News

After founder's death, paint company tackles succession plan


Walled Lake, MI --- June 2, 2009 -- Business colleagues David Brunori and W. Kent Gardner talked about everything: sports, family, even their health. But the one thing they failed to discuss was a succession plan for Matrix System Automotive Finishes, the Walled Lake-based manufacturing company Gardner founded and Brunori helped manage.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Gardner, the company's heart and soul, died in February. While Brunori knew of his friend's illness, they never addressed how it would affect the business, its more than 100 employees and thousands of customers devoted to its line of professional paints and related products.

Thankfully, Gardner's management team moved quickly to address the major issues that arose following his death, Brunori said. As the staff grieved, Brunori stepped up to tackle questions employees had about the future. The company also created a detailed plan to address what would happen if any senior manager was unable to serve.

Additionally, Brunori and Matrix's managers now share more of the leadership role, making sure no one person is carrying more weight than another.

As a result, Matrix is moving forward as a stable company and is doing well financially, Brunori said. And he said that is the best tribute Matrix employees could give its devoted president and founder.

"We regrouped. We're back on track and having one of our best years ever," Brunori said. "But it took my buddy's passing for us to re-evaluate our organization and take it to the next level."

A succession plan outlines how a company would handle a death or sudden change in its management. According to some human resource experts, leadership gaps and insufficient succession planning plague many businesses. According to a 2006 poll by Bersin and Associates, a research firm in Oakland, Calif., more than 50 percent of companies identified gaps in the leadership pipeline as a major challenge.

Brunori met Gardner nearly 16 years ago when he joined Matrix, which had already been in business for about a decade. Gardner handled the sales and marketing while Brunori helped put the product line together and handled the operations.

Together with the staff, Matrix grew from a company making $1 million annually when Brunori joined, to about $40 million this year, he said.

Three years ago, Gardner sold the company to Quest Specialty Chemicals, a holding company based in Seabrook, N.H. The transition allowed Matrix to stay in Michigan, and the company is still responsible for managing itself as a business unit, Brunori said.

Gardner remained the head honcho in the employees' eyes, Brunori said. Brunori stayed behind the scenes, and Gardner was the go-to guy whenever anyone had a question, he said.

Then, news of Gardner's illness became public. That was quickly followed by his death in February. Brunori, the company's business unit manager, became the person in charge at the company's most fragile time.

"All of a sudden, Kent was gone," Brunori said. "I could see the concern and the worry in the employees' eyes. ... I talked to my wife (about the situation) and the next day I stepped up. I took questions. I kept them abreast of the situation. I became a shoulder to cry on. It was the most traumatic but the most important step of my career."

Today, Brunori said he refuses to fill the role Gardner had at Matrix. He and the management team work hard to make sure the right people are in place to take over if the worst were to happen to any one of them. It is an ongoing process, Brunori said.

"(Managers) are more empowered now to make decisions," Brunori said. "We're lean, mean and successful."

Karen Dybis is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.