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Lessons from My HP Years
by Norm Tarowsky

Lessons from My HP Years
by Norm Tarowsky

NORM TAROWSKY CAREER TIMELINE

I received a B.S. in Engineering Physics from N.Y.U (1955-1957, 1961-1963) and an MBA from Santa Clara University (1970-74 evenings). I also served in the Army from 1957-1960 as a Radar and Computer technician stationed in Germany. I taught numerous management development classes at HP.

I was also part of the Corporate TQC group, the Non-Exempt (compensation) Task force (4 years as the manufacturing advisor) and worked with Corporate HR to create and roll out the Management Development training program (1996-98). As a manufacturing advisor to the Corporate NE task force, I surveyed 12 HP manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S.

DETAIL

From 1963-66 I worked as an R & D engineer for General Dynamics Astronautics in San Diego working on miniaturizing the electronic guidance systems for the Atlas and Centaur missile systems.

In 1966, I joined HP Associates as an R&D Engineer working for Research Manager, Dick Soshea, I started in the old Redwood building 7C (near the photoconductor furnace) on Page Mill Road, a block behind "Polly & Jakes." I worked on the symmetrical pill Schottky diode that was the heart of HP's 185 Sampling Oscilloscope, the SRD comb generator for the Counters and Frequency Synthesizers. I co-invented and was project manager on the microwave stripline PIN switch and attenuator that won a new product of the year award from Industrial Research Magazine in 1968. In 1969 I developed the first hermetically sealed commercial LED indicator (bulb). My team include Floyd Bishop, Bob Teichner, Ruth Baptiste and Gerd Helman. I was the R&D Section Manager of the device packaging group for Dick Soshea and was on his staff along with George Kaposhilin, Bob Zettler, Paul Sedlewicz and Mike Cowley. The original HP Associates group also included Dave Weindorf, Mason Clark, Bob Hall, Wayne Grove, Ted Larsen and Paul Gallager.

In late 1969 I joined John Attala, John Moll and Gerry Pighini, to leave Hewlett Packard, and start up the Fairchild MOD (Microwave and Optoelectronics Division). I later became the Manufacturing Manager; setting up plants in Hong Kong and Shiprock NM. A number of other HPers also joined us (Bob Zettler, Norm Gri, John So, Floyd Bishop, Barry Rose to name a few).

In 1973, I returned to HP and became product line manager (PLM) for S4 numeric displays, reporting to Bob Zettler. The S4 segmented display was the brainchild of Roland Haitz. When Bob became the HPA GM, I then reported to Paul Sedlewicz who became the Manufacturing Manager. I then added Paul's Mono display line and was the PLM for high volume displays. My staff included John Nadherny, Steve Cooper, John Fischer, Bob Steward and Patty (Ray) Kuillen.

Also Bill Majkut, Vic Wroobel, Jim Kapnias, Dave Wells, Harry James, Sam Yu, Herb Sokil, Heinz Merg, Odie Littrel, Marv Bernstein, Bill Beecher, Carl Feri and Donna Maxwell.

In 1977, I was asked to go to Singapore to replace Dick Chang as the Operations Manager for the Components Group in Southeast Asia (Singapore and Penang, Malyaia), reporting to Bob Zettler in the US and Dick Love and later Lee Ting (the Managing Directors) for HP International.

My management team in Singapore & Penang included Tan Bian Ee, Teng Ong Keok, Tan Soon Lee, Albert Shen, Neoh KT, Ban EK, Yap TH, Dereck Chiam, Koh LS and Wong ML. Other key managers were Chong CP, Seah BG, Ho JY, Yoon CL, Boon, SM and Kelvin Kiew, Chen Fong, Richard Tay, Peter Chionh, John Yew, Ho FL and Loh BP.

I loved my time in Asia, we lived in Singapore and I worked in Penang 2 days a week (over 140 trips); I would fly (a 60-minute flight) leaving early Tuesday morning and return late Wednesday evening. We had about 2,000 employees and produced millions of devices monthly worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the Components Group.

In December of 1979 Paul Sedlewicz replaced Dick Soshea as GM of MSD. I returned to the States and re-joined HPA as the Product Assurance Manager reporting to Zettler, his staff included Roland Haitz (R&D), Dick Chang (Mfg), Rick Kniss (Mktg), Gary Ruppel (HR), Norm Zinker (Facilities), Norm Tarowsky (Q&R).

Mike Cowley ran the wafer Fab area, and Dick Lamborn and Tom Fury (Finance). I instituted the TQC (Total Quality Control) approach in the Components Group. My team included Dave Collichio, Lall Jain, Gregg Geisler, Ron Javier, Jim Chrysler and Cindy Mundy (in High rel manufacturing) and Joe Heaney, Juan Zambrano, Ed Aoki, Walt Heinzer, Roger Lashgari, Will Becket, Tom Lee, Dennis Kloss, Carolyn Jones and Arnold Leon.

In 1983 HPA split into OED (Cowley as GM), and OCD (Kniss as GM), and I joined MSD as the Manufacturing Manager reporting to Sedlewicz.

At MSD, Paul's staff included Larry Nevin and then Jerry Aukland(R&D), Andy Kutalitas (QA), Bob Parish, Bill Burns and Hilde Harris (HR), Jerry Thorne (Facilities), Mike Matson (Marketing), Gerry Pighini (Wafer Fab), and Norm Tarowsky (Manufacturing) and John Sien (Bar Codes). A few years later I took over the Wafer Fab and Gerry managed the Materials Department. My team included Rocky Kansal, Gerry Dyer, Larry Roben, Les Niatani, Kelvin Kiew, Dick Hunt, Larry Fritz, Tom Greer, Karl Tiefert, Allan McGee and Marie Desroches. Also Gus Vogt, Rich Fiahlo, Rich Lira, Victor Lee, JP Batra, Foo JW, Sushilla Vantkanesen and Jim Gong.

In 1989, Milt Liebhaber left the Group Marketing & Sales Management position to become the GM of OED. Mike Matson replaced Milt and Paul asked me to become the MSD Marketing Manager, a position I held from 1989 to 1992.

My team in Marketing included Vicki Metsers, Mark Chandler, Richard Beach, Bob Myers, Ed Frymoyer and Kathy Maida. Also Judith Rosgen, Rick Kojima, Jim Bryson, Tad Custer, Jack Lephoff, Gary Franklyn, Ruth Springs, Ron Whitetree and Gary McCulum.

During this period Paul and I made a proposal to Bill Craven (The Components Group Manager) and the HP Corporate Board to acquire Avantek Corporation ( a business competitor) and integrate it into the Components Group.

In 1992, HP acquired Avantek and merged it with MSD to form CMCD with Jim Horner as GM (and Paul became GM of their Military Operation). Avantek had a facility in Frimly, England (about 30 miles southwest of London) and I was asked to be the Operations Manager.

Frimly manufactured amplifiers for the European Telecom Industry and did service and repair to support the Folsom Facility (run by Steve Cooper) and provided sales support to the Components Group European sales force.

My team included Chris Turner (Mfg), Craig Walsh (Eng), Geoff Webster (QA), Mark Vaughn (Finance), Myron Hunt (HR) and Jean-Mark Pesnel (CG Sales support).Other key employees were Richard Harris, Steven Dodderidge, Ian Piper, Phil Gadd. Ian Kennedy and Mark Gray.

I was also on John Golding (HP's UK Managing Director) staff and worked closely with our European Sales Force (under Reiner Lorenz). Although we made significant progress, we decided to move the operation back to the US (Folsom) and the employees were reassigned to the HP Pinewood facility in England (about 20 miles away). I returned to the US in 1994 reporting to Jim Horner and worked with the Folsom facility to finalize the transfer.

In 1995 I joined the Components Group staff reporting to Karen Scussel (Group HR manager) and working with Corporate HR Training to create the Management Development program that I ran for the group (a 2 day class) and presented over 30 classes to our Worldwide managers and supervisors. I retired in 1995, after 33 years of HP service.

I feel fortunate to have worked for a great company with a wonderful management philosophy (The HP Way) and so many fantastic people. I never felt I had to worry about "my back" and we were truly a "family." I worked for some of the best managers one could ask for (Zettler and Sedlewicz) and made lifelong friendships with people like Gerry Pighini, Bob Picha, Floyd Bishop and the guy I spent so many hours over the years talking about just about everything, especially the HP Way), Gary Ruppel, HR.

I feel honored to have known giants of our industry like Bill Hewlett, Egon Loebner, John Moll, Mason Clark, Bill Terry, John Young, Dave Weindorf; but mostly all the people I worked and interfaced with on a daily basis; my co-workers, the Managers, Engineers, Technicians, Supervisors, Admins and operators that were part of my HP life and family. The products we worked on are now obsolete and a thing of the past, but the friendships remain.

Norm