Leading appliance executive lauded by peers.
The Good Guys, CEO Michael Ford (pictured) was awarded Retail Executive of the Year at The CEO Magazine’s 2015 Australian Executive of the Year Awards last Thursday.
Ford beat competitor, Winning Group CEO, John Winning as well as finalists Colleen Callander, CEO of Sportsgirl and Scott Meneilly, CEO of Retail Zoo.
According to CEO magazine, “Under Michael’s leadership, The Good Guys has flourished in an industry that has undergone rapid transformation and change. He has led the company into a new age of prosperity and growth by identifying and utilising industry trends, investing in best-of-breed systems and infrastructure and adapting working practices to accommodate rapidly changing consumer needs.”
“Michael’s philosophy of ‘fail fast to win big’ has helped drive an innovation agenda within The Good Guys, and created a lean and agile team willing to trial new initiatives, investing in those that succeed while jettisoning those that don’t. His approach has delivered increased customer satisfaction and improved business outcomes, and has helped to position The Good Guys as one of Australia’s most admired retailers and innovative companies.”
“Winning the Retail Executive of the Year is a tremendous honour and incredibly humbling; I am truly grateful to CEO Magazine for such an esteemed acknowledgement,” Ford said.
“I have been CEO of The Good Guys for over a decade now and during this time the business has challenged me, rewarded me and helped me grow both personally and professionally,” he added.
The magazine continued, “Michael has worked tirelessly over the past few years to revitalise The Good Guys’ company culture and ensure team members at all levels of the organisation are passionately engaged with the brand, while he himself has evolved his management approach, becoming more transparent, agile and willing to be reverse-mentored from lower levels of management to ensure that he, as a leader, remains credible and legitimate.
Some of Michael’s recent key achievements include overhauling the company’s operations, inventory management and supply chain; developing strategies to improve merchandise performance including assortment planning, item planning and clustering; implementing a world-class sales capability and performance management system; introducing the Concierge program to cement ongoing relationships with customers post-purchase; securing an exclusive sourcing partnership with Dixons UK; and developing exclusive strategic partnerships with targeted suppliers such as Whirlpool.
“The team that I work with is truly amazing and this award is a culmination of the successes we collectively have achieved through an unwavering commitment to delighting our customers and driving the business forward,” Ford concluded.
Michael has been CEO of The Good Guys since 2004. He has over 25 years of international retail management experience across wholesale, manufacturing and retail distribution. Prior to The Good Guys. Michael held Managing Director and CEO roles with some of the most highly regarded retail brands in Australia including Country Road, Esprit and Jag Clothing.
The CEO Magazine’s Executive of the Year Awards are judged by an expert panel of highly regarded business professionals, whose knowledge collectively covers the broad spectrum of award categories.