It doesn’t take much to bring a smile to new COO John Murphy’s face these days. The longtime Chicago Cubs fan is still as excited as ever to talk about the team’s first World Series championship since 1908 last fall and he’s got two more recent reasons for joy, too. In June, Murphy joined AVI-SPL as its chief operating officer and, a little more than a month later, he became a grandfather for the first time. They often say bad news comes in threes, but Murphy, 54, seems to have knocked that expression on its head.
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In June, Murphy joined AVI-SPL as its chief operating officer and, a little more than a month later, he became a grandfather for the first time. They often say bad news comes in threes, but Murphy, 54, seems to have knocked that expression on its head.
Murphy brings almost 20 years of operational leadership experience to AVI-SPL, most recently with real estate firm CBRE as COO of its global workplace solutions division. Murphy’s “ability to develop and execute strategies and business models will create advantages for global clients and their new, innovative workplaces,” according to an AVI-SPL press release announcing his hiring shortly before InfoComm 2017.
“We could not have asked for a better fit than John to help lead our team, and serve our customers, in the time of digital workplace transformation,” said AVI-SPL CEO John Zettel. “With his knowledge and understanding of the customer’s perspective, John will undoubtedly ensure that AVI-SPL continues to provide the best possible customer experience for our global client base.”
Prior to CBRE, Murphy was group president of Johnson Controls’ global workplace solutions group, a multi-billion-dollar division offering services like facility and project management, workplace strategy and consulting. Under Murphy’s leadership, the division supported more than 200 large enterprise clients in 50 countries. The new COO will be assigned a similar task at AVI-SPL as the company continues to scale its operations around the world.
Recently, Murphy has been involved with discussions about a program to bring to clients he says will “make their businesses better.” As part of that, he says, AVI-SPL is continuing to develop add-ons and enhancements to its Symphony managed services platform, which Murphy sees as “probably our biggest opportunity.”
Interestingly, Murphy was a customer of AVI-SPL while he was at Johnson Controls, where the company created a customer showcase that still stands six years later. So, when a search firm told him AVI-SPL was interested in him, Murphy was excited about the possibility of being their new COO.
Let’s go Back Stage and learn more about AVI-SPL new COO John Murphy.
Commercial Integrator: How have you prepared for this new job in a new industry for you?
John Murphy (JM): Everything I’ve done in my professional career has been with technology-and systems-based companies. I’ve gotten to appreciate the emerging role of collaboration technology in creating much more efficient engagement of the workforce and as a tool to increase recruiting and retention.
I’ve seen first-hand the increasing importance organizations place on creating world-class collaboration tools, data-visualization platforms, as well as a consistent user experience. With the ability to work with clients globally throughout their entire project life cycle — from design to installation and continued support from the industry’s most innovative managed services offerings — AVI-SPL is uniquely positioned as the most capable partner to deliver these important collaboration needs.
CI: What’s your experience with using and interacting with some of the technology you’ll now oversee?
JM: In the senior leadership positions I’ve had in the last 10 years, I was a heavy user and an early adopter of a lot of these technologies. I saw the nature of the connection and saw how it was able to create a sense of connected community.
CI: What’s your approach to the new job and how do you anticipate that changing as you adjust to it?
JM: Right now, I’m meeting with as many people as possible and building relationships with key folks around the world. I’ve been doing a lot of listening. I knew AVI-SPL was a great company and a market leader, but the quality, caliber and enthusiasm of people is really incredible.
