Feature Article
Leader of Leaders
Steven West ’79 Uses His Experience to
Help Others Succeed in Business
S
teven West ’79 has learned by
doing.
And for more than a decade, he has
used his experience to help others start,
manage and grow their own successful
businesses.
West, co-founding partner of the
San Francisco-based Emerging Company
Partners LLC, has been a CEO, COO and
board member at numerous high-growth,
global businesses, from manufacturing to
enterprise software companies. In fact,
he was the CEO of Hitachi Data Systems
for three years, and currently serves on
the boards of billion dollar companies
such as Cisco Systems and Autodesk.
He has also started, built and sold companies. Now, he is guiding others on a
similar path.
With more than 30 years of business
experience in the technology field, he
said his specialty is advising CEOs and
executives of small start-up companies
($100 million or less).
“It’s a lot of mentoring,” West said of
his work. “You have to have experience
and be willing to work with people who
don’t necessarily know what’s going on.”
Most of his days consist of travel (he
operates out of what he calls a “virtual
office”) and talking to people, either
on the phone or in person at their business location. He said a good CEO is
not born, but made.
“You really have to learn to interact
with people. Listen to what they say.
Pay attention,” he said of the common
qualities of an effective business leader.
“Those are things you get with real operating experience. It takes time and skill.
It’s not something you’re born with.
24 | Reflections Summer ’15
“If you want to be a CEO, then you
really have to find yourself a mentor. You
have to find someone to get you there.
It’s v \