A brand led by a visionary thought leader and his core team, Big Ass Fans rightfully takes pride in itself as a market innovator, a trailblazer, and an industry leader in delivering air comfort in complex environments. They build an exceptional suite of heating and cooling products and deliver sensational results through their ability for design and service delivery.
Since its inception in 1999, every product the company makes has been backed by a commitment to quality, dependability, and innovation that has been the engine for the Big Ass Fans’ expansion. Their core focus is on creating comfort where no one else can and delivering a return on air investment for the most complex spaces in the world. They provide end-to-end services, such as engineered applications, best-in-class product design, turn-key installation, and lifetime support, to have an amazing customer experience.
The Maverick behind the Success
The leading man behind the brand, Ken Wama, comes up with over 22 years of managerial experience and has developed a solid leadership ethos. Ken currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Big Ass Fans and leads the industry in the delivery of industrial HVLS (High Volume Low Speed) fans as well as a variety of other goods and services. Ken is a recognized expert in transformative leadership; in a previous position, he used his growth mentality, emotional intelligence, and data-driven innovation to take a $3 million company and expand it to an incredible $1.8 billion company.
In academics, Ken graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Business Administration from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University.
The Inspiring Journey Straight from the Ken’s Mouth
I like to break up my professional life into chapters. Unmet consumer needs exist everywhere, in all economic conditions and marketplaces, as I learned during my first chapter at a dynamic, privately held electronics company. To promote differentiation and growth, you must constantly interact with clients and look for their demands. It may seem easy, but doing it consistently is challenging.
My second chapter was where I learned to become a General Manager. I actively sought out this position at a publicly traded Fortune 500 firm. I led each of the functions in growing a business from $3M to $100M using a combination of organic and inorganic development. Throughout this time, I had numerous opportunities to learn about leadership, communication, and accountability.
The third chapter was enabled by a period of emotional intelligence training facilitated by two different leadership programs and my MBA at Emory. Ultimately I scaled from overseeing all functions in a $100 million business to a $1 billion business while leading directly and across functional lines and how to manage and engage people irrespective of reporting lines.
The fourth chapter of my story, “Leading Through Adversity,” began in 2019 when we announced our intention to “Spin” (or IPO) my business unit. This sale process ultimately resulted in the sale of my business unit to a competitor. It closed on March 1st, 2020, two weeks before Covid sent our entire workforce home and started a two-year effort to manage employee mental and physical health, supply chain issues, and integration changes.
Lastly, as the various activities calmed, I made a decision to seek out a leadership role in a business balancing many factors, including company culture, market opportunity, size, the complexity of the business, competitiveness, and ultimately, my ability to help and make an impact. This brought me to Big Ass Fans.
The Inspiration behind Joining Big Ass Fans
Ken started to develop an admiration for the company in 2016 and competed with the company when BAF was in the lighting business. They met Big Ass Fan customers who raved about the company, its products, its offerings, and its culture while ignoring their goods completely. In addition, Ken and his team bought fans from BAF for their facilities, and their employees were delighted with the support and performance. The aspiring leader always thought, “I wish I could get a look beneath the canvas and see how they achieved that to myself.”
An Edge Over the Peers
The voice of the Customer is the central cog in the business and culture and what makes Big Ass Fans unique. They engage with the end user and have over 160,000 direct customer relationships, which is increasing daily. As a result, they are always getting invaluable input from those who use the product on a daily basis through calls, site visits, and zooms. Unmet needs are what spur innovation. They don’t aim for features; they aim for solutions and want to be the person the customers call when they have uncomfortable employees and need someone to help.
Overcoming the COVID Crisis
Globally, the Covid pandemic has had a profound impact on how people perceive indoor air and indoor air quality for employees. Because of increased awareness, a labor shortage, and the significance of clean air, Big Ass Fans have seen unprecedented growth. The business aspires to and will keep up its commitment to building a safer, healthier, and more productive planet. The benefits of natural ventilation and air conditioning in complex environments are gradually becoming more well-known.
Significance of Employee Well-being
Employee well-being is incredibly important at BAF. Along with maintaining people’s comfort and safety in the workplace, the management team makes a concerted effort to develop a cohesive workplace where workers feel valued, heard, and a part of a larger mission. To help every employee comprehend the value they provide to the clients, they aim to tie together their day-to-day tactical actions. This is evident in their efforts to be the best employer in each market in which they operate. In 2022, Fortune Magazine recognized them as one the “Best Places to Work for Millennials,” the “#1 Medium Size Company,” and the “#15 in Manufacturing Company in the US.”
BAF’s Expansion Binge
BAF’s mission is to create comfort in the world’s most complex environments. Whether it be a 1M sq ft manufacturing facility in Texas or your backyard in Ohio, they understand airflow better than anyone and have everything covered. That begins with ensuring the world knows that Big Ass Fans is the solution for heating or cooling in difficult spaces.
They have an amazing opportunity to educate the general public about the advantages of better indoor air quality in addition to cozier spaces. Their number one priority is telling more people about BAF. They will, as they have for the past 22 years, continue to create the most exceptional big fans on the planet and deliver one-of-a-kind service to the expanding customer base.
