10 Things You Didn't Know about Former Reliance Steel and Aluminum CEO Gregg Mollins

Gregg Mollins will be most familiar to a lot of people for being the CEO of Reliance Steel & Aluminum. However, he has been succeeded in said position by his former COO, with the result that he is now a Senior Advisor for said corporation. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about Gregg Mollins:

1. Started Out As a Warehouseman

Mollins started out as a warehouseman. It is interesting to note that the term used to see widespread use for someone who either owned or operated a warehouse. However, considering the circumstances, it seems safe to say that Mollins was a warehouseman in the second sense of the word, which would be someone who works in a warehouse.

2. Became Involved in Sales and Sales Management

Before he went over to Reliance Steel & Aluminum, Mollins worked in a number of positions for its competitors. Some of these positions involved sales, while others involved sales management. As such, Mollins picked up a fair amount of frontline experience as well as managerial experience, which presumably contributed to his subsequent climb.

3. Started Out As a Division Manager with Reliance Steel & Aluminum

Eventually, Mollins went over to Reliance Steel & Aluminum where he proceeded to become a Division Manager. To be exact, he was the Division Manager of the Santa Clara Division, which would have meant wide-ranging duties and responsibilities in regards to the corporation's operations in said region. Something that would have served as a natural prelude to more powerful positions with similar broadness of authority.

4. Turned Around a Struggling Division

As the Division Manager, Mollins showed his capabilities by turning around a unit that was struggling at the time. In recognition of his success, the Reliance Steel & Aluminum leadership brought him over to the corporation's headquarters where his talents could be put to even better use in a more powerful position.

5. Became Vice President

For those who are curious, Mollins received the position of Vice President with Reliance Steel & Aluminum. Moreover, it is clear that he was being prepared for greater responsibilities to come, seeing as how he was an understudy to the then President Joe Crider, who was a true veteran of the business.

6. Became COO Following IPO

In time, Reliance Steel & Aluminum had an IPO, which came with a shuffling of its top leadership. For Mollins, this meant that he was promoted to the position of COO, which was critical because the COO tends to be the person in charge of overseeing a corporation's operations, meaning that they are one step beneath the CEO on the corporate hierarchy. In total, Mollins spent more than a decade in said role from 1994 to 2015.

7. Calls Himself a "Field Man"

Mollins has been known to call himself a "Field Man." Essentially, this means that he is someone who prefers being out in the field, interacting with the frontline employees whose contributions make corporations possible. Considering his extensive experience with the frontline as well as the other tiers on a corporate hierarchy, this presumably meant that Mollins was a formidable mentor for those who managed to catch his eye.

8. Spent a Lot of Time Traveling

Unsurprisingly, Mollins's preference for engaging with frontline employees meant that he spent a lot of time traveling from place to place. Certainly, modern telecommunications make it possible for people to communicate over incredible distances with trivial ease, but for the time being, there is still a huge gap between what tech can enable and face-to-face interaction.

9. Succeeded By His COO

Starting on January 1 of 2019, Mollins has been replaced by James Hoffman as both the CEO and the President of Reliance Steel & Aluminum. Previously, Hoffman was Mollins's COO as well as the Executive Vice President for the corporation.

10. Remains a Senior Advisor

With that said, Mollins retains a position as a Senior Advisor for Reliance Steel & Aluminum, which presumably means that he will continue contributing his expertise and experience to top level matters. Furthermore, Mollins remains a member of the Board of Directors, which voted in a unanimous manner on his replacement in his previous positions.

You can also read:

• 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Eastman Chemical CEO Mark Costa
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Former Reliance Steel and Aluminum CEO Gregg Mollins
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Baxter International CEO Jose Almeida
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Ball Corporation CEO John Hayes
• 10 Things You Didn’t Know about Rob Arnott