Ken Lamneck doesn’t believe in settling for the present. He is fascinated with the future and technology and the way each inspires the other. That interest and vision have driven Lamneck from his time at West Point Military Academy to his current role as president and CEO of Tempe-based Insight.
Az Business talked with Lamneck about how he’s helped build a tech titan in Tempe.
Az Business: What do you enjoy most about your work?
Ken Lamneck: The most enjoyable aspect of working at Insight is the people. We are fortunate to have so many talented and passionate teammates who we get to work with every day. Our business is built on developing meaningful connections with organizations of all sizes and from across all industries to help them run smarter. That starts with the tight-knit relationships within our own walls, where we’ve grown into a Fortune 500 provider of intelligent technology solutions yet still maintain the personable approach of the small, homegrown business we started here in Tempe in 1988.
AB: What strengths did you bring to Insight?
KL: I have always focused on a few areas in my career. The first is servant leadership, second is passion for clients and third is operational expertise. As a former military officer, my leadership style was shaped early on by the tenet that you lead by example and empower others to perform to the best of their abilities. It’s the same philosophy we bring to our clients – putting people first and helping them optimize their talent and the outcomes they can achieve through innovative, technology-driven approaches to business.
AB: Why is Arizona a good place for Insight to call home?
KL: We’re fortunate to have grown up in Arizona. It’s a terrific place to live for our teammates and being based in one of the nation’s largest cities has allowed us to cultivate a diverse and talented workforce. This year marks our 30th anniversary, and in a constantly evolving industry like this, it’s remarkable that Insight is not only surviving but thriving. To transform a small start-up in Tempe into a $6.7 billion global enterprise has called for several pivots over the years to maintain relevance – we’re a prime example that agility, especially through a scalable IT ecosystem, is an essential survival skill in business.
AB: How has Insight evolved during your time with the company?
KL: Insight has transitioned very nicely from a purely intermediate role of hardware/software reseller into a full-service system integrator solving complex business challenges. We actively look for growth opportunities like our recent acquisition of Cardinal Solutions that expanded our innovation capabilities into one of the industry’s most robust for digital transformation. Additionally, we have become more global in our offerings (operating in 20 countries). We’ve evolved to design, integrate, deploy and manage IT infrastructure and cloud solutions that help our clients maximize their technology investments and create meaningful experiences for their employees and customers.
AB: What are your goals for Insight over the next decade?
KL: Technology is moving faster than most people realize. From connected farms to smart cities, which Phoenix is really exploring, tech is taking over, and that impacts business and public policy in profound ways. Yet in our 2018 Insight Intelligent Technology Index, 87 percent of IT decision-makers said they’re struggling to adapt to innovation initiatives. So while everyone and everything increasingly become connected, businesses strain to keep pace even as most want to think of themselves as a technology company at heart. Through our acquisitions in the last decade, we’ve positioned ourselves to address those issues in the decades to come. We want the brightest minds in technology to consider Insight the best place to work or to partner with as we grow and add value to our clients. Ultimately our goal is to help organizations invest wisely in technology to run smarter today while transforming for the future.
