legacy driven Family Offices, PE and Venture Funds .

He is a CPA who went to film school to learn the art of communication and storytelling. He summarizes his multi-faceted 100X practice in a few simple words. “Serving others : life, leadership and legacy." He serves 10,000 employees through the leaders he serves.

Quick BIO | Strengths

• Serving others: Life. Leadership. Legacy.
• Key belief: Growth is good and fundamental to creating opportunities for others.
• Stewardship focused: Strong earnings + multiple expansion = value creation.  If the Company or the Individual is not growing they are dying.
• Favorite quote: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." - African Proverb

• Proven record of driving successful business growth as well as enterprise value.
• Acquired The Empire Company with two partners. Increased sales from $40M to $400M. Shareholder investment saw exponential growth, with a total increase in enterprise value of $150M.
• Navigated multiple challenging economic markets, downturns & customer bankruptcies.
• Facilitated multiple financing packages, 2 acquisitions, 2 greenfield operations, & The Empire Company's sale to Tenon Limited, which was a $500M public company from New Zealand with five subsidiaries worldwide before the sale mentioned above.

Innovative and technology leader focused on bridging legacy thinking with current tools to produce REAL, TANGIBLE, EXPONENTIAL change.

• Focused on best practice thinking including Design & Systems Thinking, Agile, SCRUM and Integrated Business Planning (IBP).
• Recognition that all roads must lead back to Sales and Real Cash Generation. 
• CPA who understands the value of these practices and balancing Tangible Value Creation with costs.
• Tools such as Common Language, API and best in class cloud-based products in areas such as Forecasting, Logistics TMS & E-Commerce are integral parts of my wheelhouse.

Mergers & Acquisitions, technology design and innovation, rapid facility expansion, and vendor managed inventory systems that aided the companies that I have worked with to become fast growing disruptors.

Strong desire to "step up" and lead the next stage of West Michigan's growth. West Michigan has created so many opportunities for me, I feel responsible to assist the next generation of business leaders in their personal and professional growth. This will ensure that talent & business growth remain strong in our community.

100X Founder/ CEO - 2017 - Present

• Serving legacy-driven Family Offices, PE Firms, Organizations and Executives determine "What's next?".
• Exponential Thinker, Change Leader, Visual Facilitator, Communicator, and Storyteller. Exploring, Collecting and Connecting resources and business.
• Vistage Executive Peer Group Chair (2 active groups in West MI - 29 members).
• Serve 4 Advisory Boards
• Facilitate and mentor legacy driven family offices, venture funds and PE firms.
• 10,000+ employees impacted through the leaders I serve.
• 100X KPI's

​SVP - Novo Building Products 2016 - 2017

• Blue Wolf Capital Acquired North American Business of Tenon Limited on December 1, 2016.  The journey was extensive as we turned the company around and grew from $40M to $400M and then worked with the larger $500M Tenon Limited group. I have done everything imaginable in the Companies and the Investors and Partners I have worked with.  EXPONENTIAL THINKING, CONNECT THE DOTS & LEARN SOMETHING NEW EACH DAY are my mantra's.
• After 26 years, I am personally spinning off myself to start a new venture 100X which seeks to enourage others to have the same exponential growth I experienced myself.  Whether it be working with companies, families, individuals or executives as a Vistage CEO Peer Group Chair in West MI.  My goal is to return the favor that my Business "Dads" gave to me.

SVP - Tenon Limited ($500M Global Company) 2011-2016

• Focused on connecting the dots between strategies, projects and cross functional teams aiding in the North American spin-off from Tenon Limited.  
• Drove technology innovation, system & process improvements for all of Tenon's Companies as well as its 1000+ employees worldwide.
• Focus on cloud based systems initiatives in the areas of, Forecasting and Integrated Business Planning, E-Commerce and  Logistics to grow market share and meet changing customer demographics and needs.
• Continued integration of 9 DC's and manufacturing operations (1.5M + SQ FT) & 1600+ "Big Box" retail store inventories using “Big Data” analytic tools, allowing for predictive as well as immediate response to consumer needs.
• Mobile Platform App Development: In-Field Store Management App for retail locations, used by 110+ Home Center Service Representatives for improved communication on value-added inventory management, SKU and Plan-O-Gram optimization. Development of App to aid in omni-channel goals for various business units.
• Management of Disaster recovery plans & systems failover sites for Asia Pacific and North America.

EVP - Tenon Limited 2006-2011

• Led "One Company Platform" using Empire as core infrastructure to consolidate all of Tenon's worldwide holdings.
• $9M+ of hard dollar cost savings

CFO / CIO / Owner - The Empire Company 1990-2006 (Tenon Limited Acquired Empire)

• Returned 100X+ to shareholders including myself over that time period

Arthur Andersen 1988-1990

Advisory Boards : DeWys Manufacturing 2019 - Present, Feyen Zylstra 2017 - Present, Comfort Research 2011 - Present, Kamps 2008 - 2013

I’m known as a:

• Exponential thinker
• Dot connector
• Change agent
• Cross-silo collaborator
• Persistent, goal-driven leader
• Challenge seeker 
• “Chief Problem Solver”.

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