Finalist
Distribution & Systems Management
Sometimes entrepreneurial success comes from someone who wasn’t even on the scene when the company started. Just ask Mark Symonds.
Today, Symonds is president and CEO of Plex Systems Inc., but when the company was founded in 1989, he was taking his own path, growing and then selling his own start-up IT consulting and software development firm, then helping to grow another company from one employee to 70.
It was no surprise, then, that he made a splash upon his arrival at Plex in 2001, when he helped launch Plex Online, which includes more than 350 functional modules to manage manufacturing operations. Symonds became the primary salesman for the product while at the same time building a sales and marketing team around it.
And when the company’s founder retired in 2006, Symonds was an obvious choice to take over. He’d already built its systems and success, and now he had more opportunity to shape the vision. In his first year as president, the company grew 53 percent and revenue nearly doubled. That same year, a private equity investment group invested in the company, giving Plex even more tools to help enhance its product.
The ongoing result has been success after success. The company has grown to more than 130 employees — from 98 in 2006 — and, in 2008, increased revenue by 33 percent over 2007. With that success has come more entrepreneurial spirit within the company. Plex has expanded into new markets and, to accommodate growth, Symonds is developing a 20,000 square-foot space in Auburn Hills. The company is also planning to add sales staff throughout the U.S. and in Europe and Asia to continue growth.
Symonds may not have been there at the beginning, but today, Plex is a product of entrepreneurial success from top to bottom, something he pushes through the company every day.
How to reach: Plex Systems Inc., (248) 391-8001 or www.plex.com
