With over 22 years of management experience and an engineering background, Ken has built a strong leadership philosophy. He believes that supporting employees drives success both internally and externally, that’s why he embraces servant leadership. Ken is a proven transformational leader, in his past roles, he led businesses ranging from $3 million to $1.8 billion serving as the leader to could unlock growth, improve service, EBITDA, or accesses technology or market adjacencies with his growth mindset, emotional intelligence, and data-driven reforming.
Before joining Big Ass Fans, Ken served as VP & GM of Cooper Lighting where he unified a global team and transformed the company by offering new value propositions that accelerated growth. In this position, Ken has Profit & Loss responsibility of $1.6B leading the business units, as well as responsibility for Signify’s North American Digital Transformation of $3.6B.
In addition to 16 years experience in P&L roles, Ken also served in functional leadership roles in marketing, digital, strategy, business development, and customer services. Ken was integral in numerous acquisitions, and led six successful transaction integrations between 2007 - 2012. These transactions were key technology partnerships that resulted in excess of $100M in revenue, and the division’s connected strategy. .
In his current role as Chief Executive Officer of Big Ass Fans, Ken serves as the industry leader of industrial HVLS fans and a host of other products and services delivering improved comfort in complex environments enabling higher productivity, satisfaction, and retention, with continued expansion into a total air comfort solutions provider in commercial, and industrial environments.
Big Ass Fans was rated the #1 Medium Size company, the #1 Company for Millennials, and the #15 in manufacturing & production in the US by Fortune Magazine in 2022. Big Ass Fans sets the standard of the term "fanatical focus on the customer" with an energized, enthusiastic, and committed culture focused on making the world healthier, safer, and more productive.
Ken holds over a dozen patents and his previous experience includes general management, and functional leadership roles in engineering, sales, marketing, product development, and product management with Eaton, Cooper Industries, Lutron Electronics, and Hercules Corporation.
Ken received his Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina & his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.