Wes Arrington

C. Wesley Arrington is expert at the development and implementation of successful business strategy. Over his professional career, Wes has increased revenue and profit in every business that he managed. His demonstrated ability to transform failing projects and companies and make them successful is legendary. Trained in both engineering and finance, Wes has extensive experience as a senior operations executive providing outsourced services to advanced technology, automotive and aerospace industries.

Wes is recognized as a leading innovator in the application of technology to improve business operations, having received three CIO Magazine Top 100 awards. He has a proven track record of leading both small and global organizations, achieving business plan targets and generating profitable growth.

Highlights of Wes's career include:

  • Driving intrinsic value improvement in client companies, including:
    • Strategic planning and implementation
    • Organizational assessment and restructuring
    • Inventory optimization
    • Employee performance management
    • Creation of employee performance incentives
    • Product pricing
    • Cash management
    • Adoption of best practice processes
  • Leading a management-consulting firm from startup into its eighth year of success.
  • Providing turnaround management of an infrared technology company, leading it to a carefully controlled 20% annual growth to sustain industry-leading quality, with a 130% increase in profitability and a 10X increase in valuation.
  • Assuming direct management responsibility of a small thermoelectric manufacturing firm during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, accompanied by severe cutbacks in spending by the Departments of Energy and Defense. Rapid implementation of new strategy and practices led to a 50% growth in revenue in the first two years, along with a doubling of gross profit. Changes included process improvements, program implementation in business development, approval of a bold new marketing plan, new product development, strategic partner relationship management, team development and lean manufacturing. At the onset of 2012, RFD Insight implemented Phase Two and shifts to support the growth and profitability of the client through new and expanding commercial channels, targeted strategic initiatives, team building and ongoing executive development.
  • Leading strategy development, business planning and negotiation support for an automotive supplier start-up, resulting in a successful strategic partner contract for global automotive business and capital infusion from a private equity investor.
  • Directing strategic plan and growth strategy development for an engineering technology company focused on automotive component and vehicle test hardware, software and professional services.
  • Redesigning the organization of a major automotive aftermarket supplier to enable its transition from a regional to a global player; developed a growth strategy to double revenue in five years.
  • Managing a $60 million start-up account to provide contemporary information systems to design, manufacture, market, and service the MD-12 for McDonnell Douglas and its global partners.
  • Implementing the initial systems to support conceptual design and product development activities at McDonnell Douglas facilities in Long Beach, California and St. Louis, Missouri.
  • Managing the GM Product Description System, which controlled all of GM's product configuration information (models, options, parts, etc.) worldwide and which replaced the individual systems used by Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, GMC Truck and Opel. This project had been started and failed on four previous attempts.
  • Managing a $100+ million account providing information technology and professional services that supported the design, development, purchasing, manufacturing, finance, human resources, sales and marketing of Saturn automobiles.
  • Managing the replacement of out-of-date legacy systems with SAP in 72 Delphi plants across eight European countries in 18 months, resulting in annual operating savings of $40 million.
  • Decoupling Delphi's information systems environment from GM as part of the Delphi split-off in 108 days from decision to implementation so that Delphi could satisfy SEC requirements to operate as an independent, publicly traded company. This project won the Project Management Institute's regional prize as the top project of 1999 and was ranked just behind a NASA project nationally.
  • Negotiating a five-year, $2.5 billion global IT services contract with Delphi Corporation as part of its split-off from General Motors.
  • Pioneering computer aided engineering systems for engine and chassis design at General Motors when that was a special skill.
  • Serving as systems engineer representing General Motors on the M1 tank program, outperforming a rival defense contractor across a variety of projects.
  • Developing the first computer system in General Motors to use color display devices that resulted in a 50% productivity improvement for the business application.
  • In seven Chicago-Mackinac and twelve Port Huron-Mackinac races, Wes has proven to be the navigator everybody wants.

Education: As the first person in his family to attend college, Wes received a BME degree from Kettering University, one of the country’s best engineering schools, followed by obtaining an MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan.