An engineer with a patent to his name, Kris Carreon could make good use of his inventiveness when he took on the job of running MAG45’s US business, based in Portland, Oregon. It was February 2020 and Kris had just enough time for one flying visit to the company’s new hub in Madison, Wisconsin, before the coronavirus crisis struck and interactions moved online.

“You had to have an entrepreneurial mindset because essentially we were building from the ground up here in the USA,” says Kris, who joined the company in 2017 as a sales engineer before being promoted to the management role. “It’s been like running a start-up but with the backing and support of the company overseas.”

Moving the needle

“MAG45 has been very helpful in making sure I got the resources I needed and the support for my team,” he adds. “I really feel they care about their employees.” Kris has taken on new people, expanding the team from two—including himself—in Portland to seven across both hubs by mid-2021. “At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic we had to learn to work together remotely over the internet as new colleagues. We found a way to overcome challenges, find solutions for our customers and have a good time. Every day, I try to encourage my team to ‘move the needle’ and improve processes.”

Driving ambitions

Kris, who invented a universal charging dock for mobile devices with colleagues at a previous company, is putting some power behind his out-of-hours pursuits too. Recently he started to realize a long-held dream to compete in rally driving events. “I’m fascinated by cars,” he admits. And the future in the driving seat at MAG45 in North America? “My goal is to continue to grow the business in the USA. It would be great if MAG45 could become a household name of the supply chain industry here.”