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Welch Inc.

MBA 523
Welch Foods, Inc.
10/12/09

Girard Liberty has many qualities, skill-sets, and qualifications that have attributed to his success at Welch Inc. These include: his experience, management style, understanding of IT necessity, and ability to recognize and alter negative perceptions of IT.
Libery’s experience was undoubtedly a key driver in his success with the company. Prior to joining Welch Inc, he worked with world-class IS operations at Proctor & Gamble as well as General Mills. He also held the position of CIO at H.P. Hood, which gave him experience at working with grocery retailers. The skills he acquired working for such similar companies helped him to identify and utilize the best practices/processes to implement in Welch Inc.
The management style employed by Libery played a large role in not only his success, but the company’s as well. Libery’s management style was open and participative. He recognized that IT is user driven and thus must be structured collectively with the help of the people actually using the systems. One way he accomplished this is by engaging in discussions with IS managers to learn both the good ideas as well as the hidden roadblocks within the department. Another way his management style provided value the organization was through use of a project prioritization list such as the one illustrated in Exhibit 5. All officers in the company ranked these lists with respect to many criteria including its potential value to the company as well as likelihood of success. This process helps to identify the best projects to pursue as well as ones that need revising. Without this style of leadership it would be very difficult if not impossible to get mutual support and commitment for new initiatives.
Libery’s understanding of the importance and value-added effect of IT was another source of his success. His experience from working in other similar companies helped provide the framework for how IT can help to...