Thomas J. Malott

For his outstanding record of achievement in the fields of engineering, marketing, and management, the Schools of Engineering are proud to present, for the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award, Thomas J. Malott.

President and Chief Executive Officer
Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.
BSME `62


Malott bust

Mr. Malott worked for several firms after graduation including the Ross Gear and Tool Co., where he was a Cooperative Education Program participant as an undergraduate. During the early years of his career he received numerous patents in hydraulic control and instrumentation technology, many of which defined state-of-the art trends in those fields. In 1969 he completed a master's degree in business administration at Western Michigan University, and shortly thereafter joined Parker-Hannifin Corp. where he held a number of management positions including vice president, operations, Fluid Power Group. In the early '80s he served in several executive positions with Ransburg Corp., including president and chief operating officer, before joining Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc., a subsidiary of Siemens AG, in 1986. Since October of 1990 Mr. Malott has been president and chief executive officer of the 1$ billion company, which manufactures a broad range of electrical and electronic products from residential circuit breakers to large-scale automation equipment for manufacturing.

 

  • "For an engineer I think it is important that your initial work in industry be successful. That is the only way to be recognized. From this perspective an undergraduate education is very, very important, and I think the preparation at Purdue really put us ahead of or competition--the basic engineering education was really first rate."

     

  • "Of course, challenges in industry eventually extend beyond the technical areas. I suppose I am facing my greatest challenge in my current job--trying to bring two different management cultures together into a single organization."

Young Malott bust

His advice for the first-year engineering student:

"I strongly recommend cooperative engineering education programs because they really provide insights into how groups and technical organizations work--how people's strengths and weaknesses mesh in a group. It's an invaluable experience."