Frank Foti is driving to Sea-Tac International Airport. The chief executive of Portland-based Vigor Industrial has spent the day grappling with work at the shipbuilder’s Seattle-based properties. It’s late. He’s rushed. But he wants to answer a particular question carefully. The question is about the suitability of chief executives for governmental office. “Until recently,” Foti … Read more
Oregon biz leaders talk culture change, the social and political divisions that find their way into the office or factory and how they attempt to influence the hearts and minds of their employees.
Liz Valentine’s office desk is big and bold, constructed with thick slabs of tightly grained wood that seem capable of withstanding a direct nuclear strike. It is a desk befitting the chief executive of the strategic creative agency Swift. But the same desk description applies to her office neighbor’s and that neighbor’s — and that … Read more
As Certified Languages International grew in recent years, chief executive Kristin Quinlan shuddered at the thought her company could bear any resemblance to her first introduction to corporate culture. “It was do as I say because we’re going to have meetings for the sake of having meetings because this is what we do, and you’ll … Read more
Mark King can remember an era when corporate leadership looked much different than it does today.
There’s a time for a boss to bring politics into the workplace, says Valerie Johnson, chief executive of D.R. Johnson Lumber Co. in Riddle.
Carol Duncan walks down a hallway leading from her office to the General Sheet Metal factory floor. One side of the hallway is plastered with hundreds of yellow Post-it notes. Employees are encouraged to post suggestions on the wall, and they run a gamut: more back stops for new press; new pinning machine spotter; new … Read more
Charles Wilhoite spends his weekday working hours — and often some on the weekend — as managing director for Willamette Management Associates, the financial advisory firm. But Wilhoite may be better known to Portland-area residents for his service on more than a dozen boards of directors. Those volunteer experiences have helped form his approach to … Read more
