Going local. Growing global.

In our series Going local. Growing global. we showcase our regions and their leaders to honor their uniqueness and importance.

In this episode: Meet  JB Kendrick , President for the Region North America.

Q: Earlier this year, you celebrated your two years anniversary in your role as Head of Region NAM – congratulations! Let’s reflect on these past years. What were your greatest milestones? 

A: I just passed two years in April, so I’ve been here a total of seven. I am really fortunate that I’ve had a lot of autonomy to make really significant changes in the region and there are several that I am really super-proud of. Those include getting some really high-profile deployments completed, strengthening our organization to realign it and having folks more client- and project-focused. We did several employee centric initiatives, that included our apprentice program, we really brought in new talents. We had our internal commitment to reduce phone calls and meetings, we brought in Focus-Fridays, that allow our team to really have some time and space to work on getting things delivered. I really love that we launched “Standing Ovation”, which is an employee recognition and reward program. We did virtual learning academy, that is probably one of our most favorite initiatives, that really helps our people leaders to gain skills. We have also done our Toastmasters program. As our team has to talk to so many customers, constituents, consultants, I think having Toastmasters come as a chapter was really important. We’ve done a lot of mentoring: our NAM Mentoring is in its second cohort. We have done a lot around work safety. So if our employees leave their house in the morning with 10 fingers and 10 toes in the morning, we certainly want them to come home the same.  

And let me tell you a little bit about what is coming. It’s not a milestone yet but it’s about fostering the adoption of ITIL. It’s about how we work in our service organization and about realigning to be more cross-functional. 

Q: Wow, that’s impressive! What are the greatest strengths of region North America? Where do you see a need to catch up? 

A: Hands down: our greatest strength is our employees. Period. We are a leader in the market primarily in the 915 components line, which is our transponders and tags. We have almost 200 people who design, assemble, and build these readers and transponders for more than 35 agencies in Canada and the US. Additionally our people support vital traffic management centers (TMCs) nationwide. We have trained operators who are looking at screens 24/7 to make sure that roadways are safe for the public and our clients. 

Another strength is clearly our innovation. We are leading the market and bringing connected vehicles into the main stream. Our stereoscopic solution for tolling is now deployed from coast to coast and that is really significant because as a single gantry solution it has got dynamic pricing, it has got trip building. It is really setting the standard and everyone else in the market is trying to catch up to. 

And it’s our ability to work together as a team. We solve problems, we are identifying new ways to meet market demand. But at the heart of all that we are supporting each other professionally and personally. And I think that is really one of our greatest strengths. 

However, there is some work to do. As a country, we continue debating topics like climate change in the US. And in some ways I think that it’s holding us back from adopting some new solutions. I think when we find some common alignment that we can start working together more nationally. It doesn’t mean that Kapsch isn’t preparing! We’ve been doing new solutions especially in the connected vehicle field and data analytics, but until some mass adoptions are actually taken – which is going to take some policy changes at our federal level – we’re going to continue maybe being a little behind some other places in the world. 

What you find in my NAM region is a very strong focus on safety. How are we trying to tackle that? Primarily through our connected vehicle solutions.

Q: What are the special features of your region? What makes it special and differs from other regions where Kapsch is active? 

A: We are really 2 big countries in NAM: Canada and the US. English as a single language makes it easy to communicate. But each area has different focuses. In Canada they have more of a European mindset with a little less appetite for tolling but more focus on mobility. On the other hand the US is clearly focused on how to maximize revenues for infrastructure replacement and extensions. And that is really critical when we are building or repairing bridges and tunnels and the gas taxes are no longer viable. We are adopting the discussions around Road User Charging or Vehicle Miles Travelled and that makes it a really unique region. We all know the problems but every state is different so we have to find a national policy to make it work.  

Also our sales process is very transparent. That is due to our procurement law, so we have to work with state agencies at every level. We have to be able to define ways to support these agencies as a prime contractor or sub-contractor. What is also rather unique, the emergence of P3: Private-public-partnerships is also something special, I would say. As mentioned, public revenues are decreasing so private partners come in to finance roadways and bridges. I would say that NAM is a little ahead of the LAM region in terms of technology adoption but it is also a little behind the EMENA region when it comes to the social responsibility. 

Q: How is Kapsch TrafficCom positioned in NAM when it comes to road safety? 

A: The number of road accidents will always be too high. Every single one is one too many, that is a really important statement to make. What you find in my NAM region is a very strong focus on safety. How are we trying to tackle that? Primarily through our connected vehicle solutions. For example, preemptive solutions so that we can detect pedestrians or emergency vehicles at intersections to get them through faster, to get to an accident or a person in need really quickly. A ten-second delay can make all the difference if someone has been in an accident so if we can help move traffic and vehicles, then we are doing our job. Working on signaling and looking at how we can make specific zones, like school areas, safer with our DLVP technology, that’s how we are going to continue to work on road safety. Not only in the US, but around the globe. 

Q: How are we as Kapsch TrafficCom perceived in this regard in your region? Are we seen as a good partner to improve road safety? 

A: I think we are seen as that quiet company no one knows about. We do a lot of work behind the scenes and we continue to grow and I think you will see us more in the mainstream in the coming years. 

Q: How is the topic of sustainable mobility perceived in your region?  

A: I think our partners think about it but I don’t know that they are actually working on it. We don’t see a significant call for green products yet but our NAM team are partnering with them for discussions. We see an increase in purchases of electric and hybrid vehicles. We see an infrastructure investment in electricity of the grid. So we are starting. This is an area you will see us emerge in the coming years. 

Q: Coming back to your role as leader: how would you describe the KTC NAM team? You are spread across the continent – how do you achieve such a strong team bond between your members? 

A: I think it comes down to a single word and that is transparency. Every month now for more than 24 months we do an all-hands OpenLine call. And I think it’s important because you see the interaction with the leadership team, we have Q&A every time and we do people leader calls quarterly. We really talk about the current state and where we want to go. It’s not just transparency on where we are. I give a lot of trust to this organization and they have just returned that a thousandfold. We all know where we are going, we are all rowing in the same direction and being able to articulate that every month, lets us know how we’ve done so far and also what needs to be done in the future. That’s a huge part of building this bond. Especially when we are still all spread out and are communicating mostly with video calls. We also have the agreement that when we are in a call, that we are really there. That also helps connecting people and getting to know each other. And within our team we all want to know each other and support each other. 

Q: To sum it up: How would you describe the future of KTC in your region North America in just a few words? 

A: Explosive, focused, committed, proud, fun, collaborative, innovative, boundary-pushing. Ultimately we want to continue to challenge all of our limits.