Ron brings over three decades of learning, managing, and owning a fast growing, leading edge technology business started by his father. After earning his Electrical Engineering degree, he joined Westinghouse where he held positions in Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Test Engineering, and Supervision in Gettysburg and Pittsburgh.
After completing his father’s outside work experience requirement, in 1988 Ron joined the family business, Accu-Sort Systems in Telford, a manufacturer of bar code scanners and systems that helped automate companies like FEDEX, UPS, Walmart, Target and most airlines. He started as a Manufacturing Engineer, followed by a series of rapid promotions to VP of Sales and Service.
When his father retired, Ron and his older brother, David, assumed ownership, and Ron was named President in 2001. Like most transitions, there were a host of issues to address. Due to their success in a growing market, Accu-Sort became an acquisition target of larger companies. With the help of their advisory board, they negotiated the sale to Danaher, a global science and technology innovator.
Ron reports that going through the transition was a challenging but invaluable experience. He implemented the Danaher Business System, a world-class business system encompassing the latest in Lean Manufacturing, strategic planning, goal setting, and execution. Ron learned what the strengths of a world-class Fortune 500 company can bring to a family business and, even more importantly, what it cannot. He believes the strengths of large corporations (process, planning, structure) and the strengths of family business (family values, loyalty, a do-what-it-takes mentality) can be combined to strengthen family enterprises.
Ron brings a whole-hearted spirit and deep managerial and governance experience to our members and clients. He has a firsthand understanding of the complexities of generational transitions and of sibling partnerships. Ron has the emotional agility to navigate multiple roles in a family business, including the natural relational, emotional and organizational transitions.
He understands both the “CEO side” of reporting to independent directors as well as the “Director side” through his board experience. Ron has served on multiple business and non-profit boards and is currently a school board member of Pennridge. We appreciate Ron’s eagerness to “give back” to other family businesses and welcome him as the third alumnus in our 32 year history to join our staff.
Ron and his wife Colleen are blessed with a son and a daughter.