Meet Susan Echard of Cubex in Central Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Echard.

Susan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was raised in a very small town in Michigan – well it wasn’t even a town, but more of a township. A little dirt road that even the snowplows forgot about. My dad worked for General Motors, like most fathers did, and I admired him for his work ethic and providing for his family. I got my free spirit from my mom who was always up for a good food fight when we were baking bread…flour everywhere! Our family didn’t have much money, so I put myself through college at the University of Michigan by working as an intern in the accounting department at General Motors. The Chevy administrative office that I worked at maintained the books for five surrounding manufacturing plants. One day I had an opportunity to see “The Vault” – a place where all permanent records were stored. I saw beautiful, hand-written ledgers from the days the facility was called Wagon Wheels – before cars were invented. The ledgers were hand written in the most beautiful cursive writing in black ink. And when Chevy started making the Corvette, my grandfather worked at that plant. But winters in Michigan are not fun as an adult, and I had the opportunity to move to California and work for Arthur Young (now Ernst & Young) after I graduated from college. After 9 years, I wanted a change and a chance to do SEC filings, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line gave me a wonderful opportunity to not only do some fabulous cruising, but also be part of the many SEC filings that were required for a foreign public company, and their need to finance the billion dollar cruise ships. I loved the technical aspects of SEC filings, and I had a total of 15 years of doing the filings for not only RCL, but also Tupperware, PetsMart, and CSK Automotive (now O’Reilly Auto Parts). But for the past 11 years, I’ve worked in the software industry at medium-sized companies, and I have found what works for me and my personality – I like to fix things, I like people, and I like technology. I am a believer that people are the best asset that a company has – and if you have the wrong people, or even the right people but doing the wrong job, you’re not optimizing the work flow. A mentor that I had from an Eli Lilly company once told me, “take care of people, and business will take care of itself”. It is a creed that I have lived by, and those who have worked for me, will testify to its meaning. Happy people are productive. Support your team, get to know their job, truly listen to their ideas, and when you support the growth and development of your team, it will come back to you 10 fold with effort, attitude, and job satisfaction. Forget results…they will happen when the people and process are in harmony. But it’s harder than it sounds – I’ve had to fire people, hire people, move people to new roles, put systems and processes in place – and anyone who has gone through change management knows that it is a delicate process. I’m now the CFO at a growing software company, CUBEX LLC that is very special because of what we are doing for our customers, employees and community. Our software is installed on a customized cabinet, which controls narcotics inventory, as well as high value supplies for Long-Term Care facilities as well as veterinary practices. In addition to making sure that narcotics do not get into the wrong channels, CUBEX invests in its employees and community. After three years of employment, the Company pays 100% of the employee’s medical premium, and with the open PTO policy, and short Friday work-days, the culture promotes a work/life balance that helps build a high retention and happy workforce. The Company is also active in the community, and has hired a Community Outreach Coordinator whose responsibility is to be the bridge between the employees and volunteer activities around the Phoenix area.

I’ve loved living in Arizona for the past 17 years – and I feel fortunate to have my life filled with family, friendships, and professional relationships that keep me very active. I’m a single mom, helping my 19-year old son navigate adult-hood, and in the early morning, you might see me riding my new Trek bike on the roads of North Scottsdale. I also enjoy swimming, spinning, and weight training with my second family from my ToBeRe workout group. Even with temps over 100, life is good.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I’ve been divorced twice – not the easiest for anyone. I’ve had both of my hips replaced-my right one had to be done twice because I kept dislocating it – and there were other complications with blood clots, anemia, etc. My son has had his struggles….and being a single woman, working long hours, trying to date, making the right choices, earning enough to provide – sure I could paint that picture. But I come from a family of strong women, and I like to think that I have had a very charmed life. I just feel lucky to have the life that I’ve lived so far –

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Absolutely nothing…

Contact Info:

• Address: 1048 N 44th Street
  Suite 100
• Website: www.cubexsystem.com
• Phone: 4802209252
• Email: sechard@cubex.biz

Image Credit:
Anton Visser, Founder and CEO Cubex LLC

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