Luca Galluzzi has been with B&R for more than half his life. We sat down with the chief sales officer to learn about his long and loyal career and hear his thoughts on the special relationship between B&R and its customers. He explained how the challenges of flexible manufacturing are reshaping the automation industry – and how B&R feels about its leading role in that transformation.
From Italy to all of Southern Europe, and now B&R's entire global sales force – as your responsibilities have grown over the years, what has changed for you?
Luca Galluzzi: Like so many others at B&R, I share an entrepreneurial spirit that drives us to do whatever we can for the company and our customers using the tools and resources at our disposal. Well, now I'm in a position to help more than ever, and I'm grateful for that opportunity. I may be viewing things from a new perspective with a broader horizon, but my focus remains unchanged. My primary responsibility is to take care of the people I work for: the dedicated B&R employees around the world who are responsible for our customers' success.
Stepping from Italy onto the bigger playground of Southern Europe prepared me professionally and mentally for this latest jump. For instance, it helped me see the importance of relying on our local talents to manage things on a more global scale. I realized that trusting and empowering people is not only necessary, but also mutually beneficial. The same energy that helps them succeed in their chosen career paths can propel the company toward common goals.
You've been with B&R for over three decades. How has it changed in that time?
Galluzzi: I'm often asked how I have managed to spend an entire career at the same company. The answer is: I haven't. B&R is a completely different company today than it was when I started. Like a living organism, it has grown and changed over the years – from an innovative start-up to a major player on the international stage. And as the company grows, new possibilities open up in terms of corporate culture and professional opportunities.
Being a part of that transformation has always been exciting for me. After all: if we don't change, we don't grow. And if we don't grow, we're not really creating anything. That's the main reason why B&R has evolved and will continue to do so in the future. At the same time, however, we have retained the core DNA that makes us who we are as a company.
And what is that DNA?
Galluzzi: What has remained consistent throughout all B&R's growth are our strong customer-orientation and spirit of cooperation. We work closely with our customers and commit all our passion and expertise to co-create the best solutions to their challenges.
What challenges are B&R's customers currently facing?
Galluzzi: Consumer behavior is shifting rapidly toward personalized products available on demand. At the same time, there is an important focus on implementing more sustainable solutions. Geopolitical developments are causing uncertainty about where to invest and localize production processes and factories. Increasingly sophisticated manufacturing systems make it challenging to find and train specialized workers.
What all these mega trends have in common is that mastering them requires manufacturing solutions that are more digital, automated and – above all – flexible. Machines and entire production lines must adapt quickly and automatically to new requirements, materials and products. They must allow mass production efficiency down to batches of one, while also reducing material and energy consumption.
And what solutions does B&R offer to help with that?
Galluzzi: Our mechatronic product transport systems – SuperTrak, ACOPOStrak and ACOPOS 6D – are perfectly integrated with our robotics and machine vision, as well as our modular software and vendor-agnostic connectivity solutions. We've created an unrivaled ecosystem that is transforming the landscape of the automation industry. At B&R, we see our protagonist role in that transformation as both a great responsibility and an exciting journey.
As CSO, what are your plans for B&R's evolution?
Galluzzi: I want to continue focusing on our strategic pillars. Our outstanding innovative solutions and our total devotion to the needs of the customer are the DNA that has always shaped our success. We will tightly align our business development and product strategy forces, with a focus on specific industries. In increasingly dynamic markets, we have to be good at intercepting those changes from the beginning, so we can offer solutions that meet our customers' rapidly changing needs.
As we continue to expand our sales network, we will also localize important services and activities in ways that make us closer and more responsive to our customers. To achieve that, we must give our subsidiaries more decision-making freedom and responsibility so that they can respond even better to the individual needs of our customers in each country.
What unique strengths set B&R apart from the competition?
Galluzzi: I believe we are alone in providing such a complete and innovative portfolio that is so well-tuned to the needs of fast-changing markets. But what really sets us apart is our unwavering focus on our customers. That focus comes from our company's most important asset: our people. They are the ones who work with our customers hand-in-hand and at eye level to find their best possible solution.
That's why we keep our teams around the world trained to consistently high standards with the rigorous engineering curriculum at our Automation Academy. Yet it's not just our minds, but the heart and soul that we put into good partnership that defines us. It's the closeness of our employees to our customers and their commitment to Perfection in Automation. That's why we look back on so many long and successful relationships – and why we look forward to so many more exciting journeys to come.
And we look forward to hearing about them! Thanks for your time, Luca!
 | Passing the baton Luca Galluzzi joined B&R's executive management team on August 1, 2020. As chief sales officer, he succeeds Peter Gucher, who entered retirement after 34 years at the company. In his role, Luca is responsible for all of B&R's global sales activities. Luca has been working at B&R since 1988 and was among the first employees at B&R Italy. He later served as managing director of B&R Italy and regional sales manager for Southern Europe. As CSO, he now leads a team of several hundred sales employees working in over 70 countries around the world. Luca lives with his wife and three children in Milan, Italy. |