What Leadership Qualities Guarantee a Successful Company?
Not every successful company can be headed by a visionary icon like Steve Jobs or a risk-taking maverick like Richard Branson.Nor can every company have a world-changing genius at the helm like Elon Musk or a prescient culture and productivity maven like Alan Mulally.
So, is there a certain type of leader that every company can have that would guarantee they become successful? We’re not sure, but we think we might have an idea… or two.
Successful companies & great families start with an inspiring vision
What every successful company does need is a leader who inspires the team with a clear vision, sets high, yet attainable goals, and makes competent decisions that bring that vision and those goals to fruition.
In the case of Wenzel, we have two such leaders that embody those traits. We thought we’d highlight some of the growth and expansion they’ve brought about in the nearly 10 years they’ve shared the helm as inspiring leaders of our company.
Dr. Heike Wenzel and Frank Wenzel – Co-CEOs of Wenzel Group
2006 marked the beginning of this second generation of the Wenzel-family leadership and began a new era of expansion as well.
Today, co-CEOs Frank and Dr. Heike Wenzel helm the company. With complementary areas of expertise, the brother and sister team have expanded Wenzel Group into several new continents, new markets and new technologies.
Dr. Heike Wenzel holds a Diplom-Kaufmann (the equivalent of an MBA) from the University of Wurzburg and she attained her Doctorate in 1998. After her tenure as a Computer Science Professor and chair of the department, she joined Wenzel in 1999 and has been responsible for the commercial operations of the company as co-CEO since 2006.
Frank Wenzel earned his Diplom-Ingenieur from the Technical University of Munich (Dipl. Ing. is an engineering degree that is attained after one completes Master Degree studies). He joined the family company in 1991 and has lead Wenzel’s Technical operations along with sales and marketing since becoming co-CEO in 2006.
These two dynamic leaders have been responsible for expansion of the entire Wenzel Group, taking operations into new countries and new metrological markets with a precision that has brought Wenzel to a whole new era of growth.
Wenzel’s next generation spearheads 9 years of growth & counting
A first decisive step that year brought production of Wenzel’s signature metrology material in house, with the acquisition of the metrological granite manufacturer that had crafted Wenzel’s CMM tables for years. The company is now called Wenzel Steintechnik GmBh.
The next year they further opened the door to North America, acquiring a top Wenzel CMM reseller, Xspect Solutions, which officially became Wenzel America in 2011.
2007 also saw the founding of Wenzel Asia in Singapore, Wenzel Messtechnik Leipzig and then Wenzel Knotenpunkt. Wenzel Volumetrik and Wenzel South Asia followed in 2008. Seeing the future of modern 3D metrology, Wenzel Group introduced their first industrial Computed Tomography machines that same year.
Precision M & As and further market expansions continued into 2009, with another acquisition that would become Wenzel ScanTec. Wenzel Russia was also founded that year and new product introductions included Metrosoft QUARTIS measuring software, a brand new Optical High-Speed Measuring and Digitizing System, and the exaCT M Computed Tomography Workstation.
Further integration of the Wenzel Group of companies took place in 2011, and three new products were introduced. 2012 and 2013 both saw further new releases and increased product offerings in Gear Metrology WGT series, new LH Generation CMMs, Phoenix Optical 3D Scanning, and exaCT Computed Tomography.
2013 also marked the grand opening of an expanded plant in mainland China, with the new Wenzel Shanghai ribbon cutting, tripling the size of the earlier factory there.
This last year of 2014 has brought even greater expansion as we, at Wenzel America, have expanded our Western U.S. training center in Phoenix. Wenzel Group has released yet more metrology innovations in 3D non-contact scanning with the Phoenix II, CORE, and exaCT machines. Europe and Asia have seen similar increases and it all culminated recently at our 20th Annual International SalesConference at the Wenzel Group headquarters in February attended by more than 100 Wenzel employees and distributors from all corners of the globe.
For Wenzel America and Wenzel Group the future is bright
With continued Wenzel-family leadership, vision, and dedication to the goals of delivering the best-in-class metrology machines coupled with personal service to our customers, the sky is the limit.
Not every successful company can be headed by a visionary icon like Steve Jobs or a risk-taking maverick like Richard Branson. Nor can every company have a world-changing genius at the helm like Elon Musk or a prescient culture and productivity maven like Alan Mulally.
2013 also marked the grand opening of an expanded plant in mainland China, with the new Wenzel Shanghai ribbon cutting, tripling the size of the earlier factory there.