CXO Corner Put Your Energy Into What Matters
Q&A With Matt McGraw, Director of Channel Field Sales West & IT Channel Sustainability Lead, Schneider Electric
Matt is a highly accomplished leader with over two decades of combined experience at APC | Schneider Electric and 10 years within IT Channel leadership. With a strong foundation in sales and a keen understanding of the industry, he has consistently delivered outstanding results throughout his career.
Originally from Rhode Island, Matt earned his degree in Business Administration from the University of Rhode Island and began his career in Sales at Schneider Electric shortly thereafter. Matt quickly advanced through the ranks and moved into a field-based position within the Southwest market, gathering experience managing Reseller, Distributor, Integrator, Enduser, and CFE segments for the organisation. Matt is currently the Director of Channel Field Sales West and resides in Arizona with his family.
Under Matt’s leadership over the past 10 years, the Western Channel Sales organisation has experienced exponential growth across its partner network and revenue performance. Matt not only oversees the hiring and management strategies for both inside and field sales, but also fosters a collaborative team culture while taking the lead on various additional Channel initiatives. Most recently, he has played a pivotal role as the lead for NAM Channel Sustainability strategy within the IT Sales Organisation.
Matt McGraw knows this firsthand. Over the past 23 years, he has observed and contributed to many sustainability milestones at Schneider Electric — and the impact is growing.
I have nearly 23 years of service at Schneider Electric (formerly APC). I’m currently the director of channel field sales west in addition to leading our IT Channel Sustainability initiatives.
While sustainability has been ingrained in Schneider Electric's core values for over a decade, we’ve witnessed a surge in its significance for our IT partners and customers over this past year. Motivated by this growing importance of environmental impact, I stepped up in 2022 to lead Schneider Electric's IT Channel sustainability initiatives.
One aspect of my leadership journey that I truly cherish is the people culture within our organisation. Over the years, I have had the privilege of witnessing the growth and development of our employees, both in their careers and personal lives. I firmly believe that Schneider Electric's familial culture plays a crucial role in employee retention and also has a positive impact on our relationships with partners and customers. In my time working with Insight, I can see similarities in how we value the importance of culture within a successful organisation.
Schneider Electric and sustainability go a long way back. It has and will continue to be at the core of everything we do.
Under the leadership of our prior CEO, Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Schneider Electric was the first to monitor our impact on people, planet and profit with an industry-leading sustainability barometer.
Fast forward 15 years, and Schneider Electric was one of the first corporations in the world to get the net-zero targets for its entire value chain validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
We are also honored to have been consecutively named as one of the World’s Most Sustainable Companies by Corporate Knights’ Global 100 ranking.
We’ve made significant leaps toward our Schneider Sustainability Impact (SSI) targets.
To name a few:
Our solutions and services have helped customers save and avoid 458M tonnes of CO2 emissions since 2018.
We’ve assisted our top suppliers in reducing their own CO2 emissions by 13% through our Zero Carbon project.
52% of all packaging is now made without single-use plastic and uses recycled cardboard.
In 2022, we expanded access to green and reliable electricity to 5.5 million people through our solutions and projects.
About 70,000 people have benefited from Schneider Electric’s energy management training programs.
Our SSI program enables us to drive action, not just through ourselves and our partners, but also for our customers and our local communities.
By keeping sustainability at the forefront of our business, we look forward to making this impact a reality — a reality where we continue to live up to our purpose: to empower all to make the most of our energy and resources, bridging progress and sustainability for all.
Having supported our partners and customers for over 23 years, my goal is to leverage my experience and act as the voice of the channel within my organisation, while simultaneously translating Schneider Electric's sustainability messaging and solutions portfolio for our partners.
Sustainability is part of our Schneider Electric DNA, at the core of our values for over a decade and there is a lot to filter through in navigating this conversation with our customers. I lead our internal efforts toward understanding how sustainability aligns with the IT channel.
For example, our teams are being armed with tools to help partners and customers assess embedded carbon within our products as part of the full IT stack. We also have software and services to proactively analyse IT infrastructure to detect inefficiencies, as well as programs for responsible recycling and end-of-life solutions. Ultimately, our objective is to meet our partners where they are in their sustainability communications and identify opportunities for further development and growth.
With the growing emphasis on sustainability, companies are increasingly feeling the need to develop ambitious Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies and commitments.
However, many organisations are facing challenges in knowing how to measure progress towards these goals.
This is where Schneider Electric and our trusted partners like Insight can offer valuable assistance. Our teams can assist customers in identifying the most effective steps to take on their sustainability journey and achieve their future targets.
Additionally, we can collaborate with our partners to provide customers with relevant data to track their sustainable impact.
It's important to recognise that achieving sustainability goals requires collective effort. Schneider Electric, together with Insight, is well-positioned to meet this demand by offering energy optimisation, efficiency and managed power services.
Through this collaboration, we aim to support our customers in their sustainability initiatives and partner with them on their path toward a more sustainable future.
Schneider Electric definitely encourages employees to practice what we preach on a daily basis, providing us with many tools and resources to do so. For example, Schneider Electric launched its Sustainability School for all employees (and our partners), to educate and encourage action in both our work and personal lives.
My primary ambition is to optimise the interactions between my team, customers, and partners, ensuring that doing business with Schneider Electric is a seamless, positive experience for all.
This year, I had the privilege of being awarded the Channel MVP title within our organisation for my significant contributions to leading our sustainability initiatives. This recognition holds great significance for me, as it affirms my passion for making a positive impact in this area.
