ERA 2017 CONFERENCE WILL FEATURE KEYNOTER JON PETZ
ERA has announced the keynote presenter for its 48th Management and Marketing Conference, scheduled Feb 26-28, 2017, at the AT&T Conference Center in Austin, Texas. The theme of the conference — “Collaborate, Differentiate, Accelerate! Drive to Excellence” — will be highlighted in the presentation by author, humorist and former telecommunications industry executive and manufacturers’ representative Jon Petz of Columbus, Ohio.
Petz specializes in injecting humor, audience participation and sometimes even a little magic into customized programs that provide audiences with deliverables based on real-life experiences. His client list includes many major electronics and other industry companies, including Samsung, Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Oracle.
Petz was selected through a screening process of many possible keynoters that was conducted by the Conference Keynote Sub-Committee, chaired by Tobi Cornell, CPMR, of Kruvand Associates, Inc. She says, “Jon brings together all the qualities the committee was seeking. We wanted someone who could kick off the conference with a rousing message about the importance of collaboration, differentiation and acceleration in our businesses today but presented with a lighter, thought-provoking and very human touch.”
Other conference program segments, including 14 new breakout seminars, are now being finalized.
ERA WILL BE AT ELECTRONICA IN MUNICH
Continuing a tradition spanning several decades, ERA will participate in electronica 2016, the world’s largest electronics trade show, coming up on Nov. 8-11 in Munich, Germany. The association CEO, Walter Tobin, and rep volunteer John Hutson, CPMR, of The MacInnis Company, will man the ERA stand (#256 in Hall A6). Both have made many appointments with international manufacturers and sales reps to introduce them to ERA and the North American rep business model. Their goal is to assist international manufacturers with finding North American reps and to help international reps who are seeking to sell the products of North American manufacturers in Europe and beyond. For details on Electronica, go to electronica.de.
NEW RULES FOR OVERTIME PAY TAKE EFFECT DEC. 1.
In a recent newsletter from Howe and Hutton, a Chicago law firm whose clients include many trade associations, it was reported that the U.S. Department of Labor is changing the criteria that determine whether a worker is eligible for overtime pay. The salary threshold for exemption from eligibility will increase from $23,660 to $47,476 per year, effective this coming Dec. 1. Another existing requirement for exemption from eligibility will not change, as workers will still have to perform primarily executive, administrative or professional tasks if they are to be considered exempt from overtime, in addition to receiving pay at or above the new annual threshold. Overtime pay will still be required at a rate of time and a half for time worked in excess of 40 hours per week. (Editor’s Note: This topic will be covered in a breakout seminar at ERA’s 2017 Conference. See item above for dates and location.)
2015 SAW SLIGHT DECLINE FOR POWER SEMICONDUCTORS
Overall revenue for the power semiconductor global market dropped slightly in 2015, due primarily to macroeconomic factors and application-specific issues, according to a new report from IHS Markit, a research firm specializing critical information, analytics and solutions. The global market for power semiconductors fell 2.6 percent to $34 billion in 2015, the report says. Discrete power semiconductor product revenue declined 10.1 percent, while power module revenues decreased by 11.4 percent, and power integrated-circuit (IC) revenues increased by 4.5 percent overall. The report identifies Infineon Technologies as last year’s leading power semiconductor manufacturer, with 12 percent of the market, Texas Instruments with 11 percent and STMicroelectronics with 6 percent.
WHY BEST EMPLOYEES QUIT THEIR JOBS
A recent Inc. magazine article highlighted the “Seven Reasons the Best Employees Quit, Even When They Like Their Jobs.” Those seven reasons are: 1) stagnation — when employees feel they are not growing professionally; 2) overwork, which is common among top-performers; 3) vague visions — lots of visions and dreams but no achievable strategic goals; 4) a profits-over-people attitude in the organization; 5) lack of recognition, which does not necessarily mean added compensation but should be motivating to keep top people at their best; 6) lack of trust, including unethical dealings with customers and failure to keep one’s word; and 7) excessive hierarchy, described as a “rigidly top-down organization” in which employees are not encouraged to contribute their ideas or empowered to make decisions. To read the full article, go to inc.com.