“My priority has been to build a strong team, lower operational costs and improve customer service. Having wide exposure to all aspects of the company’s business has played a significant role in my ability and plans to develop corporate and sales strategies for Golden Systems”
Ehsan Hashemi began his career at Golden Systems in 2001. First appointed territory manager, he was responsible for overlooking the components distributors’ GCC sales; Hashemi was then promoted to sales director in 2005 and to his current role as COO in 2008.
“My focus as the COO was not only to expand our product portfolio by bringing globally renowned vendors on board but also to strengthen our relationship with existing vendor partners. Over the last four years, we have increased our reach into CIS countries, North Africa and Iraq while strengthening our existing channel network by signing on new resellers across the region. Additionally, we have paid special attention to our channel and implemented a system to reward our channel partners for their commitment with our online customer loyalty programme called Avardz,” Hashemi says.
“I enjoy working with our channel partners to create new programs and initiatives. I take pleasure in watching our partners enjoy the rewards and benefits they receive from dealing with Golden Systems,” he adds.
According to him, a distribution company can only be successful if it has a good basket of products, proper channel management and strong value added offerings such as training programs, events, support services, RMA programmes and partner support and loyalty programmes.
“Over the last 11 years, my contribution to the company, I believe, has been my focus on building a strong team of qualified and experienced professionals, who have taken the company to the next level. In 2008, I was instrumental in restructuring the company to accelerate future growth and help us concentrate on quality. We were able to grow our business further by tapping new market segments, expanding our sales channels and evolving the way the market operates by developing and pioneering new products and services,” Hashemi says.
He proudly adds that when most companies were struggling to survive in 2009, Golden Systems was one of the few that experienced significant growth.
“Not only was this possible because of proper planning, healthy stock rotation and inventory and cash flow management but also due to our strategy to concentrate on the undeveloped markets. This helped us compensate for the limited demand in major markets in this region. We had worked on a dynamic plan that would allow us to adjust to the market and this plan definitely worked for us,” Hashemi explains.
He continues, “The most important strategy we employed was working closely with the core companies in the field of processors such as Intel, Nvidia and AMD in order to better support the market. This strategy proved to be very important to drive the market.”
Having grown within the ranks at Golden Systems, Hashemi says that he now realises that the role of a group executive evolves continuously. “Not only does one have to acquire a thorough understanding of the day to day operations of the business, from finance and sales to logistics and inventory but he or she must also be well aware of changing market dynamics to spot the next big opportunity. A group executive today has to constantly refresh his mind to ensure his strategies are proactive rather than reactive for only then can the organisation remain agile and continue to grow,” he says.
For this reason, Hashemi believes that in order to be successful as a group executive, one must not only possess excellent leadership and team building skills but must also possess the strategic decision making ability and communication skills. He advices young professional looking to make a career in the channel community to work hard, be sincere in their efforts and focus on building good relationships with the various stakeholders from customers to partners, vendors and most importantly, its employees.
An important aspect of growth is the tools required to achieve it. Once you set a goal, ensure that you obtain the necessary tools and resources to meet this goal,” Hashemi says.
