Scott Maccabe is not lacking in diversity of responsibilities. But no matter what he’s doing, the respected president and CEO of Toshiba America Business Solutions maintains that the favorite aspect of his job is working with people.
“Interacting with such diverse groups of people makes my job – and life for that matter – much more interesting,” he states.
Maccabe says he was surprised to be recognized by his peers as a Difference Maker, but once that subsided, he felt a sense of humility and appreciation to be considered in the same category with such “accomplished individuals.”
Scott Maccabe
He adds that he was very fortunate to have been mentored by two individuals who were difference makers in his career. He named his first mentor as IBM executive, Norm Petersen.
“He was the president of the OEM business at the first company I worked for out of college, StorageTek,” he recalls. “He believed mentoring was the responsibility of executive leadership to develop the next generation of leaders.
“Norm noticed how I solved problems and took an interest in fostering my executive development. This entailed enrolling in corporate training and specialized organizational programs to immerse myself in the finer points of leadership.”
Maccabe’s second mentor was Dr. Kevin Daly, who took public a startup incubation company in the automated tape storage space called ATL. He says that like Peterson, Daly was interested in creating next-generation leadership.
“I was placed in the director of worldwide OEM sales role upon joining ATL,” he recalls. “When Kevin recognized my significant contribution to our company’s expansion, he had the confidence to ultimately promote me to senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing.
“Much like Norm, Kevin was a very socially responsible person, who took a holistic view of his business. He was primarily concerned for the well-being of the company as it benefitted his employees. To Kevin, his employees were his greatest asset.”
Maccabe recalled that both Daly and Peterson gave him great advice.
“It wasn’t just about business with them, but the people comprising the business that was important,” he states. “They also stressed the fact that the company is greater than any individual.”
He adds, “The other advice that I still carry is the importance of creating a work environment that is both engaging and challenging and one in which employees can prosper.”
Prosperity is exactly what Maccabe has planned for Toshiba in 2016. He says that he wants to move the company forward with next-generation products that address the diverse needs of customers. Other goals include increasing the company’s market share and reinvesting in the Toshiba staff to provide them the opportunity to meet their career goals.
Maccabe is very optimistic about the future of the industry, but believes it is at risk of stagnation and advocates a transformative approach.
“We should open new doors while keeping pace with changes in technology that better benefit the industries we serve,” he advises. “We have to ask ourselves: how can we make our customers’ lives easier?”
Maccabe cites digital signage as an example of the unique new ways in which Toshiba is addressing customers’ needs. “This technology is providing organizations with another vehicle to communicate to end users while managing and conveying content in a much more compelling manner,” he says.
At the Toshiba LEAD event in May, Maccabe explained how new products and solutions as well as strong partnerships would help shape a new direction for TABS and its dealers “For a together future.” Under his leadership, Toshiba could certainly make the difference in achieving that.
