Interview
April 19, 2021
Richard Moroski
Vice president and chief operating officer for Americas for Schenck Process
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By Laura V. Garcia
For Richard Moroski, varying experience in different areas of industry were the building blocks to success
Wearing a dual hat as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Americas for Schenck Process, part of the Blackstone Portfolio Group, Richard Moroski remains results-focused, learning to pivot with the times, dodge risks and deliver outcomes, proving his experience invaluable.
Prior to joining Schenck in 2019, Moroski spent time working for Boeing, Johnson & Johnson, GE, Orbital ATK and the Triumph Group.
"When I look at my career overall and what got me to this point, it was a series of iterative decisions and building blocks. It's important to stop and consider how you can continue to build upon your experience and grow and how you can augment your education by facing a new challenge or placing yourself in a new environment or culture.
“I believe culture is a mirror for leadership. Good or bad, it’s a reflection of who you are. And so, for me, it was about consciously strategizing on what other areas would help give me broader experience and provide more depth into areas of interest.
"It all began a number of years ago in manufacturing and industrial engineering, which created a strong foundation for understanding business and processes, understanding value-add, contributors to cost and how to grow your top line while improving your bottom line.
"I think that was very fundamental in enabling me to begin to grow and branch out into other areas. So after a long concentration within operations and industrial engineering, I began to progress into other functions such as program management, supply chain management and also did a tour within engineering. Some of these events were planned as I saw a shift in the market or a change in what companies were focusing on and informed my next steps.
"And then some of them I was driven to, seeing a challenge to overcome some serious business process issues or improve profitability within companies. And by having the opportunity to rotate into these different areas and different leadership roles, you begin to see things clearer by gaining a broader perspective, more varied perspective, as opposed to a linear path through a singular function. That broad background, increasing challenges and being open to opportunities has enabled me to rise and positioned me well for my current role."
Luckily, Moroski was well prepared for 2020.
"The key take-away from 2020 was the importance of agility. The pandemic has caused us to rethink how we do business and has forced us to adopt new models and gain the agility to respond to what's in front of us. I think that as leaders, we can all be predestined to use what worked in the past. The old standby 'this is how things have always been done' is heard too often.
"Today, effective leaders must have the ability to shift with very short notice, to look and foresee market changes, whether it be within the economy or their own business, and then being able to pivot and have your entire organization pivot with you."
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