As part of a special series on The Faces of KION North America, we sat down with members of our leadership team to talk about their thoughts on leadership. During this installment, we feature Alex Frohm, Manager of Sales Development.
What is your position, and in summary, what do you do?
I am the Manager of Sales Development, and my primary role and responsibility are focusing on business intelligence, business processes, and sales tools. The mission of the Sales Development team is to enable KION North America to create and structure more efficient systems to sell more effectively while also improving the ease of doing business with our company. There are many facets involved in accomplishing these goals. Some of those crucial steps include upgrading our current tools and employing new methods. By ultimately enhancing our data analysis and utilizing upgraded and revamped processes, it is our goal to develop the sales team to become the strongest in the material handling industry.
What made you get into this industry?
After graduating with an MSc in mechanical engineering and working for two years in a research institute, I looked for a company with a Research and Development (R&D) center, although not as big as the ones in the automotive industry. I wanted to be involved in the development of the whole truck rather than just a tiny component. Linde AB offered that opportunity since they are used to developing the design to build concepts and had a small development group where it was easy to be involved in many different tasks.
What are the most important attributes of successful leaders today?
An important attribute for successful leaders is leaving the classical command and control approach to leadership behind and making decisions as a team. In such a fast-paced, ever-changing environment, the experience and knowledge of many people are vital to make the right decisions.
What advice would you give someone seeking a leadership position in the material handling industry?
Leadership is not about the things you know about your industry; it’s about the things you know about the people you lead. That is an entirely different skill set that is essential to learn to be a successful leader.
