David Hollingsworth, Retired VP of Business Development, is a founder of Ascentron, a company that rose from the ashes of the high-tech industry crash of 2001. Success depended on a strategic shift away from high volume computer, automotive and gaming electronics. The company now provides high-mix low-to-medium volume Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS), supporting customers in the aviation, medical, military, industrial and instrumentation industries. From 2002 sales of $4 million, David built a team that grew sales 500% to $20 million in 2008. Having learned the lessons from a boom to bust economy, Ascentron weathered the 2008 recession well and steadily recovered its previous sales volume while also increasing margins. Ascentron joined the Emerald EMS family of companies in October of 2023 and David retired from Ascentron in December 2023. David is in demand as a speaker and workshop leader on strategically reinventing your company and on managing your enterprise using meaningful dashboards, which he illustrates with examples from Ascentron’s history.
David holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Southern Oregon University. Founder of two sales representative businesses, he has been active in the electronics industry since 1987. He has operated an EMS business since 1996, holding senior management positions in sales, marketing and operations. David sits on the IPC EMS Management Council Steering Committee and has been active in IPC EMS Management Council meetings since 1997.