Last year
hiVelocity spoke with Mitch McLeod, founder of Columbus-based software company ARCOS, Inc. Utility companies across the country depend on his company’s Automated Crew Callout and Resource Management System when there’s a power outage or other emergency. The web-based system instantly finds, assembles and tracks repair crews, thus reducing the duration of such events. McLeod recently assumed an advisory role so we contacted his successor, Bruce Duff, for an update on the company and his plans for the future. The new CEO has more than 25 years of experience in the software industry, including assignments across North America, Europe and Australia. He previously worked for Pathlore Software Corp., Information Dimensions, Inc. and Foresight Corp. Duff has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the “Thunderbird” School of Global Management.
Q: What happened to former CEO Mitch McLeod?
A: Mitch McLeod, now chairman of ARCOS, focuses on the company’s long-range business plan and oversees the executive committee. He’s researching and evaluating industry trends and mentoring the ARCOS team.
Q: Has the company’s focus changed since his departure?
A: No. We’re still focused on electric and gas utilities as well as power-generation plants. Frankly, ARCOS wants to serve every utility in the United States.
Q: At the time of our interview with your predecessor, utilities in 23 states were using your software and the company had 18 employees. Have those numbers changed?
A: Utilities in 35 states now use our software, and we have 25 employees. We now serve all the utilities covering the State of New York, the first state entirely covered by ARCOS.
Q: How did you rise to your present position?
A: Three years ago, Mitch asked me to build and lead a national sales team. He wanted me to help guide new-business implementations and get our marketing rolling. After a few years of success on these fronts, Mitch felt the next step to scaling the business for the size of the opportunity in front of us was to develop a leader to whom he could delegate his day-to-day responsibilities. With my previous executive experience and Mitch’s trust, I was tapped for the job.
Q: How does your management style differ from that of your predecessor?
A: I guess you could say Mitch is ARCOS’s father -- he built it. I suppose I’m the adopted father. I care every bit as much for the people and the business, but I didn’t have the benefit of seeing the company from its infancy. So I’m probably a little less hands-on because ARCOS has grown big enough to walk independently and, in some ways, even run.
Q: What challenges is your company facing?
A: We have many opportunities in front of us. However, we want to address them all with a 100-percent success rate. We don’t want to leave a single customer behind in terms of delivering the level of customer service we’ve become famous for among utilities.
Q: Are you developing any new products (software)?
A: Yes. Last year we launched our mobile app for emergency callout and resource management. From a smartphone, a utility company manager can assemble a crew and track work progress. We also have a software add-on that we nicknamed “closest to the trouble.” It’s a proximity-based location service that lets a utility know where its workforce is at any given time and expedites repair work by sending the nearest resource to an outage, gas leak or other emergency.
Q: Can you briefly describe how your software works?
A: It’s a hosted, internet-based software system that automatically locates and assembles utility repair crews beyond normal business hours. When a power outage is reported, a dispatcher or manager taps into the ARCOS System, which automatically makes phone calls to assemble repair crews. The system displays a dashboard of real-time statistics, including response times. The system also tracks employee status, taking into account any union agreements or workforce rules. Each crewmember has a PIN that identifies and tracks their response.
Q: How has the company grown?
A: We’ve won a Columbus Fast 50 Award five years in a row. The award recognizes companies for financial growth and performance over the past three years. We expect to be on the Fast 50 in 2012, too. We’re also making inroads with the gas utility industry, having added at least five gas utilities in the past 12 months.
Q: Is there one question you wish we had asked?
A: Yes.
Why is this new position exciting? ARCOS is among one of the few companies I’ve worked for where everything you need to manage effectively has come together. We have a high-quality product that’s incredibly reliable. The culture here is one in which people pride themselves on anticipating customers’ needs and responding quickly. Our customers say: “ARCOS is the vendor we wish all our other vendors were like.” The utility market is hungry for additional solutions and techniques to respond quickly to customers and to protect the public. Who wouldn’t want to be at the front of that?
Author: Patrick Mahoney