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| photography coutesy of Interstate Batteries |
Interstate Batteries Systems of America International Inc. is marking an important month. Not only will the private company behind North America’s top-brand replacement battery be sponsoring car No. 18 during the NASCAR Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway April 6; this month also marks the fourth year Carlos Sepulveda has led Interstate. A 1979 graduate of the University of Texas, Sepulveda earned his CPA in 1981 and worked for KPMG Peat Marwick in Austin, New York, and San Francisco before returning to his native Texas. Struck by Interstate’s mission statement, he decided to give the company “a year”; fourteen years later he was named CEO, a position he loves and equates to coaching. Sepulveda has since guided Interstate past the $1 billion revenue threshold and continues to expand on new opportunities for the 50-year-old company.
Age: 50
Title/Company: President and CEO/Interstate Batteries System of America Inc.
Tenure: 18 years (four as CEO)
What was your first job? Bagging groceries.
What was your worst job? The summer I was 15, I had a job building fences 52 hours a week. I also spent time working an air hammer where you had to chisel down into the rock, so I have a lot of respect for people who do that.
If you couldn’t say “the people I work with,” what would you say is the best part of your job? Interacting, and seeing how I can assist people as they undertake to achieve their fullest potential. I enjoy coaching.
What’s the worst part? I really don’t like terminating people, but it is absolutely necessary.
What is it that challenges you the most? Maintaining all the good aspects of a 50-year-old business, then adding onto that new opportunities to serve the marketplace and new opportunities to develop team members.
On weekends, where would people find you? Cycling. I started in November 2007, so I’m new. But right now I’m closing in on 2,000 miles.
What’s your favorite place in Dallas? My house. I am not a guy who invests in real estate; I’m a guy who has invested in my home, and I’ve always wanted my home to be a place I love to be. It’s important because my family is there.
What book is currently on your nightstand? A book of Sudoku puzzles.
What’s your favorite TV show? Mostly championship-series sports. My wife enjoys American Idol, and I have found myself intrigued by observing how people [on that show] handle the opportunity and the pressure to perform.
What’s your most recent major purchase? A road bike.
What’s your favorite type of music? I love all kinds of music depending on what I’m doing. If I’m working, I love piano music in the background. If I’m reading, I like music that doesn’t have vocals. But if I’m exercising or just out and about, I like all kinds.
What three Web sites do you visit most frequently? Our intranet site, BibleGateway.com, and www.dannysepulvedafan.com.
What’s your biggest regret? That I’m already 50. It seems like just the other day I was 28. What is sobering is that it means I’m right around the corner from being 78.
What do you consider to be your biggest weakness? I tend to think things can be done faster than they typically happen.
What’s the best advice anyone ever gave you? Colossians 3:23. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
