Thomas A. Sansone -- Tax attorney bets on potential of
CEM business and wins big
Darrell Dunn
Leaving a successful career as an attorney to help run a fledgling company in
an embryonic industry is chancy, to say the least.
But Tom Sansone took that step 15 years ago when he joined Jabil Circuit
Inc. Sansone, the company, and the contract electronics manufacturing
business are all thriving.
Jabil, the world's fourth-largest CEM, generates more than $1 billion in annual
revenue, and is expected to grow 100% in 1999-the largest annual percentage
gain projected for any top-tier CEM, according to James Savage, an analyst
at BT Alex. Brown Inc., New York.
The CEM sector has in the past few years become a dominant force in the
electronics business-impressing even Wall Street skeptics.
"I think the instincts I had [in 1983] about the industry turned out to be very
true," Sansone said. "I'd gotten to the point to where I realized I was in love
with the business, and needed to take a deep breath and abandon my legal
career. I was excited that this industry could be a very important part of how
all products are produced going forward."
Sansone was specializing in tax law as a partner in a Detroit-area law firm in
1979 when he began working as a consultant to Jabil, then a small CEM with
operations in Auburn Hills, Mich.
"It came to a point where I was spending so much of my time on Jabil-related
things that I had to make a decision," he said. "Much to the surprise of my
partners at the law firm, I chose the racier side and took the plunge. It's
offered an entrepreneurial opportunity that I've been fascinated with."
Hired in 1983 as a vice president at Jabil, Sansone's first assignment was to
oversee the opening of a manufacturing plant in St. Petersburg, Fla., that
would eventually become the company's home base. Although Sansone had
no inkling in the early 1980s that Jabil would become a $1 billion company, he
was confident of its potential.
"I was a true believer [in the CEM industry] then, and I'm a true believer
today," Sansone said. "But, as a relatively small business, there's not a whole
lot of advantage in drawing lines on the chart past your current cash flow. I
always felt the direction of the [CEM] approach was one that would enjoy
great long-term opportunity, and I was thrilled at being able to have had a
hand in making that true."
Shortly after Sansone joined Jabil, he implemented several key strategies that
helped the company make its way to the top of the CEM industry.
Jabil became an early adopter of surface-mount technology for electronics
assembly. That move also led to an increase in design-engineering services
and greater overall responsibility for all phases of the manufacturing cycle.
In 1989, Sansone was named president of Jabil, and the company increased
its management staff and embarked on an expansion in Europe and Asia.
Jabil has become one of the most respected CEMs in the industry, Savage
noted. "Three years ago, it wasn't a given that they were going to be a top-tier
company," he said. "They've done a very good job managing their way to the
top."
Sansone and Jabil chairman and chief executive William D. Morean have
delegated responsibilities to a large management team, according to Savage.
"Even when they were a relatively small company, they developed some
substantial depth of management, and that's one of [Sansone's] greatest
strengths," Savage said. "He's a tough manager, but allows his younger
management people to really take responsibility to build business."
Sansone has become one of the most visible individuals in the CEM industry.
He also interacts with the financial community, a throwback to his days as a
tax lawyer.
The outspoken executive is bullish about the future for both Jabil and the
industry.
"Collectively, I think the industry sector is just starting to really get traction,
and I think the next few years are going to be real barnburners," Sansone said.
"[OEMs] have embraced [CEMs] as their primary solution for producing
product, and as recently as five years ago, that was kind of a racy play for
some companies.
"Today, it's an accepted and respected strategy, and is viewed as a preferable
approach," the executive said. "The [CEM] industry has gone from really
being invisible on Wall Street three years ago to become a very meaningful
industry sector."
Thomas A. Sansone
President, Director
Jabil Circuit Inc., St. Petersburg, Fla.
Age: 45
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