NEWARK, DE (August 24, 2005) -- The September 2005 issue of Fast Company magazine turns the spotlight on Terri Kelly, the president and CEO of W. L. Gore & Associates. Terri talked to Fast Company writer Alan Deutschman as part of the magazine's recurring feature on CEOs called "What I Know Now." Her comments addressed leadership, "followership" and communication, among other subjects.
"The idea of me as a CEO managing the company is a misperception. My goal is to provide the overall direction," Terri said in the interview. "I spend a lot of time making sure we have the right people in the right roles. You know the joke, 'I'm from corporate, and I'm here to help.' We don't need unuseful, unvaluable corporate help. We empower divisions and push out responsibility. We're so diversified that it's impossible for a CEO to have that depth of knowledge -- and not even practical."
Terri became president and CEO in April 2005, after a 22-year career at Gore. Prior to assuming the role of CEO, she served as a divisional leader of Gore's Fabrics Division. Needless to say, the lessons of leaders who preceded her at Gore have not been lost on her.
"Leaders have to be very self-aware," she said. "They have to understand their flaws, their own behavior, and the impact they have on others. …Leaders need to be approachable and real. They can't only fly at 50,000 feet. They have to come down to 5 feet. Early in my career, when I was hired as a new engineer, [founders] Bill and Vieve Gore invited me to their house for a cookout and pool party. Bill was the one flipping the burgers."