Steven West ’79 Uses His Experience to Help Others Succeed in Business

Steven West ’79 has learned by doing.

And for more than a decade, he has used his experience to help others start, manage and grow their own successful businesses.

West, co-founding partner of the San Francisco-based Emerging Company Partners LLC, has been a CEO, COO and board member at numerous high-growth, global businesses, from manufacturing to enterprise software companies. In fact, he was the CEO of Hitachi Data Systems for three years, and currently serves on the boards of billion dollar companies such as Cisco Systems and Autodesk. He has also started, built and sold companies. Now, he is guiding others on a similar path.

With more than 30 years of business experience in the technology field, he said his specialty is advising CEOs and executives of small start-up companies ($100 million or less).

“It’s a lot of mentoring,” West said of his work. “You have to have experience and be willing to work with people who don’t necessarily know what’s going on.”

Most of his days consist of travel (he operates out of what he calls a “virtual office”) and talking to people, either on the phone or in person at their business location. He said a good CEO is not born, but made.

“You really have to learn to interact with people. Listen to what they say. Pay attention,” he said of the common qualities of an effective business leader. “Those are things you get with real operating experience. It takes time and skill. It’s not something you’re born with.

“If you want to be a CEO, then you really have to find yourself a mentor. You have to find someone to get you there. It’s very rare to get there on your own.”

West knows from experience. After receiving his Bachelor of Applied Science degree from Siena Heights University’s Southfield campus in 1979, he went to work in the electronic data systems field for 15 years as the telecommunications industry was emerging. He said working his way up a larger company and understanding the “broader context” of what it’s like to run a big business was another key to his success.

“In a large company, you have to align yourself with somebody who can help you go through the various departments,” West said. “(When) the opportunity (to become a CEO) presented itself, I had to take it.”

He has been on Cisco’s board of directors for nearly 20 years, and currently is the chair of its audit committee. West is also involved in several other private, high-tech business ventures. He is a board member of a company that develops intelligent battery chargers for golf carts, and one that is manufacturing computers that operate on the principles of quantum physics, which may one day revolutionize the world.

The soon-to-be 60-year-old keeps connected to his electronic “roots” as an avid ham (amateur) radio operator, and also enjoys snow skiing near his Lake Tahoe area home in Nevada. Although approaching the end of his career, he said helping a CEO grow his or her company from $5-$10 million in revenue to $50- $60 million still remains very satisfying.

“It’s just really rewarding to see that happen for people,” West said.