In an exclusive interview with ConnectingCranes, Jeff Bust has revealed why he left Manitowoc/Grove and indicated that he is leaving the industry, at least for a while.
Bust said that he realised in mid September that there was no role for him within the new structure that he himself had helped set up. On 11 October he quit.
Bust was president of Grove Crane at the time it was taken over by Manitowoc and when the deal was first announced seemed to be a leading candidate to head to merged operations. But between the announcement of the deal and its closure, Manitowoc Company Inc’s chief financial officer and senior vice president Glen Tellock was moved across the head up Manitowoc Cranes Group.
Once Manitowoc took ownership of Grove, Bust was given the task of managing the integration of Manitowoc, Grove and Potain. According to Tellock there was a ‘strategic role’ for Bust even after this process was completed, but Bust decided that job was not for him.
Explaining his departure, Bust said: ‘The integration process was done. I think we got the right people in the right positions. The structure we put together was one where I would be in a kind of staff position, and me being in that position I didn’t think would be good for Glen.’ Bust explained that he didn’t want to be always by Tellock’s shoulder when the new boss was meeting customers.
‘It really doesn’t play to my strengths in terms of what I like to do and what I can do well,’ he continued.
Asked when he realised there was unlikely to be a position at the company that would satisfy him, Bust replied: ‘I was very open minded throughout the whole [integration] process. I really like Terry Growcock and Glen. We worked all the way through to mid September to see if there was a role for me and there wasn’t’
Still under 50, Bust is too young and energetic to contemplate retirement. Asked what his plans were now, Bust he said he was going to take some time out to spend with his family, before starting to look around for new challenges.
‘I know that I’m not going to be in the crane industry for a while,’ he said. Was that because he had signed a non-compete clause as part of a pay-off from Manitowoc? ‘I can’t comment on that,’ he replied.
