481: Culture Shock, Circular Economy, & Navigating Acquisitions with Dean Vukovic of Terrasmart

Dean Vukovic moved to the US with visions of revolutionizing the way we manufacture and ultimately reuse/repurpose consumer goods. Embracing the circular economy philosophy, he crossed the pond from Oz to help pioneer that movement here in the USA for his prior employer. Now, he’s GM at Terrasmart (the entity formed by Gibraltar’s roll-up of RBI Solar, Terrasmart, Sunfig and SolarBOS) and leads their fixed tilt division (formerly RBI Solar). Dean has such a great story to tell and it’s one that incorporates many lessons learned from both the culture shock of moving halfway round the world as well as being first among the 4 companies herein mentioned that were integrated under one roof with Terrasmart. I spent time with Dean discussing how he thinks about circular economy, the specifics of his management approach to the integration of the various businesses that are now Terrasmart, and what he believes is still holding the industry back from fully realizing the potential we all believe is possible.This conversation was quite inspiring for me. In the fervor that has been the M&A cycle of the last 2+ Years, I think that only a handful of companies have really gotten it “right” from an integration and branding perspective, and Terrasmart is one such example. Thanks to Dean and his team at Terrasmart for being willing to discuss the details, and I look forward to bringing more insights from the Terrasmart group of products to the SunCast tribe!If you want to connect with today's guest, you’ll find links to his contact info in the show notes on the blog at https://mysuncast.com/suncast-episodes/.Our Platinum Presenting Sponsor for SunCast is CPS America!SunCast is proudly supported by Trina Solar.You can learn more about all the sponsors who help make this show free for you at www.mysuncast.com/sponsors.Remember, you can always find resources, learn more about today’s guest and explore recommendations, book links, and more than 730 other founder stories and startup advice at www.mysuncast.com.Subscribe to Valence, our weekly LinkedIn Newsletter, and learn the elements of compelling storytelling: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/valence-content-that-connects-7145928995363049472/You can connect with me, Nico Johnson, on:Twitter - https://www.twitter.com/nicomeoLinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickalus