Diamondback Works, a provider of civil, mechanical, structural and architectural services to the petrochemical industry along the Gulf Coast, is building upon its already-strong reputation with a number of strategic hires and a renewed focus on being a preferred vertical contractor.
These changes were implemented when Roger Gossett, with the help of BIC Recruiting and IVS Investment Banking, was offered the position of CEO at Diamondback by Aperion Energy Group. At the same time, Gossett stepped into the roles of CEO at Tricon Works and president and CEO at Tricon Holdings, the holdings company for a group of organizations that includes Diamondback.
BIC Magazine recently sat down with Gossett to discuss Diamondback's new management team and his vision for the company's future.
BIC: How did you first get involved with Diamondback?
GOSSETT: My business partner and I were working on buying a company that IVS Investment Banking was representing for sale. Unbeknownst to me, Aperion Energy Group was also competing for that purchase, and Aperion had simultaneously engaged IVS' sister company, BIC Recruiting, to hire somebody to take over their companies with a "build-and-buy" strategy. Because of the BICIVS connection, the folks at BIC Recruiting were able to connect me with Aperion.
Aperion and I saw the opportunity for me to take these CEO jobs with them and pursue the deal together. It all happened at the same time, and BIC Alliance's companies were present on both sides of the deal.
BIC: What is Diamondback's strategy for the coming year?
GOSSETT: We recently brought in the absolute "A-Team." We brought in Chuck Daniel as vice president of operations, James Shockley as operations manager, Benito Guerrero as specialty craft manager, and Fransisco Canepa as director of environmental, health and safety. Those are four new employees who have functioned in multi-million-dollar companies before.
If you were to ask around about the skillsets of those men, you would get a lot of feedback about how they are at the top of the heap in their industry. Bringing them to Diamondback shows how serious we are about our "build-and-buy" strategy. Instead of the typical "buy-and-build" strategy, I always say we are using a "build-and-buy" strategy because we are going to build, but we are going to buy some companies, as well.
BIC: What changes have you made at Diamondback?
GOSSETT: Diamondback is now a vertical contractor. That is a big change for the company. Diamondback is nimble and agile, and we will self-perform all crafts -- mechanical, electrical and specialty. We will subcontract very little work. This was not always the case. It is too inefficient to subcontract work, to have all of these different people and all of these hand-offs. The day I walked in the door was the day that change was made.
BIC: How do you hope to grow Diamondback going forward?
GOSSETT: I am a strategist, a fanatical planner and a "follow me" kind of leader. At Diamondback, we recognize it is key to have the best players on our team. We have showed that by bringing in the top-tier players I already mentioned. We are going to pay market price for "A" players with clear "line of sight" incentive programs. We want to attract the best people.
We will also work very closely with our customers, and we think our formula for success relies on being a good fit for them. We will demonstrate that we will focus on their work and bring them the "A-Team."
For more information, visit www.diamondbackworks.com or call (281)471-2593.