Donald McCormack

In his role at Kore Controls, Donald McCormack was instrumental in building the company from scratch, designing comprehensive business operating systems to establish a lighting controls manufacturing representative agency serving Southern California. His leadership catalyzed long-term business growth, increased profitability, and ensured operational efficiency for a team of 9 employees.

• Startup Leadership: Designed and established all business operating systems, laying the foundation for a new lighting controls representative agency in Southern California.
• Relationship Building: Cultivated enduring partnerships with electrical engineers, distributors, and contractors, capturing significant market share from competitors.
• Sales & Profitability: Increased company profitability through meticulous sales strategy and business planning, resulting in sustainable growth.
• Team Coordination: Managed company meetings and logistics for a sales and operations team consisting of 9 employees, fostering teamwork and operational effectiveness.
• Talent Acquisition: Recruited, interviewed, and hired employees, supporting aggressive business expansion goals.
• System Development: Implemented comprehensive accounting, CRM, project management, CAD, quoting, and pricing systems, streamlining all business functions and operations.
• Client Presentations: Prepared and delivered sales presentations targeting a diverse client base including architects, electrical engineers, distributors, contractors, and end users.
• Proposal System: Designed an extensive proposal/quotation system using D-Tools and AutoCAD to manage thousands of products while minimizing labor and time spent on design and quoting.
• Project Management: Coordinated and managed hundreds of project proposals and quotations using a custom-designed CRM/Project Management system developed on ZoHo CRM.
• Pipeline Management: Enhanced profitability by creating and utilizing pipeline management tools and techniques for strategic decision-making.
• Financial Stewardship: Maintained robust financial controls, orchestrated business operations, and judiciously controlled expenses while seeking new opportunities for growth and profit.
• Investor Relations: Created compelling business plans with detailed revenue models, process flows, and operations mapping for potential investors and stakeholders.

During his 12-year tenure at The MH Companies, Donald McCormack played a pivotal role in the company's growth plan—from a small team of 2 engineers to over 12 lighting controls professionals—while driving significant year-over-year revenue increases. He was deeply involved in all facets of the commercial lighting controls industry, ranging from marketing and sales to design and technical support.

• Team Growth & Revenue Increases: Instrumental in growing the team from 2 to 12 members and achieving consistent year-over-year revenue growth.
• Multi-Aspect Involvement: Managed a wide array of responsibilities such as marketing, sales, system design, cost estimation, submittal documentation preparation, and on-site system startup.
• Technical Sales: Conducted hundreds of sales presentations targeting architects, electrical engineers, contractors, distributors, and end users, establishing strong relationships and business opportunities.
• Product Line Certification: Became factory certified in numerous lighting control products including Crestron, Wattstopper, Vantage Controls, Hubbell Controls, Nexlight, Strand Lighting, Redwood Systems, and Limelight, among others.
• Customer Support & Training: Provided comprehensive customer support including troubleshooting and training to enhance client satisfaction and retention.
• Project Diversity: Worked on a variety of projects covering commercial offices, healthcare, education, theatrical venues, government facilities, retail spaces, and municipal outdoor lighting.
• Account Management: Effectively managed accounts of electrical engineers, distributors, and contractors, maintaining long-term partnerships and maximizing sales opportunities.

As the Founding President of Advanced Custom Systems, Donald McCormack successfully established and operated a residential electronic systems company, serving the Colorado market for a decade. Leveraging his deep expertise in electronic systems integration, he was responsible for the end-to-end planning, development, and operation of the business, as well as an extensive product portfolio.

• Business Planning: Developed comprehensive Business, Operations, and Sales/Marketing Plans that laid the groundwork for a successful startup, guiding the company's direction and growth.
• Product Line Management: Cultivated vendor and dealer relationships across 80 diverse product lines, encompassing audio, video, networking, control/automation, security, wiring, and lighting controls.
• Marketing Strategy: Designed and executed multi-channel marketing programs, including literature, website and online initiatives, trade shows, and parade of homes, to maximize brand exposure and customer engagement.
• Content Creation: Produced an array of marketing materials, from brochures to online content, that effectively conveyed the company's value proposition.
• Sales & Outreach: Conducted numerous seminars and presentations, educating architects, interior designers, and custom home builders on the latest advancements in control systems technologies.
• Client Relations: Developed strong relationships with architects, interior designers, and custom home builders, establishing a solid customer base and referral network.

Served in key systems engineering roles for governmental agencies including: Department of Defense (DOD), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Specialized in a broad spectrum of communication, command, and control systems technologies, with involvement throughout all project phases from proposal stage to operational implementation.

• Proposal Development: Contributor to cost and technical proposals for numerous high-profile and complex systems projects.
• Specification Creation: Authored A and B Level specifications in alignment with MIL-STD requirements, setting the standard for project execution.
• Systems Integration & Testing: Managed the functional integration and acceptance testing of diverse systems, ensuring adherence to specifications and client requirements.
• Test Planning: Developed comprehensive test proposals, plans, and procedures, streamlining the quality assurance process and ensuring robust system performance.
• Cross-Functional Teamwork: Collaborated on hardware/software engineering teams focusing on diverse projects including satellite and ground-based communication systems, FAA Air Traffic Control Voice Switching Systems, and DOD Heavy Terminal Satellite Communication Ground Stations.
• Special Projects: Contributed expertise to secure teleconferencing projects and FEMA mobile communication subsystems, demonstrating versatility and a broad technical skill set.