President/CEO, Leatherman Tool Group
Jake Nichol
Topic: Manufacturing: The Sweet Smell of Cutting Oil
Personal
Married – Darnell – 37 Years (Small Town Utah Girl)
Children – 5 Cydney/Tanner/Paige/Logan/Parker
Grandchildren 9 – Avery/Peyton/Brooklyn/Reese/Beck/Calla/Saylor/Ashyton/Ford
Born – Salt Lake City, Utah – 1952 (You do the math)
Lived – Utah, California, Georgia, Singapore, Connecticut, Maryland, Oregon
Traveled – +/- 100 Countries
Interests – Family, Church, Youth, Outdoors, Sports – Skiing, Fishing, Hunting, Hiking, Tennis, Soccer
Career Highlights
The Stanley Works (Stanley Tools) – 24 Years
1974-84 – Sales/Sales Leadership – (California)
1984-88 – Sales/Marketing Leadership – (Georgia)
1989-93 – President Stanley Proto Industrial Tools (Georgia)
Brands – Stanley Tools, Proto, Husky, Blackhawk
1993-96 – President Stanley Works Asia-Pacific (Singapore)
1996-97 – President Stanley Mechanics Tools (Connecticut)
Danaher Corporation – 8 Years
1997-2005 – President Danaher Tool Group PTD. (Maryland)
Brands – Craftsman Tools, Armstrong, Allen, Jacobs, K-D
Leatherman Tool Group Inc – Present
2005 – Present President/Chief Executive Officer – (Oregon)
Brands – Leatherman, LED Lenser
Community/Professional
Boy Scouts of America – Cascade Pacific Council – Board Chair
Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest– Immediate Ex -Board Chair
Industrial Distribution Association – Board of Directors (Past)
ISA Manufacturing Association – Board of Directors (Past)
Leupold Stevens Corp – Board of Directors (Current)
Education:
University of Utah 1970-’74 – Marketing
Jake’s Business Tenets
Integrity in Everything We Do
People, Plan and Processes – In a Culture of Discipline
Imagination and Innovation – Define Our Future
Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost – ‘And’ NEVER ‘Or’ – Genius of And/Tyranny of Or
VOC (Voice of Customer) We Listen and This Drives Our Strategy
Continuous Improvement – It’s Our Way of Life
Confront the Brutal Facts – Make It Ugly
Muda (Japanese for “Waste”) – Search and Destroy Everyday/Everywhere
Breakthroughs Change the Game –Identify/Allocate/Measure/Manage
