Empowering Others to Help Meet Challenges

TONY TIROLLO was the founder and CEO of TRM Microwave for 40 years.

“I had no initial aspirations to take over the company because Tony’s attitude was he loved the job – designing RF microwave components,” recalls his wife, Wendy Tirollo. “He said, ‘Wendy, we’ll be here till we’re 80 or 90.’”

But in 2006, Tony unexpectedly had a heart attack, “and it rocked our world and got us thinking about the company’s future,” says Tirollo. “Tony was a methodical person. He always planned things out and he said, ‘If this doesn’t go our way, we have several choices: We could either position the company to be sold, or if you would like, I could poise you to take over and have you run the business someday.”

“My response was, ‘Tony, I need some time to consider this huge responsibility, to be accountable for all our employees’ lives and their families is a huge undertaking,’” she says.

But it was the rapport and close relationships Wendy had developed over the years with TRM’s employees that led her to take on the role and the subsequent challenges they faced.

And it was her leadership and the team’s collaborative approach to problem-solving that lined the company up for the next step in its growth plan, to deliver mission-critical electronics components as part of the new company, Quantic.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Tony mentored Wendy for five years before she was officially appointed CEO in 2010. Wendy had joined the company in the mid-1990s and served as director of HR for a decade.

“Tony was referred to in our industry as the ‘Microwave King’ and my biggest concern was that I didn’t have a degree in electrical engineering,” recalls Tirollo. “I recognized the fact that I had to be savvy enough to understand the approaches and direction my engineers would ultimately want to take the company.”

TRM Microwave’s now former CEO Wendy Tirollo (right) and Chief Operating Officer Mark Schappler stand in front of the surface mount line at their headquarters in Bedford. (Courtesy photo)

“However, I knew Tony had been coaching and mentoring our engineering staff for years and I knew their level of commitment and loyalty to TRM, so I followed through on what Tony had instructed me to do and that was to trust them, stay involved and trust my gut instincts. Tony always told me I had incredible common sense and a good level head for business, and coupled with the fact that he knew I would follow his lead and take only carefully calculated risks. He knew the company would be in good hands.”

Tony reassured her that as CEO, her role was to “hire the best of the best that I could afford, pay attention to the details and engage at all levels of the business,” she reflects.

Tirollo sat in on department meetings ranging from sales to finance to engineering, learning the fine points. By 2014, she had spent four years managing the day-to-day operations, working closely with managers and supervisors, when Tony suffered a double heart attack.

“That was one of the hardest things I had to go through because my main priority, concern, was Tony, keeping him alive and well, being his advocate while going through a plethora of medical procedures,” she says. “While he was enduring all of his health challenges, he kept true to form by consistently keeping a positive attitude the entire time, which was incredibly inspiring and encouraging to me.”

When Tony was doing well, Tirollo could pay more attention to the business, and when he was not, her focus was on him.

Wendy Tirollo, former CEO of TRM Microwave, signs the last steel beam erected as part of a facility expansion doubling TRM Microwave’s footprint in Bedford. (Courtesy photo)

“But I knew I had a great team in place that did not want to disappoint me or Tony, and they were holding their own feet to the fire. I might come in a couple times a week for team meetings, but I knew they had it,” she says.

“‘Trust and empower people to do their job,’” Tony had told her. “‘A lot of people like to hire great people and micromanage them,’ he said. ‘Once you make the decision to hire people, you need to empower them to do their jobs, but the flip side of that is to hold them accountable.’”

Tirollo incorporated measures to hold employees responsible for their own actions. When Tirollo conducted annual performance reviews, she asked peers to weigh in on each employee so she can get a full comprehensive viewpoint on each individual. Collaborating with her team in this way allowed her to make educated decisions when it comes to compensation and internal advancement.

“No matter what position you hold in any company, it is important to know people are watching you and looking at the results,” she summarizes.

Likewise, employees look to executives, and Tirollo had to develop her own leadership style.

At times, Tirollo had to remind colleagues not to make the mistake of underestimating her and her soft-spoken tone and good nature. As the leader of the company, Tirollo knew it was important that people understood she was not just a figurehead but an active leader in the company.

As she developed her leadership style, she always kept in mind Tony’s treasure trove of executive advice and guiding principles.

“Be professional at all times, work harder than anyone else, have a strong backbone when having a difficult conversation or needing to make a tough decision, be consistent and reliable, and find my passion,” lists Tirollo.

“The other thing he taught me is never let them see you sweat,” Wendy recalls. “It is when times are taxing and difficult that you need to stay laser-focused on your goals and not get distracted. Keeping a level head and a tough mental mindset and attitude will allow your critical thinking skills to kick in and help you make prudent business decisions during turbulent times.’”

Wendy (right) pictured with TRM Microwave founder and former CEO Tony Tirollo (left), her husband. Tony ran the company for 40 years. He founded TRM after winning a lawsuit filed by his former employer, confirming he owned the intellectual property of his latest invention. (Courtesy photo)

TEAM APPROACH

Tirollo adhered to Tony’s advice when less than a year after his passing in 2016, the company suffered a significant blow – its biggest product line went down for several weeks.

“It was all hands on deck, and we set up our conference room to accommodate our customer so we could work with them hand in hand every day,” says Tirollo. “We had to reverse engineer the product. We had the brightest minds from MIT and people with Ph.D.s looking at this closely, because it was a particularly important product line for our military.”

Tirollo faced the reality that to avoid furloughs or layoffs, she would have to personally fund the company.

“I was pretty alarmed and concerned. I was being asked to personally sign these large checks. (But) I was committed to not let anybody go during this time,” says Tirollo. “Tony always told me, ‘There are going to be ups and downs in business. You’re going to have to take personal accountability for the company and the employees – these people are like our family.’ I put on a brave face and took the challenge seriously.”

Even though the company’s financials kept her awake at night, “I would go into work dressed for success, smiling with my shoulders down and back and my head held high. I never let on I was struggling emotionally and mentally with this tremendous challenge,” recalls Tirollo.

At one point, her chief operating officer encouraged her to rally the troops, so to speak, “because people were getting downtrodden, due to the fact the company wasn’t quickly finding the solution to this problem.

During one of the company’s monthly employee meetings the COO confided Wendy’s full commitment to the company and admitted she was personally investing in each and every one of them by the mere fact she had been and would continue to personally fund everyone’s paychecks until a solution was discovered.’”

After the company meeting, one employee told Tirollo she had been going through her own personal problems and it was negatively affecting her life at work and home. She confided that Wendy’s open communication about her own struggles and resilience to carry on influenced her to get motivated and take on a more positive attitude herself.

“That was very gratifying for me to hear that I had inspired someone to take a more optimistic approach to their work,” says Tirollo. As Tirollo’s team worked overtime, Tirollo did too. “At TRM, we practice servant leadership. There were times I asked people to put in quite a bit of overtime, and I was coming in early, too, right alongside them. One of my employees who came in early said, ‘It shows your level of integrity…because you’ve asked us to step up and you’re doing the same.’ That was just automatic for me,” says Tirollo. “That’s the responsibility you take on as a business leader; you have to personally commit to the business without limits. After all, your name is on the dotted line.”

After an enormous effort, the engineering team identified and implemented a solution to get the line running once again. TRM’s customer “now refers to us as their partner instead of just their supplier,” says Tirollo. “I thought that was the greatest compliment. We never abandoned, deserted or gave up. We gave everything we had, working around the clock, on the problem until it got resolved.”

TRM has now grown from 35 to 75 employees and has undertaken a facility expansion and full renovation to nearly double its footprint and improve capacity to accommodate increased manufacturing demands and its growing workforce.

“The construction company asked if I wanted to sign the last steel beam being erected. I said, ‘Can we have the whole company participate?’ because I wanted everyone to be a part of the process and the strategic plan to boldly move forward and feel connected to our collective success,” says Tirollo.

The ceiling was designed to allow this one structural beam to be seen, reminding employees of the significant milestone they all had a chance to participate in.

“I also signed Tony’s name next to mine to make sure he is always remembered and included in everything we do. I want people to always remember that none of us would have this amazing opportunity to be working here at TRM if it were not for him and the incredible sacrifices he made along the way throughout his career. He would be so incredibly proud of all of us and the achievements we have accomplished to date.”

In January 2021, it was announced Arcline Investment Management, a private equity firm focused on aerospace and defense, had purchased TRM to form the new company Quantic, which includes two other electronics components firms: Evans Capacitor Company in Rhode Island and Ohmega Technologies in California. Tirollo stepped down from her position after the sale.

“TRM’s focus, first and foremost, is on cultivating long-lasting relationships by helping our customers solve their difficult design challenges,” said Mark Schappler, chief operating officer of TRM. “As part of the Quantic family, we will leverage technology from across the portfolio to deliver an even broader set of RF and microwave solutions for new and existing customers.”