Corp America February 2017

CORP AMERICA / FEBRUARY 2017 11 , when I first became involved with the company. At the beginning of my time with CUI, the company was generating approximately $19 million in annual revenues, but had more than $40 million in debt. This was in 2008, when the world was entering the most devastating economic recession since the 1929 stock market crash. I and my team took on the momentous task of turning these figures around and last year we produced almost $90 million in revenue and had more than $7 million in ‘free cash’ - with effectively no debt. This dramatic turnaround has put the company on the path to a much brighter future. How did we do it? That turnaround included the initial acquisition of CUI Inc. in May 2008. The subsequent acquisition of the proprietary natural gas metering technology (GasPT®) from DNV GL. The acquisition of Orbital Gas Systems Ltd., which is a highly respected natural gas integration company based in the UK and which we identified, pursued and negotiated in April 2013. Since the acquisition of Orbital, based in the UK, we have, among other things, secured a $3 million contract for the delivery of gas quality and metering stations within the UK Gas Distribution Network; been awarded a contract for delivery of 3,300 units (or almost € 60,000,000) of our proprietary GasPT analysers by the Italian pipeline company, Snam Rete Gas; sold trace element detectors (i.e., mercury (Hg)) to a Fortune 100 energy company for a large LNG project in Australia; and more. The list of accomplishments/ milestones continues with the opening of Orbital-N.A. in Houston, Texas – our North American gas integration company in January 2015 and, finally, the acquisition of Tectrol, now known as CUI Canada, which is a highly-respected Toronto-based electronic manufacturer in March of 2015. Needless to say, I have had my hands extremely full since starting at CUI Global in 2008. During my eight years at the company, I have also spearheaded two equity raises. The first being in February in 2011 for $15 million, which was in conjunction with our up listing to the NASDAQ. The second equity raise was for $48 million in April 2013, which allowed us to acquire Orbital Gas Systems Ltd. in the UK. Most recently, CUI Inc. has expanded the agreement as the Exclusive Hardware Design Partner for Virtual Power Systems (VPS). We announced the news earlier this year as the exclusive third-party hardware and development provider for VPS. VPS is a cutting-edge Software Defined Power® company which transforms how data centres and server farms provision, and also managing and utilising power capacity. Briefly, VPS enables data centre operations to double their power and server utilisation. They also aim to cut costs and improve availability. We previously announced a limited exclusivity agreement with VPS, but this new agreement expands it further. With this new agreement, we are confident that we will set a new standard for an efficient power infrastructure. I believe that top individual performance is just as important as, and results in, better sales revenues throughout the business. Such performance is achieved by empowering and motivating our people to operate at the best and most efficient level. That is accomplished by driving down information, accountability and authority, and strategically delegating responsibility throughout the organization, while at the same time rewarding our staffs’ outstanding performance at every turn. Our products remain innovative due to employing the best and most qualified individuals to work as part of our team. We cultivate key customers as strategic and technical partners, who share their specific needs and requirements. I like to use a hockey analogy for our strategy in addressing industry needs; to wit: we “skate to the puck” – which means we are hyper- responsive to our customers and thereby industry needs. By being embedded with these customers, we can predict and address their needs almost before those needs arise. This is just part of what sets us apart from our competitors, as this is the way we keep up with industry trends. Being an award-winning business leader, I would have to say my best attribute is undoubtedly my enthusiasm for the company, its products and the opportunities it presents. I believe that this enthusiasm, along with my commitment and loyalty to my team members enables me to build the vital trust, confidence and loyalty that is necessary for a management team and then a company to succeed in the fast-paced and high-technology arenas in which we operate and compete. Whilst it is important to keep the team motivated, it is also just as important to keep myself motivated and positive-minded. To be honest, I am very fortunate to be in the position where I can say I have never worked in a job I did not enjoy. This was the case with my law enforcement and legal careers, right up to my current position. I take joy in what I do and I have been able to surround myself with very competent, high-performance individuals who are all positively motivated to succeed. These attributes are infectious and are what makes CUI Global a competitive and highly-motivated company. In terms of the future and the current economic climate, it is difficult to predict exactly where we will be in five years’ time. However, we have an outstanding technology portfolio which in many ways, is industry shifting. I expect the next several years will be explosive in terms of both the growth of the company and the associated market penetration. The most recent (and by far largest) award we have received is a contract for the deployment of 3,300 of our GasPT analysers across Europe’s largest natural gas pipeline transmission company. This tens-of-millions of euro opportunity is just one example of the type and size of business that CUI Global will generate over the next several years. I believe that as CEO, my role is to mentor, motivate, educate, and develop my team to be the best they can possibly be. With that in mind, I am constantly searching for new and unique methods of enhancing the work environment, whilst also motivating and empowering my managers to increase their responsibilities, improve their efficiencies and in turn, allow their subordinates to grow and improve, as well. Being the CEO of CUI Global is an enormous task which involves tremendous work, but it is very rewarding. In the end, it is both enjoyable and exciting – In short, well-worth the effort!!! “I like to use a hockey analogy for our strategy in addressing industry needs; to wit: we “skate to the puck” – which means we are hyper- responsive to our customers and thereby industry needs.”