ST. GEORGE — It's been 20 years since Kevin Rollins picked grapes at this grandfather's St. George vineyard, snacking on the sweet fruit warmed by the famous southern Utah sunshine.
On Thursday, Rollins, now the president and chief operating officer of Dell Americas, returned to a blistering St. George as the keynote speaker of the Rural Utah Business Technology Conference.
"Flying in here today brought back a familiar feeling," Rollins told the 500 business and community leaders gathered for the two-day conference at the Dixie Center. "It's amazing to be part of this technology. It's a challenging time for business, regardless of your size. Very few are not feeling the challenge of the economic slowdown we're facing. But there's no question our economy will improve, and it will be stronger."
Conference co-sponsor Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, introduced Rollins to the crowd. The conference, now in its second year, also is sponsored by the Utah Rural Development Council.
"I will point out that Rollins is one of the top executives in the computer industry," Bennett said. "There's one thing that separates Dell from all the others, and that's money. Dell is making money and growing big in a period of time when it's very difficult to do that."
Rollins, a graduate of Brigham Young University, is credited with leading Dell during its most dramatic growth period, with revenues jumping from $5 billion in 1996 to $36.9 billion in its most recent four quarters.
"The science of technology marches on whether we are ready for it or not," Rollins said. "It doesn't recognize changes in the economy or customer behavior."
The evolution of technology presents a bevy of challenges and opportunities, he said.
"As members of the business community, our primary responsibilities are listening and executing. No matter what the size of your business, you have to listen to your customers and fill their needs perfectly," Rollins said.
Dell strives to serve as a liaison between the ever-changing state of technology and customers' needs. Less than 4 percent of the world's population lives in the United States, he added.
"That's why Dell is focusing on China and other parts of Asia. But you don't need to be Dell to reach this new and exciting business. Technology reaches beyond the backyard," Rollins said. "You can enter the global marketplace by serving customers from Topeka and Taiwan."
"I call this the democratization of information technology," he said. "You now can buy sophisticated computer power right off the shelf. As your company grows, your infrastructure can grow with you."
The corporate culture at Dell was revamped after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in a sort of soul-searching way, Rollins said.
"Our business kind of went sideways. You can't have a corporate culture based on its stock price, and that's what a lot of the dot-coms were all about," he said. "We started an initiative in our company that we call the 'soul of Dell.' It enriches our culture and gives our people a reason to work at Dell."
Everyone who works at Dell is familiar with the company principles, he said.
"Principles like 'inventory is bad,' 'cycle times have to be short,' 'ethics are unquestionable,' 'technology is good' and 'fix it now, don't let decisions flounder.'
"As such, we've been able to maintain an entrepreneurial feel between customers and the company," Rollins said. "Our customers are real to us. They're not just a name or a bunch of numbers."
Dell products are sold directly to the customer, so there's never a middleman, he said.
"The strategy at Dell is unbeatable. You have to understand the customer and what they want. Then you have to make it happen."
E-mail: nperkins@infowest.com