David Dunbar

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Standex International Corporation

Search every verified David Dunbar interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. David Dunbar, Chairman, President, and CEO of Standex, discussed the company’s operations and strategy in a December 2024 interview on the ICE House podcast. He described Standex as a relatively small company whose products are widely used, citing its electronics business producing 600 million reed switches annually and its engraving business texturizing plastic parts in vehicles across North America, Europe, and China. Dunbar also detailed a deliberate acquisition process, noting that a company founded in India and operating under the trade name Amaran was identified through Standex’s M&A council and acquired after an 18-month engagement. He encouraged his leaders to approach high-pressure situations with creativity, comparing them to quarterbacks like Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes in two-minute drills, and said he challenged each business to adopt a large language model trained on their data to improve processes, describing AI as an accelerator of innovation and efficiency. In an earlier 2012 interview with Valvulas Tyco, Dunbar, then at Tyco Flow Control, discussed the valve industry’s evolutionary pace, predicting new products for higher pressures and temperatures and increased globalization to support customers. He noted that energy demand from developing nations and the green movement were driving investments in power plants, and said Tyco could support customers across energy sources including solar, nuclear, coal, and gas. He also stated that while some valve market segments are price-sensitive and commoditized, others demand high technology and offer opportunities for innovation and services.