Alumnus leads Israeli company, credits the Moore School with preparing him for the C-suite of global enterprise
Franck Søgaard, ’05 IMBA, has had a front seat to the conflict in Israel as president and chief revenue officer of Maytronics, a global electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Northern Israel.
Søgaard, who lives on Lake Murray in Columbia but visits Israel often for work, has seen more than 100 of Maytronics’ employees based in Israel called to serve in the war since October 2023. Many other employees have family who are directly involved in the conflict.
“The situation is tragic on so many levels, and the war is impacting my friends and colleagues in Israel in ways you cannot even imagine,” Søgaard says.
Usually spending a week in Israel each month, Søgaard postponed travel to the region until early 2024.
“It was a very emotional reunion with my team in Israel, and I could feel their emotions instantly,” he says. “At the same time, I’m amazed by their resiliency. The most incredible moment was when I walked the factory floor in Israel and saw people from both sides of the conflict working side by side together, proving that it is possible to live in peace with each other.”
Witnessing the ongoing discord where his company is based, Søgaard says his experience in the Moore School’s International MBA program prepared him to handle business disruptions and gave him the ability to pivot to meet the needs of a certain region.
“The Moore School really helped me understand the importance of adapting business to local markets, as there are so many factors to consider in finding success in expanding business overseas,” he says.
One of the most important points Søgaard says he learned in the IMBA program is understanding the cultural aspects of business in different parts of the world.
“I would attribute a good portion of my career success to having the knowledge of and sensitivity to local business cultures and values,” he says. “I’ve found this to be invaluable as I’ve brought businesses together from all over the world, resulting in close partnerships with substantial value creation.”
As president and CRO for Maytronics, Søgaard presides over subsidiaries in Australia, Spain, Germany, France and the United States. He is also responsible for global strategy, marketing and
post-sales service teams and is chairman of the board for Maytronics’ recently acquired e-commerce business headquartered in Dallas.
While he travels the globe for his current position, Søgaard grew up in Norway and moved to Sweden at age 12. He earned his own money so he could be an exchange student in the U.S. and ended up in South Carolina.
After completing compulsory military service with the Norwegian armed forces, he enrolled in the College of Charleston, where he graduated with an international business and global logistics degree in 2003.
Having lived in multiple countries ahead of enrolling in the IMBA program, Søgaard spoke five languages before attending the Moore School.
“One of the key things I learned in the program was how to fully leverage my life experience in business,” he says.
From an academic standpoint, Søgaard says the Moore School’s marketing, decision analysis, international business and international management courses have regularly factored into his career.
Regarding the overall impact of the Moore School on his career, Søgaard says, “I would also emphasize the value of the Moore School alumni network, which is very strong and has opened so many doors for me. Looking back at my decision to choose the Moore School IMBA program, it was a life-changing moment, which has brought a tremendous amount of blessings to both my career and life as a whole.”
-Marjorie Riddle Duffie