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54 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2020 Interview by Nolan Johnson I-CONNECT007 I spoke with Shane Whiteside to get his unique perspective on the industry as presi- dent and CEO of Summit Interconnect, as well as his position on the board of directors for the IPC. Whiteside discusses the business chal- lenges he sees overall. Nolan Johnson: Shane, you have two high-pro- file roles in the industry right now. First, can you introduce yourself? Shane Whiteside: I'm currently serving as pres- ident and CEO of Summit Interconnect. I'm proud to be a part of that. It's a great team here in the PCB industry. Also, it's my honor to serve on the IPC board of directors. For the next two years, I'm serving as the chairman of the board. Johnson: That's a very influential position. Summit certainly seems to be growing. How would you characterize that? Whiteside: Since we formed the company in April of 2016, through the acquisition and merger of the two companies in Southern Cal- ifornia (MEI and KCA), we've grown organi- cally. We also made an acquisition in Decem- ber 2018 of Streamline Circuits, and then we just finished an acquisition in July of ITL Cir- cuits in Toronto, Canada. Each of the compa- nies has grown significantly since we bought them. By putting them together on one plat- form, we have developed a very large and best- in-class sales force. Again, the two main ele- ments of growth have been organic and acqui- sitions. Johnson: With your perspective in putting to- gether a company like Summit, as well as your position on the board of directors for IPC, what are some of the business challenges that you see for the industry overall? Whiteside: There are quite a number of chal- lenges. In 2020, in particular, everybody's fac- ing a challenge with COVID-19 and coping with it not only in our businesses but also in Whiteside's View From the Summit: An Industry Perspective Shane Whiteside