Jones tops CBJ’s Most Influential list

Despite a new process that opened voting up to four times as many people, the results of theĀ annual Corridor Business Journal Most Influential list are very similar to those from 2010, or even the year before.

In fact, this year’s list of 25 people includes 22 who were on the 2010 list. Among the top 10, nine were carried over. A little shuffling took place among the perennial top four, and Iowa City Mayor Matt Hayek moved up to No. 9 to displace Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce President Nancy Quellhorst, who fell out of the Top 10.

Rockwell Collins President, Chairman and CEO Clay Jones topped the list this year, returning to the top spot since 2007. He displaced Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett, who was No. 1 in 2010, and falls to No. 3 here.

Between the two is University of Iowa President Sally Mason, who was No. 3 last year. Chuck Peters, president and CEO of SourceMedia Group, is No. 4 this year, down from No. 2 in 2010. And Dee Baird remained at No. 5.

Ms. Baird is the first of four people in the Top 10 who were in the exact same spot they were in 2010. She is followed by No. 6 Jack Evans, No. 7 Kirk Ferentz and No. 8 John Smith. The Top 10 is rounded out by Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth, at No. 10.

For more about the full list of 25, please pick up a copy of the Dec. 5-11 Corridor Business Journal. (Contact Jean at (319) 887-2251 ext. 302 or by e-mail.

The cover story of the issue is a Q&A with Mr. Jones. What follows is the original, unedited Q&A conducted by the CBJ’s Pat Shaver.

Q: What is your reaction to being voted the most influential person in the Corridor? I know you were also honored with the top spot once before a few years ago.

A: Itā€™s an honor to be recognized by the CBJ readers, which includes peers and business leaders in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and surrounding communities. And itā€™s humbling at the same time, given everything thatā€™s going on to spur growth and development in the Corridor right now. There are a lot of great leaders in the area spearheading projects that will continue to provide new opportunities to the region.

As for being a repeat honoree, Rockwell Collins and I are both in it for the long haul, and Iā€™d like to believe we are being acknowledged for our ongoing dedication to our employees, our communities, the business environment and our shareholders.

What does it mean to be recognized as an influential leader? What do you attribute to the recognition?

Defining influence is a tough oneā€”in todayā€™s culture, Justin Bieber has a lot more pull in many households than many of our political leaders. I attribute much of my influence to my position: simply being the CEO of one of the largest companies in the area puts me into contention. Rockwell Collinsā€™ continued strength and growth, even in sometimes difficult economic times, certainly plays a part.

But fundamentally, Iā€™ve always believed that a leaderā€™s greatest role is to help others see the possibilities before them, then provide them with the motivation and support to make that future a reality. Thatā€™s what I strive to do at Rockwell Collins and in the community. But I would point out that there are many leaders in the Corridor who do this for their employees and our community every day. I hope that they, too, will be recognized for their contributions as a sign that weā€™re making progress in creating a region that is competitive in drawing new businesses to the area, attracting new and diverse talent and positioning itself for growth.

In what ways do you hope to use this influence?

I think the most productive use is to continue to champion efforts that improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of our community. Eastern Iowa is a region of great promise and possibility, and there are many ways we can continue to enhance it, both to make life better for those who live and work here, and to make it more attractive to new businesses and potential employees who could make this their home.

One component of this effort is to continually press state and community leaders to consider if and how their decisions contribute to positioning our region for global competitiveness. It is no longer economically viable to pit ourselves against other cities in Iowa or even the United States. Instead, we must position ourselves to win business on a global scale, and that takes a collective effort.

What are some examples where youā€™ve successfully used your influence to benefit the company or community?

In both instances, I would say the best example is our efforts to enhance diversity. In 2004, Rockwell Collins launched a company-focused effort to help employees not only recognize the value of diversity, but to embrace it and leverage it as a differentiator for attracting the best employees and developing the most innovative solutions for our customers.

We soon realized, however, that in order for our companyā€™s diversity efforts to truly succeed, we needed to raise the awareness in our communities. And discussions with other companies and organizations showed us that others shared our vision. So we worked with other leaders in the community to create Diversity Focus, an organization that promotes, connects and enhances diversity efforts in the Corridor. In the six years itā€™s been in existenceā€”and particularly through the Flood of 2008ā€”Diversity Focus has raised awareness and brought the community together to address issues and opportunities around diversity. Iā€™m proud of that initiative, and look forward to seeing where it takes the Corridor next.

What are some challenges, initiatives and priorities looking ahead that you and the company are focused on?

Itā€™s no secret that the growing budget deficit and subsequent belt tightening in Washington and in Europe are impacting our business in the government sector.

Fortunately, the commercial sector is picking up steam, and we see some great opportunities for growth there, both in commercial and business aircraft. The air transport sector, with the production rates at Boeing and Airbus going up, is the strongest market we have right now.
The number one priority on my plate right now is ensuring that our company is positioning itself adequately to pursue international opportunities. International sales are at about 33 percent right now, and we want to grow that to about 40 percent by 2020. Weā€™re also aggressively extending our global strategy, seeking to build on growth in countries including India, Brazil, Turkey, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia.

What are some accomplishments in terms of Rockwell Collins diversity efforts?

Itā€™s been almost seven years since we introduced a new strategy for diversity and inclusion, embracing it as a good business strategy that will be necessary to ensure success in the economic and cultural world of the 21st century.

And, while weā€™re still in the midst of our journey, weā€™ve seen some indicators that our efforts are working.

Over the past five years, our minority population in leadership positions has increased by 75 percent, and it has increased by 100 percent in engineering positions. Our female population in leadership positions has increased by 35 percent and it has increased by 110 percent in engineering positions during that same time.

Weā€™ve seen our employee networking groups grow to seven, with more than 3,700 employees across our company participating in an array of activities. And weā€™ve also seen the Diversity Index in our employee surveyā€”which measures how our employees assess Rockwell Collinsā€™ diversity journeyā€”improve every year since 2006.

Itā€™s gratifying to know that others have noted our efforts. Weā€™ve been recognized by DiversityInc, first as a Noteworthy Company, and in 2011 for the first time, as one of the Top 50 Companies for Diversity. We consider that a great honor and appreciate the recognition.

You gave a speech to the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce in February of this year pushing for less talk and more action with regionalism. Have you seen much action happen since this speech? Are there areas that you would specifically like to see more action?

During the past 10 years weā€™ve been thinking and talking about regional development a lot more than weā€™ve been doing anything about it. In the keynote speech last February, I challenged the region to get serious about looking for synergy and efficiency by working together to unleash the full economic power of this region and its many assets.

A first step took place last month in Cedar Rapids when the chamber, Priority One and the Downtown District announced their merger into the new Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, beginning in January 2012. This is an important step that holds the promise to streamline and unify our communityā€™s voice, and should help position the Corridor for a brighter future.

Do you expect Rockwellā€™s workforce in the Corridor to be smaller than it is now in 2 years? If so, how much smaller? Should economic development officials and community leaders be concerned?

With the uncertainty in the world today surrounding economic conditions, itā€™s very hard to predict what will happen in two years. However, it is my hope that we can hold our employment at least at current levels. If we get better stability in the economy and growth in our markets, I believe employment in the Eastern Iowa area could grow.