Leadership

Scott Gaskin

President

At Capital, we have a relationship-driven business full of individuals who work really hard and play really hard. We also happen to be in an industry that I personally find exciting – if we were selling encyclopedias, I probably wouldn’t have come here in the first place. But what sets us apart from our competitors is that instead of a traditional command-and-control environment, we have something special. Everything here is de-centralized. We value our long-term relationships with our customers so we want the person closest to the customer to be able to make their own decisions. That’s why we give all our people the freedom to decide how they want to do things and in turn, they appreciate that autonomy as well as the responsibility that comes with it. They have the opportunity to grow in their careers and to me, there is nothing better than the experience of watching people grow.

I love working with people so I enjoy the collaborative nature of our work environment. I think I would probably go crazy working alone. When it comes to leadership, I like working with other people as opposed to having to make decisions for other people. I think it’s important to lead from the front while staying flexible and adaptable. My role is about being a part of setting a direction or coloring in a vision. I don’t consider myself to be a manager since I’m not a disciplinarian by nature and traditional management can feel a lot like herding cats. Of course, management is part of what we do as leaders, but we do it together as opposed to just having one person do that.

As a leadership team, we encourage our people to develop themselves. That’s something that is unusual in our industry, but we want Capital to be a rewarding place for them to work – and we also want everyone to have fun. It comes back to our focus on promoting and sustaining autonomous business units with local decision-making.

Sam Sanregret

Executive Vice President

When I think of Capital, I think of a great place to work. It’s so important to make work meaningful because that’s where we spend most of our time. I want people to love their job and have a bounce in their step when they go to work in the morning. To me, if people are happy in their job then they will be more successful at it. I firmly believe that if you have great people working together who are fully engaged in a role they enjoy, then you’re going to be successful no matter what you are doing. At Capital, I look forward to going to work on Monday. So as a leader, my job is to create and sustain a work culture that everyone can enjoy.

I came to Capital for reasons much like everyone else. I was dissatisfied at my other job and when I got a phone call, the timing was right. I actually started as a sales associate in the Healdsburg branch. The culture at Capital was not the same as it is now and like most businesses at the time, there had been emphasis on hierarchy with a top-down structure. But we were ready to evolve. We were already beginning to diversify our product selections and redefine our place in the market when I was given the chance to be part of creating an environment where I could enjoy coming to work every day. I worked my way from the branch level to a regional management role where I was able to support Capital’s transition by promoting a culture where the people closest to the customer are empowered to make their own decisions. As a result, our individual branches began to de-centralize and become the autonomous business units we have today.

Being asked to become president of the company was a pretty big deal to me. I’m passionate about the work and active in what’s going on. I don’t like traditional bureaucracy and see it as something that drives away good people with rules made for those who don’t act responsibly. It’s important to me that people don’t work for me; they work with me. I find that clear communication is the most critical component of leadership. In order for people to follow, you need to be clear about where you are going.

I get asked a lot of times, “What do you do?” Well that’s easy: I’m in the people business – we just happen to buy and sell building materials.

Michael Darby

VP of Marketing & Business Development

I see Capital as a place where people want to go to work, regardless of their backgrounds or individual skill-sets. Across all roles and departments, we encourage our people to do more than wait for someone to tell them exactly what to do every step of the way. As a result, we have actual business people who think for themselves and take action without waiting for approval, which also translates to more rewarding careers. I take pride in helping others achieve their goals and watching business people develop and grow. To me, that’s what success looks like for a company. One person’s small behavioral change can make a world of difference to the business as a whole – and it doesn’t need to translate directly to dollars for me to see that as a significant win. So my job as a leader is to do everything I can to bring out the best in our people.

I draw a huge distinction between leadership and management. I see management as the structured oversight of employees within organizations that don’t endorse freedom of thought. I enjoy leading people; I don’t like to manage people. Companies that are heavily reliant on leveraging managers to assert control don’t employ people with an entrepreneurial spirit like we do. Leaders work with people rather than having people work for them. My personal style is open and communicative yet relatively casual. I’m not big on hierarchy so I tend to go right to the source, regardless of formal reporting structure. I think what’s most important for any leader is to convey expectations and set an example.

Although I focus on sales, marketing, and business development, my interests are much broader and I keep the big picture in mind. As a part of the company’s executive leadership team, my goal is to see that everyone’s career is fulfilling while providing meaningful services to the industry.

Armando Segovia

Director of Human Resources

I largely attribute Capital’s success to our culture of empowerment with responsibility. We have a unique business model that other companies struggle with: Everything is de-centralized and individual branches function as autonomous business units while the corporate office serves as a support center. A lot of companies want to centralize things so they have all the control. Or, they might claim to give you autonomy but then promptly tie your hands with red tape. That isn’t the case here at Capital. We hire our people for a reason and then we allow them the freedom to execute. Our leaders delegate and provide guidance, but in the end, it’s the employees who do the heavy lifting. Everyone here is passionate about what they do and my passion is for coaching and developing others.

Throughout my career, my clients and co-workers have called me a “coaching leader.” I enjoy being a mentor to people within my department and the company. It isn’t always easy and sometimes it’s tempting to revert back to, “I’ll just do it myself because I know how to do it in my way that’s comfortable.” However, when you instill responsibility in others, it’s rewarding to see people rise to the challenge and bring their own creativity to the table. I’m a true believer that any result my team generates is a reflection on me. So as things come up – right, wrong, or indifferent – I’m going to take it as, “That’s on me,” and then we’re going to talk about it as a team. I always want to be inclusive in my style. I love to have the voice of everybody and believe that more opinions are better in order to achieve a balanced and effective solution.

Our Human Resources department is a relatively small team that has accomplished a lot. When I first joined Capital, we weren’t viewed as a partner; in fact, we were actually avoided because people didn’t want to hear what we had to say. They assumed that all we would have to offer is a single black-and-white option, but instead we surprised them by saying something different. By listening to what they had to say and taking a consultative approach, we offered several different solutions and empowered them to make the right decision themselves. That’s when things started to shift. Now I’m proud to say that we are a respected business partner that delivers value-added, customized human resource solutions that help produce and sustain a competitive business advantage.

Jeff Jenkins

VP of Finance

I want Capital to be the best distributor in the West. Notice that I didn’t say I want us to be the biggest – bigger isn’t better; better is better. Talented people will drive us to be better. Our success is accomplished through the three-legged stool of customers, vendors, and employees: If everyone is being treated fairly, then the company will thrive. If a company doesn’t partner with vendors, skimps on service or quality to customers, or doesn’t give employees a rewarding place to work, then it will reflect on the bottom line. The Capital team is unique in that we follow through on our mission statement and treat everyone with care and respect. As a result, Capital is a place where people want to work. That means it’s my responsibility as a leader to contribute to an environment that’s both challenging and enables people to grow in whatever direction they may choose.

First and foremost, I make myself available as a coach and mentor to anyone who might want or need my assistance in our organization. I make every effort to offer people as much knowledge as I can about how things are linked together, and walk them through how something will eventually show up on financial statements. It can be easy to get trapped in a Super Hero complex where you feel the need to do everything yourself; however, I’ve learned from experience that the best thing I can do to ensure the company’s long-term success is to guide and teach others. I like to help people learn and grow, and see processes improve as they lead to improved team performance. There are many bumps in the road and lessons to learn so it is best to remember that life is a journey and not a destination.

Part of my initial journey here was rebuilding the Corporate Finance and IT teams. When I reflect on the transformation that’s taken place over the course of a couple years, I couldn’t be more proud. Within both departments, we have achieved a level of credibility, understanding, and transparency; but most importantly, there’s a level of collaboration that wasn’t there before. People have learned that no one is an island and we can and must rely on one another. After all, everything we do at Corporate is to support the branches. When I look at the fact that we have been able to successfully deploy several people to a branch from the Corporate Finance and IT teams, it’s exciting to see the people and business grow. Not only does this mobility showcase the opportunity for our people to grow in different directions, it has also built bridges and increased collaboration. It’s a great reminder that regardless of location, we are all on one team with a shared goal.

Katrina Storjohann

Controller

I believe success starts with an attitude and the empowerment culture at Capital is one that fosters that attitude and breeds success. Our employees are continually challenging themselves and those around them and using their victories, mistakes, and failures as opportunities to grow, learn and improve. Our de-centralized structure allows our individual business units to function autonomously, using their own specialized knowledge and relationships within their markets to succeed. The corporate office functions as a centralized center to lend support in each business unit’s success.

I subscribe to a mentoring leadership style, rather than pure management. I prefer to ask my employees what they need and how I can help them meet our collective goals, rather than control or dictate the specific steps required. This helps invest our employees in our common goals and allows them to focus on the “why” rather than the “what” of a situation. This attitude also creates accountability and helps foster an entrepreneurial spirit in our employees. These are the type of people that succeed in Capital’s autonomous culture.

When I first started at Capital, the accounting team was not viewed as a partner by the business units, but rather as a required overhead function to enforce compliance. Over the course of a few years, that attitude has changed. We have built a partnership with the business units and implemented many process and technological improvements that have allowed them to spend more time on building the business, rather than on every day required accounting tasks. We are all now part of the same team working toward a common goal – Capital’s success and the success of our employees.

Derek Cone

Director of Field Sales & Operations

At Capital, I love being a part of a large team that has the feel of a small company, with owners who care about their employees.  Here, your opinions count, and decisions are made collaboratively.  Distributing building materials is not proprietary, so we invest heavily in the development of our people. We believe that our success comes from staying close to our customers with the ability to react quickly to changing market conditions.  That agility stems from branch autonomy and trust passed from ownership to our branch leaders and ultimately to the employees closest to our customers.

Capital can be home to a great career for those who are passionate about teamwork, collaboration, and continuous improvement.  One of the great characteristics that differentiates Capital is the opportunity for a fulfilling career where the employee is in control of his or her career path.  I started at Capital in early 2013 as an accounting intern.  From there, I developed into the Business Manager at our Salt Lake facility and later moved to spear head an acquisition in Sacramento, together with our Northern California team.  Now at our corporate office, I leverage the opportunities and experiences that I have had to support our branches.  In my role on the executive leadership team, I work closely with our branches by leading operational initiatives aimed at improving current branch processes.

Our mission is to be the industry leader, geographically focused in the west.  To be the best, we strive to hire the top talent and develop them with an entrepreneurial spirit with sound understandings of our business metrics and processes.