The Big Pivot: How Houston Companies Have Pivoted

Matt has recently joined APG as CEO following a 12-year career with FTSE 250 listed Essentra Plc.  Prior to joining APG Matt was President of the Americas, Essentra Components responsible for all business activities in North and South America.

Matt joined Essentra in 2007 as General Manager of the Houston, Texas business following which he served Commercial Manager.  The latter position was based in Erie, Pennsylvania where he lived for three years.  Matt and his family returned to Houston in 2014 where he was promoted to the position of Vice President- Sales and Marketing for the Pipe Protection Technologies Division.  Following 2 years at PPT, Matt returned to the Components Division to lead the business.

Prior to Essentra Matt worked for Fortune 500 industrial distributor, W.W. Grainger as a Customer Service Manager and a Field Sales Specialist.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science from Texas A&M University and is actively involved in several non-profit and charitable organizations.

Matt married the love of his life, Jennifer, and they have three beautiful children.

Cody W. Johnson is a seasoned executive with expertise in building and selling companies in the landmark sign, outdoor digital display, and architectural accent; rubber processing, plastic molding, automotive component; and industrial supply sectors.  He has proven record of capitalizing on challenging economic conditions worldwide to improve business valuation and increase market share as demonstrated recently by his hard pivot of National Signs LLC to manufacture much needed PPE Face Shields for Houston area hospitals, nursing homes, and first responders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cody has lived, worked and served on various Boards in India, Mexico and Malaysia; He has conducted business in Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Cody has a Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Houston.  He earned his law degree while building an industrial supply company that was sold a year after his graduation to Private Equity.  He concurrently studied international law and business at Peking University in Beijing, China, and Seton Hall’s foreign scholarship program in Zanzibar, Tanzania.  He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, the Turnaround Management Association, and the Houston Economic Club.

Leland has been in the software and services industry for over 35 years. He currently advises or is on the Board of Centro Media (digital media), Solarsense (alternative energy development), Realnex (real estate software), Spruce (apartment digital services), Patchr (circuit board design), Tachyus (oil&gas software) and Trivie (training reinforcement) where he is a co-founder & Executive Chairman. He helps these companies with strategy, marketing, sales and general mentoring. Previously, Leland set the strategy for Acorn Performance Group and oversaw its daily operations. He brings extensive experience in managing large organizations that deliver software solutions and consulting services to corporate customers. Prior to Acorn, Leland was at BMC Software, where he served as an Executive Officer and Chief Marketing Officer. There, he was responsible for worldwide marketing operations. Prior to BMC, Leland worked for Oracle in various senior management positions, including Vice President of Product Marketing and Regional VP of Sales. He received a B.A. with Honors in Economics from Princeton University.