Hollis Hart’s career path changed when he left a well-paid job in 2000 to pursue an MBA full time.
“This would lead to paths and open new doors I never imagined, and that mindset to not be content continues to open new doors today,” he said. “This crash course exposed me to a world I never would pick up in the normal courses of business and has helped open doors throughout my career.
“Toward the end of my MBA program, as energy markets were melting, I decided to start a company and seek venture capital funding at perhaps one of the worst times in modern history. This would again open new doors and put my young family on another unforeseen path. My wife, Betsy, of three years was a highly successful buyer for Parisian/Saks, Inc. She would resign from her career as we were expecting our first of three boys, and we uprooted to land in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as I began a career in, of all things, risk management. Along the way, I’ve ventured to prove that near-term sacrifices are worth the long-term gains if there’s a thoughtful plan behind it. A mentor of mine has told me more than once, ‘All good things in life are on the other side of hard.’”
Hart is CEO of STEGO, Inc., a provider of thermal management solutions for industries that include telecom, energy, traffic, infrastructure, parking and more. The company is a subsidiary of a family-owned company based in Germany. “Our simple thermal management solutions are German-engineered to protect your mission-critical electronics and insure the integrity of your designs and applications at the edge,” the company said.
Hart was brought to STEGO from outside the organization to help elevate the company to new heights. Under Hart’s leadership, STEGO has restructured to emphasize sales, marketing and technical support. The company has also made investments in digital marketing to help showcase the brand’s story. The company is on a strong growth line, with expected double-digit top-line growth for the next five years. The company touches a number of industries but it is seeing the most growth in renewables, energy storage, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and 5G.
As Hart guides STEGO, he prioritizes certain leadership traits, starting with integrity and humility.
“These are not things you decide to do but are woven into the fabric of who you are,” he said. “I do believe many of these attributes stem from the way one is raised. Secondly, in today’s ever-increasing world of volatility, uncertainty, chaos, ambiguity, it’s necessary to effectively communicate a vision that people can follow with a reasonable level of passion. Lastly, an open mind to varying perspectives as a diverse team is both essential and inevitable in today’s business world.”
