Chief Executive Officer & Director, ENERSYS
BCI's Miksad interviews EnerSys CEO Dave Shaffer on his distinguished battery industry career
As Dave Shaffer prepares to retire after a remarkable career in the battery industry, he sat down with BCI's Roger Miksad for a ...
About David Shaffer
David Shaffer, CEO and Director of EnerSys, announced his retirement, effective May 22, 2025, stating that he made a promise to his wife to retire when he turned 60 and intended to keep it. He said he looks back with pride on his time in the industry and how it has changed and grown. Shaffer described the energy storage markets as exciting and said the opportunities "really sell themselves," noting that at EnerSys there are cutting-edge programs and geographic diversity. He reflected on challenges during his career, including a factory fire and a difficult ERP implementation, and said that in a crisis he saw team members who "ran immediately to the crisis." Shaffer discussed the importance of Battery Council International (BCI), saying he has a strong belief in its mission and would not have dedicated so much time to it otherwise. He commented on the battery industry, stating that lead batteries are a cheap, effective way of getting cold cranking amps and that lithium batteries have an advantage in cycling, adding that the industry needs to emphasize and improve the cyclability of lead batteries. Shaffer expressed confidence in his successor, Shawn Okonnell, saying his ethics, treatment of people, and leadership style make him the right choice to lead the company. He also said he plans to start pilot training and is looking forward to stability and calmness after years of travel.
Transcript (27 segments)
R
Roger0:06
Dave, it's great to be here with you today and thank you for inviting me to have this conversation and for agreeing to sit down with me as we close out what is an important chapter in BCI's history as well as yours. And before we dive in, maybe I'll let you share in your own words the announcement that shook the world about six months ago.
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David Shaffer0:26
Oh my goodness. Well, Roger, it's always a pleasure. And I did announce my retirement. I guess officially May 22nd is my last day. I've been in the industry a long time, but I made a promise to my wife a long time ago that when I turned 60, I would retire. And I've always intended to keep that. And I'm going to keep my promise. I'll be three days late. But I very much look back with pride and fond memories of my time in the industry and how much the industry has changed and grown, but certainly look forward to the next chapter in life as well.
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Roger1:04
Your resume says that you joined the battery industry in 1989, but what was your first job? Were you a paper boy, working at a sandwich shop? Where did you get your start in the working world?
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David Shaffer1:19
That's great. So, I came back from my honeymoon. I was just married and my first day on the job was in Cana Key, Illinois, learning the battery industry. I was employed by G&B Industrial U Batteries at the time based in Lombard, Illinois. And my first job was a senior product design engineer. My responsibility was for the Absolite product line. And we had an amazing group back then. We were all about the same age, high energy, super creative, fun people, guys like Bruce Cole, Paul Melikar, just to name a couple. And I worked in and around the laboratory, but most of my job was product design early on.
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Roger2:16
So you've been in the industry from day one of your working life. That's quite a track record. So what was it that G&B did all those years ago to draw you into the battery industry? How did they convince you to come in having no other job before that?
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David Shaffer2:34
Well, I was recruited in and I actually did have a job just prior right out of college, but it was an executive recruiter that brought me to them. And then just the energy of the group. If you remember G&B at that time had moved their headquarters from Langhorne, Pennsylvania to Lombard. And it was all new, all fresh, and just very positive energy. Joe Jurgle was the VP of engineering back then. And it was a fantastic way to start in the industry.
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Roger3:16
I think we all owe that G&B recruiter a debt of gratitude for finding you out in the wild and bringing you in. As you look at the recruiters at Enersys and around the industry right now, what do you say to them are the types of young industry professionals that the industry needs to be seeking and pulling in today to be ready for the next four years?
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David Shaffer3:38
I just think that the energy markets and energy storage markets are so exciting. The opportunities really sell themselves. At a company like Enersys, not only do you have exciting cutting edge programs to work on, but geographically there's a lot of diversity. So there's opportunities for young folks like myself. I got to live and move around, saw the world. This industry has been so good to me. So when I speak to people, I just talk about the incredible opportunities and the growth of this segment. And there's just not many better places to be right now than the battery industry.
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Roger4:30
Is there a particular moment during your time at Enersys that you would be the most proud of in looking back over your time here?
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David Shaffer4:38
Oh my goodness, there's just so many projects and teams that I've been on where we've succeeded, program wins. I think that from a personal standpoint, some of the most rewarding things that I'm proud of was moving to Asia and building up a team and putting in an office in Singapore. We did a lot of missionary work there. We built that from scratch. I've never flown more miles. I've never worked harder than I did for that five or six year period of time, but incredibly fulfilling and important. But just to see the growth, and especially recently I've been more reflective because the day-to-day pressures of being a CEO are sort of waning and moving over to Shawn. So I've spent more time lately reflecting and I'm just so extremely proud of the team I've put together. I have all the confidence in the world in not only Shawn but the rest of the team that Enersys is going to continue to succeed for years to come.
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Roger5:57
Looking back over the years, you mentioned you racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles and I hope you've kept them banked so you can enjoy some travel over the next couple of years. But looking back over all those facilities you've had the privilege of visiting over the years, is there any individual facility or community that has really stood out to you from your travels around the world?
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David Shaffer6:19
I've always been very impressed with the Enersys Thin Plate Pure Lead factories. It's a very difficult battery to manufacture. The grids are very soft and it has always required a high level of automation and sophistication, and the teams have just continued to push that year after year. Even now today when I go to visit one of our three TPPL factories in Missouri, or in Arras, France, or in Newport, England, any of those factories, I'll always find something that just blows me away. It's really exciting to see.
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Roger7:04
For both your period as president of the board of BCI as well as during your period as CEO of Enersys, the world went through one of the most seismic events of the last century, which was the COVID pandemic and the global response to that. Do you consider that one of the most challenging things in your leadership or have there been other periods and challenges that have equated to that that maybe from outside the company we haven't seen?
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David Shaffer7:32
Right. Roger, I never worry about things I can't control. But it's our response as managers to these externalities that defines us, and management effectiveness is always the most critical thing for shareholders to evaluate. So COVID was very challenging with the supply chain issues, the labor issues. The resiliency of our employees was amazing. I know that throughout our industry we all stepped up because we needed to, because it reinforced the critical nature of the products and services we provide. The world needed us and as an industry we stepped up and we delivered. That was scary but it also reinforced how important what we do is and how important Battery Council International is as well. We had a really bad fire at a factory a few years ago. That was a very difficult and scary situation. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but it took out production for many months. But again, the folks stepped up and that was another challenging period of time. And then the third one that was challenging for us was a difficult ERP implementation. But through all of that, it was just my team and the folks. In a crisis, there are the people that run away from the challenge and then there's people that run to it. And I really got to see some folks on my team that ran immediately to the crisis. And I'll never forget what they did for the company.
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Roger9:45
You mentioned BCI during COVID. As I said, you were president of the BCI board at that time and I think as a trade association, we really cannot thank you enough for the leadership you provided to the association during those very difficult times for a lot of people. What convinced you to give so much of your time and dedication to a trade association?
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David Shaffer10:10
I think that's an easy answer and it was selfish in that I have so much confidence in the importance of BCI. I have a strong belief in the effectiveness and the importance of our mission and what we do. If I didn't believe in BCI, I never would have dedicated so much time to it. So as much as I wanted to help the industry and be a leader in the industry, it was also extremely beneficial to my own company. A strong BCI is good for all of us, including Enersys.
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Roger10:55
What do you see, stepping back even maybe a little bit from Enersys, as the biggest opportunities for the energy storage industry writ large and in particular the incumbent base that makes up the BCI membership?
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David Shaffer11:08
I think the scarcity of electricity relative to the future needs and the electrification, be it data centers, be it vehicles, creates this opportunity for energy storage. And there's not going to be one chemistry or technology, whether it's lithium or sodium or flow or lead. There's going to be no one energy storage solution that suits all needs. I just believe that the overall scarcity of electricity as we move forward is going to create opportunities for all these different technologies. And it's going to be the responsibility of the managers in this industry and BCI to find those areas that overlay and fit best with the membership capabilities within BCI. It's finding those right opportunities and then working effectively to address those needs. So I can't say definitively. There's certainly certain markets, for example engine starting. Lead batteries are a very cheap, effective way of getting cold cranking amps and very hard to beat for other technologies. And again, we're just going to have to find those sweet spots. Cycling obviously is something where lithium batteries have always had an advantage. So as we invest our time in R&D, we really need to emphasize and improve the cyclability of lead batteries to allow us to go after more of these opportunities in energy storage markets.
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Roger13:00
As the current CEO and soon-to-be CEO emeritus, I'm sure you have an opportunity to meet all of the incoming new talent at the company. As you walk around an engineering floor or product design studio, what are the pieces of advice you're giving those incredibly young talented engineers and product designers and solution designers coming in? How do they prepare for the career and all of these opportunities and challenges on the industry side that are coming?
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David Shaffer13:31
You know, the advice I would give most people is, run your own race. Find your own place in the company and just be committed to your mission and to yourself. We want to find those opportunities. Everyone has their own strengths. So there's no one answer for any individual. I tend to focus on my own journey and the opportunities as a young engineer I was afforded. I always encourage people to get their MBA if they can, because I think the combination of business administration coupled with an engineering education is such a killer combination. So that's a conversation I often have. But I have to say today, especially in the areas of software and electronics engineering, it's moved so far beyond me and where I was when I started so many years ago. I'm just blown away by what these young folks are working on today. But the opportunities are endless and boundless. And at our company, I'm living proof that you will get out of it at least what you put into it in terms of rewards. The more you put in, the more you get out.
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Roger14:56
Correct. Absolutely. And speaking of those coming in behind you, Enersys has named Shawn O'Connell as your successor. We're also very privileged at BCI that Shawn has stepped up and volunteered and has been elected to serve on the BCI board of directors. I know you and Shawn have worked side by side for a number of years. What convinced you that he was the right person to succeed you in this role? I'm sure he'll have a different vision and different way of doing things, but what gave you that confidence in him to support?
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David Shaffer15:29
It's a great question. It was watching his growth over the years and seeing him rise to each challenge we put in front of him. So early on, he was identified as a high potential and we just continued to move him through the organization, give him new challenges, bigger and bigger roles and responsibilities. And he just grew and met every challenge, and he did it the right way. So his ethics, the way he treats people, he just does it all right. You're not a leader if no one follows. So he's built his followership in the company, and we've watched that develop over time. Everybody who's worked for him has nothing but praise for his leadership style. He's tough, he's fair, he's smart, and he's driven. I just think he's absolutely the right choice for leading the company for at least the next 10 years.
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Roger16:38
We started out by you saying you made a promise to Shelley that you'd retire at 60. Are you really retiring or do you have plans for things you will do, hobbies, fishing?
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David Shaffer16:50
I'm going to start pilot training, hopefully this summer, assuming I get past my physical for the FAA. I've always wanted to fly and now I have the time to dedicate to it. You're never too old, I guess. Well, we'll find out. I've got one grandchild. I'm hoping for more. And certainly putting more time into the family and spending time with Shelley and trying to get some sense of permanence. We've just bounced around so much. We've traveled so much. I'm looking forward to a little stability and calmness. Probably some board work outside of the industry will be part of what fills my time. And certainly you mentioned fishing. I love fishing.
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Roger17:50
Well Dave, it's been an absolute pleasure and an honor to sit down with you today, but more importantly to serve BCI as part of your participation and under your leadership over the last 10 to 15 years of my career. Thank you first of all for all that you've done for BCI. I hope you enjoy the next couple of years. You deserve it. You've earned it. I hope you catch a big wahoo in retirement.
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David Shaffer18:17
Thank you, Roger. And the smartest thing I ever did as BCI president was hiring you.
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Roger18:22
Thanks, Dave. Take care.