EVERETT – Barbara Hulit first crossed paths with Fluke Corp. in the late 1990s, when the respected maker of test and measurement equipment was purchased by a big holding company.
As a consultant, Hulit advised Danaher Corp. of Washington, D.C., in its acquisition of Fluke and subsequently worked with the local management team in the transition.
So she wasn’t a stranger to Fluke’s Everett headquarters when she was hired as its president last year.
“It was a business that I knew very well, and I knew the people here,” Hulit said. “So I knew what I was getting into.”
Hulit, 39, assumed responsibility of Fluke’s industrial and precision measurement businesses in September from Jim Lico, who was promoted to executive vice president for Danaher. Hulit reports to him.
Dan Bates / The Herald
As part of taking the job, Hulit went through three months of orientation and study of Danaher’s business practices. But she acknowledges that Fluke, founded 58 years ago, still has its own flavor after eight years under Danaher’s corporate umbrella.
“The culture here is pretty special, and so many people here are so dedicated to what John Fluke Sr. set out to do so many years ago,” said Hulit, who goes on to talk about her “incredible respect for the heritage and the brand.”
But Hulit fits into the mold of the company’s more recent past, which has focused on marrying good design and marketing with solid engineering.
A child of the Lone Star State, Hulit majored in marketing at the University of Texas-Austin, later adding a master’s in business administration from Northwestern University near Chicago. Right out of school, she spent a short time with Noxell, the maker of Noxema and other cosmetic products, now owned by Procter &Gamble. She also worked at Frito-Lay, helping to market Doritos.
After working for Marketing Corp. of America, she landed at the Chicago office of the Boston Consulting Group in 1992. There, Hulit first ran the firm’s packaged goods business, then the consumer retail practice for the U.S.
That resume is admittedly light on studying the inner workings of digital multimeters, thermal imagers and other devices Fluke makes and sells.
“I would consider myself OK in the basics,” she said. “I understand enough to match the marketing needs with the technology.”
Richard Van Saun, a retired Fluke executive, met Hulit during Danaher’s acquisition of the company eight years ago.
“I think she got a sense of the past Fluke culture,” he said, describing her as “smart and a quick study.”
“Danaher hires good people,” he added.
Chuck Newcombe, a retired product planner who spent 38 years at Fluke, also first met Hulit in 1998 and has met with her since she took over. He was impressed both then and now with her curiosity in the business and her interest in the company’s history.
“From what I hear from people who are still working at Fluke, they’re rather pleased with her,” he said.
Mother to a nearly 3-year-old boy, Hulit and her husband, who works in the wireless communications industry, are living temporarily in Kirkland, with plans to settle in Bellevue. She said that despite the gray winter weather, this region is a trade-up from Chicago, her previous locale.
“We love the area here,” she said, adding that she, her husband and son are trying out the region’s hiking spots.
“Before our son, we explored the world. Now we explore the Puget Sound area,” she said.
Her company, however, is keeping its eye on global aspirations. Fluke now has workers and operations in more than 100 countries, including about 1,000 employees in Everett. More than half its sales come from outside the U.S.
According to Danaher’s 2005 annual report, sales from its electronic test businesses, including Fluke, grew 16 percent compared to 2004. That included 6.5 percent growth in sales from existing businesses, with new acquisitions making up the rest.
For Fluke, growth has come in part by creating tools, on its own or through acquisitions, for new niches, such as indoor air quality and infrared imaging. Those are both opportunity markets that Hulit helped the company identify.
As Fluke products go to new places, however, she said they need to stay true to the essence of the brand.
“The brand is incredibly strong around the world,” she said, “and the potential for growth is enormous.”
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
New Fluke Corp. President Barbara Hulit checks out the company’s new T130 thermal imager.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
