CONREXPERT LARRY HARRISON
Larry Harrison, President of The Conrex Group of Companies was raised just north of Toronto, in Thornhill. He has had an illustrious career as a corporate leader, bringing a positive culture and exponential growth to the companies he has led.
We sat down together to dig a little deeper into his approach to leadership, his insights on managing growth, and how continuously evolving technologies can be used to support successful businesses.
Q: How long have you been with Conrex Steel and what do you do when you’re not working?
LH: I’ve been with Conrex now for 8 years and it’s an interesting question, because I don’t think I actually stop working. That’s my biggest challenge.
My mind always wants to think of the business puzzle, you know, how to help your people be better, growing capabilities, grow your customers and resources. There are only two things that take my mind off work because I actually have to focus on them. One is sailing, because you’re looking after people on your boat and you’re always thinking about what is the next thing; the storm, the boats coming toward you, and you always try to be five or six steps ahead, which when you think about it, is a lot like business. The other one is riding a motorcycle because you can’t think of anything but riding a motorcycle or you’re not going to be able to ride ever again.
Q: What other companies have you led?
LH: I have worked in radio and television in Oshawa, Peterborough, and Kingston where I ran CHEX TV and CKWS TV. Following those positions I led Kinedyne Canada in the role of President and VP of Global Sales and Marketing, and Kinedyne Corporation in the role of Vice President.
Q: You have worked in a number of varied sectors. How have you managed to adapt to each industry that you’ve tackled along the way?
LH: That’s a question I get asked a lot, and the thing about it is, regardless of the industry, it’s business. It’s revenues, expenses, and people. “People” being the people on your team, your suppliers, and your customers. If you’re focused on those as the foundation, you can then gain a good grasp of any business within a certain time, it’s just a bit of a learning curve. For me that’s typically 3 to 6 months to be very capable of understanding the business and speaking to the industry.
Q: How has this industry changed since you started at Conrex?
LH: The machines that we purchase today are much more sophisticated. They have AI capabilities, so they do more than they were able to do before. Reinvesting in the company’s capabilities and processes is now more important than it’s ever been and we are constantly on the lookout to find ways to improve our capabilities.
Q: How would you sum up your management style?
LH: I think it’s changed over the years. At this point in my career I’m looking to give back more than I ever have. Now my management style is focused on creating great leaders and if you create great leaders, then you have a great team. In the past I think I was trying to work with my leaders to create great plans and then help execute the plan while being involved in the strategy. Now I believe that if I create strong leaders, they’re going to create their own strategies as a team and own them and get the rest of the team to buy in and be involved in the success. That’s been a big change for me and it’s probably evolved over the last five years.
Q: Hiring a successful leadership team can be challenging. What’s your strategy?
LH: Every new hire is a chance to improve your team. You hate to see good people leave but at the same time if you have the opportunity to bring in somebody that has one more skill set that makes the team stronger. You end up farther ahead.
Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career or at Conrex or both?
LH: At Kinedyne, I doubled the business in five years. That was a huge accomplishment, but it was more from pushing a team versus getting the team to the right level, I say my biggest accomplishment right now is the culture that I’ve created at Conrex. Everybody supports each other. It’s like a family, but they work hard and smart, and they enjoy working and winning.
Q: Conrex provides your customers with peace of mind knowing that the job will be done right with quality and delivered on time. Can you talk a little bit about that philosophy?
LH: It’s what I want to receive when I’m a customer. I want to know that a business can produce something with an expected level of quality, and within the promised time. It’s especially important because of our role in the process.
We provide a component of many components that go into something bigger; a pressure vessel. It’s no different than a nut that goes on a car, or the front windshield or anything else that if they don’t have it, they can’t finish assembly so they need it on-time in the time they need it with the quality that they expect. If all of that happens and it’s a good exchange, then they come back and use our company again.
Q: What’s next for Conrex and what’s next for you?
LH: At this point, I’m really just enjoying life and giving back and producing leaders and strong teams. Obviously acquisitions are a challenge because you’re trying to merge two cultures and two leadership styles but then again that’s a little bit of a skill set that only comes with time. But that challenge itself is fun and rewarding, but it’s not easy.
In the end, you’d like to create a customer experience that puts your company at the forefront in the industry.
Another thing I’m also enjoying now is developing the next generation of leaders. We hire co-op engineering students for a paid internship every year. We provide them with real life skills in their chosen career. David Puddy was part of this program and now he is a member of our mechanical engineering team full time. He’s been with us full time for several years and is an important member of our team.
I’m really driven to be a mentor in the industry at this stage of my career and I’m enjoying it immensely. Helping people grow professionally which in turn helps the business grow is what it’s all about. It’s very gratifying.
