Fuel cell company Plug Power produces hydrogen fuel cells, a market widely projected for future growth over the next several years.  Their IPO opened at $15 in 1999 (NASDAQ: PLUG), soared to $150 over a few months, and then slammed back down to $4 soon after the tech bubble burst. Immediately the company lost its credibility with Wall Street.  Its employees were deflated.  Concerned and frightened they abandoned their dreams of retirement at 30 while scrambling to keep their jobs.  An emerging goliath was left defeated to bleed with nothing to stop the hemorrhaging while investors small and large retreated to the safety of near term investment horizons. 

So how does a company maintain its focus and move forward after so much loss?  How do managers sustain their operation in the face of the current market?

Enter CEO Dr. Roger Saillant, a 30-year seasoned veteran of Ford Motor Company, who most recently was general manager of the Energy Transformation Systems group overseeing several billion in revenue and 12,000 employees.

According to Saillant, the problem lay not in the availability of capital or good ideas, but in a lack of trust.  He believed that in a transition period, such as the current one, when companies are recovering from an over reaction of the equity market to excessive optimism, leaders must build trust and hope. 

Long-term innovation and success is a result of “patient capital,” the supply of which depends on trust in a company’s leadership and people.  Such capital, both financial and human, most significantly relies on the commitment, values and loyalty of talented employees who might find better paid and more secure work elsewhere. 

When Saillant arrived at Plug Power, he set a high standard by boldly surfacing problems publicly and directly responding to criticisms of himself, and laying out the risks to investors in great detail.  Through the creation of an “adoption plan,” he laid out a progressive engagement of Plug Power’s products that would ultimately penetrate the consumer marketplace over a course of 20 years. 

Saillant’s adoption curve provided a blueprint for investors that clearly demonstrated Plug Power’s plan for profitability to sustain long-term growth and ultimately result in Plug Power’s success.

Saillant confronted the market with vision and leadership.  He boldly shifted Plug Power’s focus from the production of a residential continuous run product to the commercial backup power market currently in need of new solutions. As a result Plug Power found its footing, and ultimately, has built investor confidence, supplier confidence and employee confidence in the future of Plug Power. 

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc. is an established leader in the deployment of clean, reliable, on-site energy products.  More than 550 Plug Power fuel cell systems have been delivered to customers worldwide in commercial, public sector, telecommunications, utility and uninterruptible power supply markets. 

More information:

http://www.plugpower.com