Stephen joined Creation Technologies in September 2019 as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Creation Technologies, Stephen was a Partner at Lindsay Goldberg Private Equity. Prior to Lindsay Goldberg, Stephen served as President and CEO of Crane & Co., the primary supplier of currency paper and anti-counterfeiting technology to the U.S. Government and over 70 countries globally.
Previously, he held CEO roles at MDS (NYSE), a global life sciences company, Senseonics (NYSE) a diabetes care company where he is still Chairman, and PathoGenetix. Stephen was also President of PerkinElmer Instruments, a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, and a product development leader at IBM.
Stephen holds a M.S. from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a M.S. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. Stephen has served on the Board of Directors of Big Ass Solutions, Crane, Senseonics, MDS, PathoGenetix, and BioProcessors. He also serves on the MIT Sloan School Americas Executive Board and has recently joined the MIT Alumni Association Board or Directors.
Give us the Creation Technologies elevator pitch?
Creation Technologies is a global EMS company that serves the high-reliability markets of aerospace & defense, medical, and tech industrials. We now have over 3,000 people in the USA, Canada, Mexico, and China. Our strengths are our people and a culture that relentlessly focuses on customer service and operational excellence. Our success is measured by our many longstanding and loyal customers.
We were founded in 1991 and over the past decade have become a truly global company, serving the medium-volume/high-mix complex markets with distinctive levels of customer service.
What are the big milestones to come in the next few years for Creation Technologies?
We will continue to drive operational excellence for our customers and, from time to time, make acquisitions like Applied Technical Services (ATS) that match our standards of excellence while broadening our service portfolio.
What does leadership look like to you?
Leadership is doing the right thing every day; it is especially important in a world fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes it crucial to ensure every employee is in a safe and healthy working environment and each customer continues to receive uninterrupted support.
What is the best advice you have received in your career? What is the worst?
It is important to strive to make your company the very best at what it does, and that always requires investment in people, technology, and processes to get amazing results. The worst advice I ever received is when someone told me to be content with “good enough.”
What have been the most rewarding moments in your career?
I have had the privilege of leading some truly outstanding global technology companies in the course of my career and have had many rewarding moments. The greatest ones are when we are able to support a customer that has made a substantial breakthrough that really affected people’s lives.
What do you enjoy most about the Medical Alley community?
Being part of a community that changes lives every day. The innovations of this group have resulted in longer life expectancy and improved living for people all over the globe….it’s a privilege to be a part of this community.
What drove Creation to acquire ATS and how does this acquisition impact you company’s goals over the next few years?
ATS is a like-minded company with a strong commitment to servicing customers with outstanding quality. We have similar cultures and share a passion for adding value to our customers that has won both companies customer service awards. This combination enhances our presence in the Pacific Northwest and broadens our capabilities in Mexico by giving us a second site in Hermosillo.
ATS is a perfect fit and allows Creation Technologies to stick to our knitting. We will remain focused on the medium-volume/high-reliability markets of aerospace & defence, medical, and tech industrials where we strive to differentiate our offerings based on outstanding customer service. The ATS acquisition broadens our capabilities to do exactly that with an expanded presence in the Pacific Northwest and greater capabilities in Mexico.
We’ve heard ATS is working on a large ventilator order?
This is true. Creation is collaborating with our new ATS colleagues to support this. The printed circuit board assemblies for this project will be made in both ATS and Creation facilities to ramp up the volumes in such a short timeframe. We are excited and proud to be part of this project, which supports the medical industry in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
