This is the third digest in a series of ongoing updates to keep you informed about progress we’re making as the new ADI and the integration of our two companies. These updates are intended to let you know what’s happening, what we’ve accomplished and what’s next.

Leader Update: Q&A with Rich Nickson, vice president Americas Sales

As we near the 120-day mark of our companies joining forces, we caught up with VP Americas Sales, Rich Nickson for his perspective on how the integration is progressing and to learn why this is the “best combination he’s ever seen.”

How has the integration progressed from your team’s perspective?

Our teams had a lot of mutual respect coming into the merger since both companies compete based upon value and performance, not price. Both teams are highly regarded by the customers they support since we have the best teams in the industry. However, the market approach was very different. ADI built a robust Strategic & Key (S&K) Customer infrastructure and a strategy of integrating solutions to address customers’ difficult problems. On the flip side, LTC had deeper broad market coverage, with innovative technology that helped customers get to market fast. This approach complements ADI’s model exceptionally well. LTC also had a more collaborative relationship with its channel partner and to capitalize on this advantage, ADI has moved to a single distribution partner – Arrow – where we are now able to leverage dedicated resources to help support the broad market.

ADI has communicated very effectively with LTC employees throughout the acquisition process. Once the deal closed in March, our communication outlined how we would move forward…

The top priority for the first 90 days has been redeployment of our Sales Team. Our customers want to know who will support them for the long term. S&K account redeployment was addressed first with the goal of re-defining the criteria and expectations for an S&K customer. Next, we identified the team that would put ADI in the best position to maximize profitable growth. We have filled the vast majority of the new GAM, KAM and dedicated S&K FSE positions with a very good mix of ADI and LTC Sales talent. We are in the process of transitioning to the new teams now with an estimated completion date of mid-August. The emphasis is to ensure we do a very professional transition with 100% customer satisfaction.

Next, we tackled the redefinition and the redeployment of the Regional Teams. We realized that with the number of sales people available for the broad market, we would need between 10 to 14 Regional managers. This was derived by estimating that each manager should have 6 to 10 FSEs. We decided that 14 managers allow us resource to take advantage of market opportunities, and based upon that we decided to break the Americas into two Geographies. The East is managed by Giuseppe Olivadoti and the West is managed by Kay Rhind. Our target for complete transitions to the redeployed customers is the end of August, but the process is already well underway.

We have put a high premium on communicating about the redeployments – what we were going to do and when we were going to do it. And, from what I see and hear, the teams have been very positive about these changes, and our customers are excited because they will benefit from the best of both companies coming together to better serve them. Both Regional and S&K teams will have more support as a result of the redeployment, allowing us to further enhance the customer experience while also expanding our portfolios.

Are customers realizing a positive impact from these synergies?

Looking at our S&K customers, they are excited to have power experts help them with world-class designs. In every case, our technical support is enhanced from prior to integration. In several cases our combined dollars and strategic value have elevated the customer to Strategic or Key status. In these cases, the customer experiences a higher level of service.

For the Broad Market Customers, the great support that LTC provided will be delivered for ADI products as well. My sales team and our customers are very excited about the prospect. In addition, the dedicated resources from Arrow will reach an even broader base to solve problems and help customers bring world class solutions to production quicker than ever.

What’s impressed you most during the integration process?

I’ve been in the semiconductor industry for 44 years and this is the most seamless integration I’ve ever seen. ADI’s leadership has taken the time to ensure people are treated well and remain updated through regular communication. There is a sense of confidence building in the organization because of how well the integration is progressing.

I have also been impressed by the mutual respect that legacy ADI and LTC employees have for one another. At our core, both companies prided themselves on providing the best solution and best experience instead of competing on price (We can’t say the same for our friends down in Texas). I think that respect and confidence will only continue to grow as we settle into these changes and learn from each other.

What’s next and what’s important to continue making this integration successful?

For my organization, we spent the first 120 days focused on communications and redeployment, looking at all aspects of our teams and putting a strong plan together. Now, acting on that plan, we will focus the next several months on customer interactions and communicating how we’re going to best support them. It’s an exciting time to be part of ADI and my team is looking forward to this continued momentum translating into expanded market share.

This month’s Need to Know section features a quick round-up of important items.

This integration microsite is updated with new information frequently! Some new items you may have missed:

• Organizational Announcements: Additional levels of organizational structure have been announced – you can find them on the “Organizational Announcements” page of this microsite.
• Information Systems: A new section has been added to the microsite, providing information on what to expect from IT when, including laptop deployment, network integration, and more. Check out the “Information Systems Updates” on the left navigation.
• Quarterly Videos: Two videos have been added to the “Video Archive” here on the microsite – a message from President & CEO Vincent Roche, providing an overview of 2Q17 and what to expect moving forward; and a feature video highlighting examples of how employees are making 1+1>2 a reality.
• Access to The Circuit: Legacy LTC employees are now able to access The Circuit from the ADI and LTC networks. An email detailing how to get onto the intranet was sent to legacy LTC employees on July 11th. Note that legacy LTC employees may not be able to utilize certain features or access certain information initially. As our two companies continue to integrate and systems and tools harmonize, the legacy LTC experience on The Circuit will improve.