Worcester Business Journal

F O C U S B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S L A R G E B U S I N E S S Leader of the Year Steve Howard President & CEO, Bemis Associates Location: Shirley Employees: 425 Growing impact: He expanded Bemis' physical presence into Vietnam, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Howard turned Shirley manufacturer into global firm BY LAURA FINALDI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer Howard is the fourth generation from his family to run the company, which manufactures heat seal film adhesives, coatings and tapes to vari- ous industries. He assumed president and CEO responsibilities in April 1992, shortly after the death of his father, Arthur Howard. Going worldwide As the company's chief executive, he has added Bemis warehousing and dis- tribution centers in Vietnam, Hong Kong and London and expanded its reach into new markets. In addition to its manufacturing capabilities, Bemis works closely with designers and developers at contract manufacturers who make products for apparel companies like Adidas or lululemon. Bemis provides guidance to those manufacturers so they can meet the needs of some of the largest perfor- mance, luxury and lifestyle brands in the world. "He has a nose for opportunity, that is, spotting a customer whose needs are aligned with Bemis' core capabili- ties," said Bemis CFO Dave Riggert. Exceeding expectations Eileen Madigan, Bemis' global direc- tor of organizational development, said her boss is caring and down to earth, and has fostered a company culture of innovation. "He's not afraid to make mistakes, and he's not afraid to take risks," Madigan said. At the same time, he has high expec- tations for his employees. "He'll let you know when you haven't met [his expectations], but he does so in a way that allows you to kind of learn from it, which kind of dovetails into the innovation," said Madigan, who has been with Bemis since 1996. U nder Steve Howard's leadership, Bemis Associates has grown from a single facility in Shirley focused on mostly domestic business to an adhesive maker with a global presence that collaborates with brands like Nike and Under Armour. Work hard, play hard Both Madigan and Riggert said Howard has two major priorities as CEO: to grow the business and to grow its people. Employees get a week of complimen- tary time off every year to do charita- ble work, said Riggert. "This may be funny coming from the CFO, but the financial benefit of our investment and growth comes from focusing on innovation, services and people," said Riggert. Staffers find it enriching to work for a company that cares about them and is active in the community, he said. "By building our capabilities and creating an innovative and capable workforce, that's the means to the end," Riggert said. Maintaining corporate culture Roy Nascimento, president and CEO of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, said Bemis is known for its strong corporate culture. The company has been a chamber member for 15 years and has sent its employees to a community leadership program and a human resources pro- gram at the chamber, he said. "They treat their people very well and are very active in the community," Nascimento said. 20 Worcester Business Journal | February 20, 2017 | wbjournal.com W Steve Howard has run Bemis Associates as CEO for 25 years, the fourth generation of his family to do so. P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y

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