Though for 22 years he had been employed as an electrician at Milwaukee-based Plantstrupp, Inc., Arthur Holly recently informed the company that he actually identifies as the CEO.
“We take seriously the identification feelings of every employee,” says the company’s HR VP, Celia Mallinger. “So we immediately decided to remove any obstacles standing in the way of Mr. Holly achieving his goals and gaining fulfillment.”
Once such obstacle, says Mallinger, was that the company already had a CEO. Appointed in 2016, Tamara Torbin had guided Planstrupp through five successive years in which profitability increased by 25 percent or more compared to the year prior.
Another was that, having worked solely as an electrician since graduating high school, Mr. Holly had no experience running a corporation.
“Some companies would have looked at these so-called obstacles and concluded there wasn’t anything they could do,” says Mallinger. “But we felt it was a situation we couldn’t ignore, and that there was really only one way to address it.”
So on July 1 Mr. Holly was appointed the company’s new CEO, his compensation increasing from $72,000 per year to approximately $3.4 million. Former CEO Torbin retains a position with the company – and after training will begin working as an electrician in October.
“She did an outstanding job as CEO,” says Mallinger. “And while I doubt she identifies as an electrician just yet, I’m confident that she will in very short order.”
