With much of its customer base squarely in the hotel and cruise line industries, The Cawley Company’s sales dropped by half during the initial COVID-19 shutdown, says Robert Petri, director of finance.
“It required strategy as to how we could be financially responsible yet supportive of our approximately 100 employees during this difficult time,” Petri says.
During his time with The Cawley Company, Petri has introduced a pricing review for all product lines and led CRM software implementation, including the development of training materials. Petri says that project represented a dramatic change to operations — from initial communication with customers to routing orders to the production floor.
Outside of work, Petri is the club president of the Whitnall Park Rotary Club and is involved with Pathfinders Milwaukee and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
For the next generation of leaders, Petri advises to “find ways to interact as much as possible with production and sales teams,” as they generate revenue for the company. “Understanding the key challenges and issues of these disciplines will enhance your ability to bring value-added decisions to the finance function,” he says.
