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ON THE MOVE MAGUED ELDAIEF JOINS PRESCIENT AS CEO Prescient , a fully integrated and patented design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation solution for the construction industry, announced the appointment of former General Electric executive Magued Eldaief to the position of CEO. He will succeed Satyen Patel, who will continue in his role as Prescient’s executive chairman. GE Vice Chairman John Rice said, “I have known and worked with Magued for nearly 20 years in a variety of executive roles, and I am confident he will add tremendous value to Prescient and its evolution as an innovative, fully integrated solution platform for the commercial construction industry.” Eldaief brings a wealth of experience to Prescient. A multilingual and multicultural executive with broad experience in the energy industry, Eldaief spent 27 years at GE where he held positions of increasing responsibility. He managed large construction projects throughout his tenure at GE and had significant exposure to numerous

divisions and functions throughout the organization including: sales and marketing, strategic planning, project structuring, engineering, procurement, construction, services, and regional and global business unit leadership. He has also served as a member of Prescient’s advisory board since 2015. “Considering the opportunity to change the face of construction through a genuine end-to-end digital solution from concept to commercialization, I am extremely energized and proud to be leading Prescient,” Eldaief said. Eldaief’s many senior management positions at GE included: ❚ ❚ Director, India region, GE Energy. ❚ ❚ Region executive and general manager, Africa India Middle East. ❚ ❚ General manager, Europe, energy services, GE Energy. ❚ ❚ President and region executive, Asia Pacific, for GE Energy.

❚ ❚ Executive director, global accounts, GE Energy. ❚ ❚ CEO EMEA for the Industrial Solutions division of GE Energy Management and was subsequently the chief commercial officer. Eldaief received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the American University in Cairo in 1987 and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1992. “We are delighted to welcome Magued to the team. His extensive operating experience across global markets will be invaluable as we target the U.S., NAFTA, and international markets,” said Prescient Executive Chairman, Satyen Patel. “Prescient is poised to make significant inroads into the $1 trillion segment of the U.S. multi-unit housing and construction industry. We are confident in Magued’s ability to guide and accelerate our growth in the years to come,” he added.

strong leadership that they trust and will follow, big projects seem to attract the attention of many or all of the firm’s prin- cipals. I have seen it numerous times where a firm has a com- pletely “hands off” approach to marketing until there is a sig- nificant change on the horizon. An example might be a new logo or a new website or brochure. Then there are committees and meetings where all the principals are able to present their opinions and even given veto rights. The end result is often a diluted version of whatever creative and unique idea they started with. Too many cooks in the kitchen is a real problem for a lot of firms. You need strong and trusted leadership with strong ties to the top management team. That trust and guid- ance should be enough to get things done in an efficient man- ner without involving all of leadership. In conclusion, marketing is where ideas should go to flourish and be nurtured by people who are passionate about marketing. Of course, the way in which ideas are processed and fostered should be guided by a strong strategic vision and annual business plans. When there is strong planning and strong leadership in place, you can have confidence in the strategies that each area executes. Don’t let marketing be the place where good ideas go to die. Invest in and empower your marketing team to be creative and be able to truly set your firm apart from your competitors. CHAD CLINEHENS is Zweig Group’s president and CEO. Contact him at cclinehens@zweiggroup.com. “Don’t let marketing be the place where good ideas go to die. Invest in and empower your marketing team to be creative and be able to truly set your firm apart from your competitors.”

CHAD CLINEHENS, from page 3

who understands what true marketing is, understands brand- ing, and someone who can earn a seat at the upper manage- ment table. Additionally, this person should have the respect of and be able to influence the project teams. This is a tough combination of qualities to find, but the reward is significant if you can achieve this. The measure of success for this role is balancing both marketing and sales activities and generating returns on both ends. 2)Focus on balancing marketing and sales. Leaders must focus on investing in true marketing activities that build the brand and generate leads, as opposed to focusing only on reactive sales activities like generating proposals and chasing leads. If you focus on actually marketing the firm, you are likely going to accomplish the “execution” side of creativity. Creativity and ideas are necessary to communicate a truly differentiated message, something that many firms do a poor job of. Becoming a commodity is a self-fulfilling prophecy. “Marketing is where ideas should go to flourish and be nurtured by people who are passionate about marketing. Of course, the way in which ideas are processed and fostered should be guided by a strong strategic vision and annual business plans.” 3)Be careful about involving too many people. As stated above, “The brave need supporters, not critics.” Creativity and new ideas can be risky, something that many in the AEC industry avoid. The brave firms that are willing to get creative and differentiate themselves really stand out. One of the big- gest impediments to this seems to be the need for “consen- sus.” Because so many firms will not empower marketing with

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 12, 2017, ISSUE 1204

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