writing summary

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HBS Professor John J. Gabarro and writer Colleen Kaftan prepared this case solely as a basis for class discussion and not as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or ineffective management. This case, though based on real events, is fictionalized, and any resemblance to actual persons or entities is coincidental. There are occasional references to actual companies in the narration. Copyright © 2011 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. This publication may not be digitized, photocopied, or otherwise reproduced, posted, or transmitted, without the permission of Harvard Business School.

J O H N J . G A B A R R O

C O L L E E N K A F T A N

Jamie Turner at MLI, Inc.

“Had I known how hard this job would be, I might have thought twice about leaving the one at Wolf River,” Jamie Turner reflected as he waited for his boss, Pat Cardullo, to arrive at the office on a blustery September morning. At 32, Turner was struggling in his third marketing management position since completing his MBA six years earlier. Only six months into his current assignment at Modern Lighting Industries, Inc. (MLI), he was starting to worry that his string of previous successes had hit a serious snag. Working for Cardullo had become as confusing, unpredictable, and frustrating as anything he’d ever experienced.

When Cardullo, president of MLI, had interviewed Turner and invited him to join the company as vice president for marketing and sales, Turner had found the older man smart, friendly, even charismatic. Cardullo had offered him a free hand in reorganizing the marketing area, and had all but guaranteed that Turner would take over as president within two years. Before long, however, things began to go wrong: Cardullo started to seem distant and critical, and he intervened frequently in marketing decisions, sometimes undermining or even reversing Turner’s decisions. The turnaround Cardullo was attempting to engineer at MLI had stalled, sales were again declining, and things in general were rapidly deteriorating. Turner didn’t know whether to be happy or anxious—or both— when Alan Oliver, the CEO of MLI’s parent company, announced that he would fly in the following week to review the situation.

Turner thought it was critical to resolve his differences with Cardullo before Oliver arrived. Hoping to talk things out, he had asked Cardullo to join him for drinks after work, and then for lunch each of the next two days—but Cardullo declined all three invitations and shared lunch with other managers instead. Today Turner planned to approach Cardullo as soon as he came in. Cardullo usually arrived at 9:00 a.m., which gave Turner almost half an hour to organize his thoughts.

Jamie Turner

A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Turner had attended Notre Dame and graduated near the top of his class. He then spent two years in new-customer development at Globalbank in Raleigh, North Carolina, and went on to earn his MBA from a top-rated business school. Despite the opportunities awaiting him at Globalbank, he joined Wolf River Paper in Dayton, Ohio, a world class manufacturer

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and marketer of consumer paper products such as facial and bathroom tissues, paper towels and napkins, and other specialty products. As a rising star in Wolf River’s marketing division, he became product manager for disposable diapers in two years and senior product manager only a year later. By the end of his fifth year, he had doubled his starting salary.

Nevertheless, at 30 and single, he felt himself stagnating in product management and started to think about moving on. Launching new products at Wolf River involved applying the same well- defined procedures over and over again. Moreover, with strong hierarchical controls and endless rounds of executive meetings for required approvals, he worried that he had not really tested himself. In fact, he imagined that it would be hard to fail at Wolf River, although the company had recently made a disastrous acquisition which was forcing all subsidiaries into austerity measures and would probably restrict any further advancement opportunities, at least for the near term.

Lambowland.com. Turner learned of a senior marketing position at Lambowland.com, a startup Internet-based sports marketing company headquartered in Milwaukee. He signed on as VP for planning and marketing, for a 15% premium over his previous salary plus stock options in the event of an IPO. At first, he relished the challenge and autonomy of his new job—but trouble soon followed. Lambowland fell into a serious cash flow bind, and Turner found himself undertaking a second job search in less than 18 months.

Two things about his time at Lambowland still bothered him. First, although he did not consider himself a job hopper, he worried that others might start to see him that way. Second, while he had often felt critical of the late hours and foul language that his coworkers enjoyed (none of whom had graduate degrees), he now began to wonder if he’d been too harsh in his assessments. Perhaps that explained some of the personal animosities he had developed there, which ultimately might have harmed the company’s performance as well as his own.

MLI, Inc.

A month after leaving Lambowland, Turner met with an executive search consultant who told him about the position at MLI, based outside of Chicago, with fabrication and systems assembly facilities in Illinois, Missouri, and Mexico, and sales and distribution centers in Kansas City and Chicago. A paternalistic, family-owned organization whose lighting products ranged from incandescent and halogen light bulbs to office and warehouse lighting systems and mobile lighting units, MLI had suffered several financial setbacks following the death of its founder, and had recently been acquired by a much larger conglomerate. The acquirer was a large division of $3.5 billion San Diego-based Specialty Support Services (Triple S), which had a strong history of government- supported contracts for military operations and field medical units, and specialty work servicing the petroleum extraction and film industries as well as facilities such as clean rooms for biotech and high- tech operations.

With peak annual sales of $75 million, MLI was larger and more established than Lambowland, but far smaller and less rigidly organized than Wolf River. MLI urgently needed to fill the new position of vice president of marketing and sales, and the consultant thought he could arrange a 20% salary increase over what Turner had received at Lambowland, plus a 25% bonus if Turner took the job. There was also significant room for advancement: MLI’s new president, Pat Cardullo, wanted someone who could take more responsibility relatively quickly. Turner agreed to meet with Cardullo the following week.

In repeated assignments with Triple S, the search consultant had developed a close relationship with COO Arthur Lipsky, who was Cardullo’s boss and mentor. After Turner signed a confidentiality

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agreement, the consultant offered a few other observations for him to consider as he prepared for the interview. First, Cardullo had been the only high-level executive at Triple S to champion the acquisition, which was probably why Cardullo himself was MLI’s president. Cardullo had argued that a large regional lighting distributor such as MLI would provide an alternative commercial channel for selling many of Triple S’s lighting-related systems, such as security lighting, field mobile lighting units, and clean room lighting systems. Cardullo’s relations with some of his peers at Triple S seemed strained, but his strong track record and his close rapport with Lipsky had tipped the balance in favor of adding MLI to Triple S’s business portfolio. Lipsky was in line to take over as CEO when Alan Oliver retired in two years, and Cardullo was widely expected to replace Lipsky as COO.

The search advisor added that at MLI, Cardullo seemed to have excellent relationships with his executive assistant, Richard Garcia, and the new controller, Julie Chin, both of whom had come over to MLI from Triple S. In fact, the consultant said he’d recently seen Cardullo, Chin, and Garcia together at a basketball game. Finally, he noted, Turner should be aware that at least one long-time MLI employee—the current VP of operations, Ernie Dennis—saw himself as Cardullo’s likely successor.

Signing On. Cardullo interviewed Turner over lunch at Harry Caray’s, a famous steak house in the Chicago Loop. Turner placed him in his mid-fifties, slightly overweight at medium height with heavy jowls and a full head of gray hair. Originally an engineer who had spent much of his career in high-tech companies, Cardullo impressed Turner with his ability to integrate and evaluate large amounts of information. He had a quick sense of humor and seemed genuinely interested in Turner’s background. It seemed strangely unnecessary for Turner to “score points” with Cardullo during the interview.

Turner was surprised to learn that Cardullo was also president of Triple S’s $600 million mobile systems and support group (Exhibit 1 shows a partial organization chart for Triple S). Cardullo explained that he was only acting as steward at MLI until he could find an aggressive, intelligent young manager to take his place within the next 12 to 18 months, and intimated that Turner would be a likely candidate. Without making any specific commitments, the two men agreed to speak again soon. Turner left the restaurant feeling excited and optimistic. He headed for O’Hare and flew out to spend a few days with his parents in Scranton.

The search consultant phoned the following week to ask if Turner was still interested in the position, and whether he could come back to Chicago for a company visit. Turner agreed to meet Cardullo at his office the following Monday morning. Turner arrived promptly, and after a brief tour of the facilities the two spent several hours discussing company operations. Turner had done as much research as he could, and was able to conduct a knowledgeable, intelligent discussion. In fact, at times he had the impression that he knew more about the specifics than Cardullo did.

Cardullo had also expressed strong opinions about how to run a business. He believed firmly in management by objectives, and stressed the importance of good communication among the top executive team. At the same time, he thought each manager should run his or her own area with minimal help from other functions. He emphasized the importance of the controller as guardian of the company’s assets, and the need for efficiency and inventory control in production. He concluded, “In this business, control and marketing are the most important functions.”

Turner sensed that Cardullo saw people as either competent or incompetent and had great contempt and distrust for those in the latter category. Cardullo also talked for some time about his experiences at Triple S and the importance of accurate cost estimates in calculating required margins for government contracts. He pointed out that there was no serious time pressure from the parent company for the turnaround at MLI, although sales were still declining. Triple S had enough

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resources to make up losses until MLI management could unleash the company’s full potential value. Turner stayed with Cardullo until mid-afternoon and then went back to O’Hare to rent a car and drive to Milwaukee to pack and move out of his rental apartment there.

Turner’s concerns. During the drive, Turner mulled over several potential worries about the situation at MLI. First, Cardullo hadn’t introduced him to anyone else in the company, because, he said, the others were all busy with the quarterly report. Second, the company was still struggling financially, as Cardullo had made clear in the interview. Third, Cardullo divulged that Triple S’s CEO, Alan Oliver, had suggested that he spend full time at MLI and let his staff run his group in San Diego, but Cardullo continued to spend half the week in each place. Finally, the job for Turner was largely in industrial marketing, which lacked the excitement of surveys, mass advertising, packaging, and other tasks he’d enjoyed in his previous work.

But Cardullo had promised him the kind of autonomy he was seeking, and hinted that Turner might eventually have executive potential beyond running MLI. For now, the autonomy and challenge of making major marketing decisions far outweighed the less glamorous aspects of industrial marketing. Turner saw Chicago as an exciting place to live, and hoped to find an apartment or condo in the newly revitalized lakeshore district. The following week, when Cardullo offered him the job essentially as the executive search consultant had described it, Turner accepted without hesitation.

The First Three Months

Turner arrived on the job in mid-March. His first few days were a whirlwind of meeting people, learning more about the business, and settling into his new responsibilities. The Human Resource director suggested that he move into the vacant office adjacent to Cardullo’s, “before somebody else tries to grab the power position.” Cardullo was open and enthusiastic: he seemed to have absolute confidence in Turner’s ability and always had time to discuss Turner’s ideas. Within weeks, Cardullo gave Turner full autonomy over pricing, although the two had earlier agreed that Cardullo should retain pricing control over very large orders. Moreover, despite their initial agreement that Turner should spend a few months getting a foothold in marketing, Cardullo now wanted Turner to take over sales in early April as well. This would free Cardullo of responsibilities that he said were taking too much of his time.

Tackling sales management. Turner hesitated for several reasons. He was reluctant to take on too much too soon, and he wanted first to get a better understanding of the people and the activities in sales. The current sales director, Tim Kelly, was a 25-year company veteran who had excellent relationships with all the longtime salespeople. Kelly had long reported directly to the late company founder, and more recently to Cardullo. He seemed highly regimented and detail oriented but had trouble concentrating on the bigger picture. Cardullo was impatient and angry when Kelly had to check records or ask others before answering Cardullo’s probing questions, and had concluded that Kelly was incompetent and should be fired. Turner wanted to hold off on that decision, but he did agree to take on the sales challenge after a week or so of Cardullo’s cajoling. (See Exhibit 2 for a partial organization chart of MLI on May 1.)

In his initial contacts with the sales force, Turner found many of them to be reticent but responsive to his ideas and requests and seemingly intimidated by him. He decided to manage them as best he could, working largely through Kelly, who seemed relieved to have somebody else in charge. Contrary to Cardullo’s opinion, Turner found Kelly to be loyal and dependable, and a big help as Turner gradually took over the department.

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Presenting the business plan. One of Turner’s first projects was to prepare a new business plan to present to Triple S’s COO Arthur Lipsky. When Lipsky visited in early May, Turner’s presentation was the only thing on the agenda. “So this is the guy who walks on water,” Lipsky remarked when Cardullo introduced Turner. Surprised to hear the compliment, Turner responded, “It depends on how deep it is.” His presentation focused largely on reorganizing the marketing department and communication systems and was very well received by everybody present. Ernie Dennis, the VP of operations who had at first appeared to be Turner’s potential rival for the president’s job, was especially respectful and supportive, and seemed genuinely happy to see Turner begin to thrive. Only Turner felt unhappy afterwards: Now he would have to deliver.

Firing and hiring. By late May, it became clear that the Kansas City-based sales operation was hemorrhaging money. Turner found it necessary to release all five salespeople there, in favor of the worldwide sales group with centralized information systems in Chicago. The Kansas City distribution center would remain for the moment, using direct order fulfillment capabilities via the web-based system. Turner had mixed feelings when he thought about the people being let go. One was a mother of two whose husband had recently died of cancer, and the others all had their own compelling personal stories.

Tim Kelly seemed heartsick at these dismissals but recognized the need to retrench and supported Turner’s decision. The Chicago sales force, too, seemed to respect the way Turner was taking charge. According to Kelly, most of them had felt ambivalent, at best, about dealing with Cardullo.

On a happier note, Turner soon began building a product management capability. He recruited Bill Cook, one of Julie Chin’s star performers in the controller’s office, to join him as the first product manager. Not only did Turner respect Cook’s widely acknowledged competence, but the two also enjoyed working and socializing together. Both single thirty-somethings, they saw eye to eye on business issues and frequently jogged or worked out together after work. Chin seemed reluctant to let Cook go, but Turner persisted and eventually prevailed.

His second product management hire was Juanita Swenson, a brilliant and energetic (if somewhat brusque) numbers person who had an impressive product management track record with her previous employer. At a meeting announcing these two appointments in mid-May, Cardullo reiterated his belief that each manager should be self-sufficient while maintaining contact with other functions. He told Cook and Swenson that although their official functions were in marketing, they should stay informed of the bigger picture as well.

Cash Flow and Other Questions. A week after the mid-May meeting with Cardullo, Swenson brought Turner a spreadsheet that showed what she saw as an impending cash flow problem at MLI. They discussed it with Julie Chin, who assured them that there was no problem with the projected cash flow. Dissatisfied with Chin’s explanations, they met with Cardullo that afternoon. Cardullo could see no problem either and, over their objections, dismissed the issue as unimportant. However, Cardullo pointedly emphasized the company’s strong cash position at the next management committee meeting, which struck Turner as a subtle rebuke.

At this point, Turner began to have misgivings about his decision to join MLI. He had wanted more autonomy, yet now he found himself thinking that he almost had too much. If Wolf River’s tight controls and procedures had been stifling him, the independence he enjoyed at Triple S and MLI seemed a little overwhelming. He now had to worry about control, budgeting, planning, and many other tasks that had been better supported at Wolf River. And Turner began to feel that he, not Cardullo, was supplying the leadership at MLI but without fully understanding what Cardullo expected.

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Problems with Cardullo

By late May, Turner began to see a less attractive side to Cardullo’s personality and leadership. On occasion, Cardullo appeared volatile and unpredictable, especially in the way he treated other people such as Tim Kelly. Turner’s first boss after college at Globalbank had taught him the cardinal rule in dealing with subordinates: “Praise in public, censure in private.” Cardullo seemed to take the opposite view. In increasingly frequent outbursts, even during staff meetings, he raised his voice and used strong profanity, which Turner found both inappropriate and distasteful. At first, he attributed Cardullo’s anger and swearing to disagreements with various members of MLI’s management team, but even so, Cardullo’s extreme behavior seemed unnecessary, and possibly even destructive.

In one incident, Cardullo insisted that Ernie Dennis change the layout of the warehouse so that Cardullo could walk through and get a physical feel for the inventory. Dennis countered that the new computerized system was much more efficient and would pay off in the end, and that the ability to see the actual lighting equipment, fixtures, and other inventory was no longer important to operations. Cardullo, who often claimed that computer systems were only as smart as the people who used them, grew furious at Dennis, and turned to Turner for support. Put on the spot, Turner responded that he didn’t see a problem with either alternative, but that the real issue was the incremental costs that would arise from a changeover. Cardullo ordered Dennis to change the system within the month.

Things continued to deteriorate between Turner and Cardullo, with ever more tension in the air as Cardullo focused on MLI’s financial performance and margins in particular. Turner had embarked on a price-cutting strategy to increase sales volume and clear out excessive and aging inventories. At the same time, a spike in oil prices had increased shipping costs, further eroding MLI’s results. The monthly numbers were below projections from the new business plan, but Turner reminded Cardullo that they still surpassed the figures from February, before he had joined. Cardullo remained unimpressed and continued to complain about margins.

First blowups. The two had their first major argument in early July. Turner had approved a large sale of excess-inventory halogen bulbs at below the break-even point. He believed the customer would refuse to pay a higher price, so he accepted an order that would at least cover variable costs and a small contribution, rather than lose the business. When Cardullo heard of Turner’s decision from controller Julie Chin, he stormed into Turner’s office to demand an explanation for the choice that would further erode the company’s overall margins. After venting his anger for several minutes, Cardullo pointed to the lamp on Turner’s desk and shouted, “That’s an MLI lamp—what’s our margin on it?” When Turner said he’d have to check, Cardullo went into a rage and started asking why MLI’s former owners were getting sensitive information about inventory levels in Kansas City. He was sure that one of Turner’s people was the source of the leak, and he wanted to know what Turner planned to do about it. The entire discussion left Turner feeling frustrated and angry, but he managed to tell Cardullo that he would bring it up at his next staff meeting.

As promised, Turner opened his staff meeting a few days later with a discussion about the sensitivity of company information. He reported this to Cardullo, who then insisted on coming to the next meeting to see for himself how Turner handled the issue. A week later, Turner presented the same information a second time as Cardullo sat by the wall near the head of the table. When Turner finished, Cardullo abruptly left, slamming the door, and did not return.

At another staff meeting, Cardullo told Turner that he should send Tim Kelly to Kansas City one day a week to monitor relationships with long-time customers there. Turner protested that Kelly could be of more help in Chicago, using phone and email connections. Cardullo again became visibly angry and instructed Turner that Kelly “should spend every Monday in Kansas City, even if all he

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does is sit there on his butt!” Then, not looking directly at anybody, he said, “Remember that I’m still the president of this division.”

Attempting to reconcile. Turner later tried to talk calmly with Cardullo about his confusion regarding what was expected of him. Cardullo responded that things were going fine and there was nothing to be overly concerned about—which left Turner feeling even more frustrated and unsatisfied. He decided to try again during their trip to Triple S headquarters in San Diego the following week.

During the long outbound flight, Turner began to tell Cardullo about the problems he saw at MLI. He said that since Cardullo spent much of his time in San Diego, there were communication problems, a lack of central focus, and a power vacuum in Chicago. And since Cardullo’s executive assistant, Richard Garcia, also went to San Diego quite often, no one was in charge at MLI for long periods of time. Turner felt that Cardullo needed to be at MLI either all the time or not at all, and that if he could not be there at all he should make some kind of power arrangement. Perhaps they could establish a regular conference call to keep Cardullo informed?

Cardullo truly seemed to hear Turner this time. He acknowledged the problems Turner was experiencing, agreed with his analysis, and seemed appreciative of his candor. Turner felt a glimmer of optimism, since Cardullo seemed genuinely ready to make some needed changes.

The mobile lighting initiative. After showing Turner around the massive Triple S complex in San Diego the following day, Cardullo seemed in a good mood as they boarded the night flight back to O’Hare. Rather casually, Cardullo began to follow up on one of Turner’s earlier suggestions, that they consider expanding sales of mobile lighting for use in remote locations in the construction and utility service industries. Cardullo agreed and asked Turner to do more research on the subject and get back to him.

Turner was thrilled, and he attacked the assignment enthusiastically. Soon he had completed an impressive market report and held tentative discussions about potentially lucrative business with important players in the target industries. Key to his proposal, as Turner had explained earlier, was the availability of industrial field generators from Cardullo’s group at Triple S. But when Turner got the chance to present his findings to Cardullo, the idea seemed to have passed by the wayside. “I’ve talked to the other divisions, and they all think there are better, higher-margin uses for those generators. Anyway, most of our generator inventory is already out of the country on government contracts, and I’ve promised the rest to Amalgamated Petroleum for the next two years for their exploration program in the Arctic.” When Turner pressed him about obtaining more generators to expand MLI’s mobile lighting business, Cardullo said, “There really aren’t that many to go around. Let’s not worry about it for now.” Once again, Turner left Cardullo’s office feeling angry and frustrated.

The new pricing scheme. In August, Cardullo took control of all pricing at MLI. Margins in July had been as poor as in May and June, and Cardullo decided to require a companywide margin of 24% on all products. Since the controller’s office could calculate the cost of each item, Cardullo could establish a pricing schedule that would produce a margin within two or three percentage points of the required figure for each product.

Turner found Cardullo’s plan far too simple. It treated every product the same, regardless of differences in demand, competitive situation, or the unique qualities of each item or system. Also, it had the effect of lowering the price on high-margin, low-volume goods and raising the price on low- margin, high-volume goods—a recipe for disaster. He feared that MLI could lose both its high-end sales and its mass-market volume under Cardullo’s scheme. He voiced his objections as forcefully as

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possible, but Cardullo insisted on going ahead with his plan. When Turner saw the new price list, he protested that he couldn’t possibly generate volume at these prices. Cardullo replied, “When did I ask you to worry about volume?”

As Turner had expected, the pricing scheme was an immediate and complete failure. MLI’s August performance was far worse than it had been in May, June, and July. Cardullo received the results on September 4 and since then had spoken to no one except Richard Garcia and Julie Chin. With his hands tied by Cardullo’s new policy, and with Cardullo refusing to talk with anyone, Turner had an increasing sense of rudderlessness at MLI.

Dealing with Julie Chin. Searching for answers, Turner realized that his deteriorating relationship with Cardullo paralleled his deteriorating relationship with Julie Chin. During April and May, he and Chin had worked well together, sharing insights and discussing company strategy. Although they got along well in informal settings, Turner saw a different side of Chin in more formal meetings. In dealing with Cardullo, Chin seemed completely focused on confirming what the boss wanted to hear. Furthermore, she seemed to see Tim Kelly as a major problem for the company because he was “giving the products away” with low prices and easy credit terms.

It seemed to Turner that Cardullo and Chin were on the same side of every issue. After Cardullo’s rebuke about the break-even halogen bulb sale, Turner discovered that Chin had alerted Cardullo to Turner’s approval of the order. Turner then approached Chin to ask, rather heatedly, why she hadn’t had the decency to deal with him directly instead of running to Cardullo. If she wanted to behave that way, Turner had said, then he could play that game too. In response, Chin demanded that people like Juanita Swenson stay out of her business with their dire predictions about potential cash flow crises that would never come true. She also accused Turner of letting Tim Kelly continue to act in his old “family business” way, which was causing the company to lose money. It took a standoff of several minutes before Turner and Chin calmed down and returned to their respective offices.

But a week later, Chin was at it again. Swenson had submitted an expense report for a day trip to Kansas City. She included a $24 luncheon tab but did not have the receipt—and Chin refused to pay. Turner was so incensed that he complained directly to the company payables clerk. However, company policy was company policy, he was told, and Swenson never did receive her reimbursement. A few days later, Turner received an email from Chin which said, “If you have a complaint, don’t talk to my people, talk to me.” Furious, Turner printed the email, took it to Chin’s office, crumpled it up and threw it in the wastebasket, saying only, “I got your email.”

What Now?

Several other incidents, each one equally lame in Turner’s opinion, continued to sour relationships at MLI. He felt a sense of urgency to do something to resolve the issues before Alan Oliver, CEO of Triple S, arrived in Chicago to see what was going on. Late at night, Turner sometimes considered resigning. That thought seemed appealing until he realized that if he left, it would be his third move in less than two years. Moreover, a number of his MBA classmates were between positions and having a hard time finding a good place to land. Also, he really liked Chicago and had bought a beautiful condo overlooking Lake Michigan at a good price, but it left him very little wiggle room financially.

Turner finished his coffee and tried to put the last six months in perspective. He had taken a job with substantial autonomy, a good chance for advancement, and what seemed like a very good relationship with the company president. But the relationship had soured, his autonomy had been severely curtailed, and his chances for advancement looked increasingly dim. He could no longer

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continue with things as they were, and wanted to take some kind of immediate action to improve the situation. Once again, he reviewed his list of problems and his notes about how to address them. Specifically, what was the most important issue and how should he frame it for Cardullo? Lost in thought, he slowly became aware of Cardullo’s purposeful footsteps coming down the corridor. He stood up and waited for his boss to arrive.

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Exhibit 1 Triple S Partial Organization Chart, March 1

Alan Oliver

CEO

Arthur Lipsky COO

Marshall Hawkins Executive Assistant

Pat Cardullo President MLI, Inc.

Pat Cardullo President

Mobile Systems/Support

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Exhibit 2 MLI, Inc. Partial Organization Chart, May 1

a The company was divided into three product groups:

• Decorative Lighting included incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent bulbs, fixtures, lamps, switches, and related retail products for interior and exterior lighting (39% of sales).

• Commercial and Industrial Lighting included system design, installation, and servicing for commercial and industrial applications, schools, warehouses, manufacturing facilities, security lighting systems, landscaping and roadway lighting, and specialty mobile lighting units (43% of sales).

• MLI Consulting included collaborative design work with architects, designers, commercial real estate and construction firms, particularly for pre-lease buildouts of new and existing facilities (18% of sales).

Pat Cardullo President

Richard Garcia Executive Asst.

Personnel Director

Julie Chin Controller

Jamie Turner VP Marketing/Sales

Ernie Dennis VP Operations

Tim Kelly Director Sales

Decorative Lightinga

Commercial & Industrial Lightinga

MLI Consultinga

Worldwide Sales

Chicago

Kansas City

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