Joseph C. High of Owens Corning Joseph C. High of Owens Corning

Business Section • Business Section • Business Section • Business Section • Business Section • Business SectionJoseph C. High: Building a Company’s Strength ThroughDeveloping Personal SkillsBy Alan AbramsSojourner’s Truth ReporterThe Pink Panther hasbounced back and landedsquarely on its feet.As the mascot of ToledobasedOwens Corning, a Fortune500 company for morethan a half-century, the PinkPanther has become the globallyrecognized symbol forthe company’s PINK FIBER-GLASS home insulation andother innovations in glassfiber technology.On Thursday, Nov. 16, the20,000 worldwide employeesof Owens-Corning – includingsome 1,100 at thecompany’s downtown Toledoworld headquarters – willget a little surprise from thePink Panther. That is unlessthey read about it here firstEach employee will receive100 shares of Owens Corningstock as a reward and in recognitionand gratitude fortheir loyalty during the morethan six years the companyspent in bankruptcy beforeemerging Oct. 31.“We want our employeesto see themselves as theowners of the company,”says Joseph C. High, seniorvice president, human resourcesof Owens Corning,and the only African-Americanamong the company’s 12senior leaders who overseeall aspects of the global enterprise.High spoke with TheSojourner’s Truth from hisoffice in the spectacularMaumee Riverwaterfront structure designedin 1996 by Cesar Pelli,arguably the world’s greatestliving architect.“I had never worked for acompany in bankruptcy,”explains High, who joined thecompany in Jan. 2004. “I didmy due diligence. I met withCEO David Brown. And I sawit as a challenge. I had neverhelped a company throughbankruptcy and back into thepublic equity market. It hasbeen a very exciting process.”That’s no surprise forHigh, who sees himself as anindividual who leads changeand takes it to the next level.As vice president, humanresources, High’s responsibilitiesalso include communityrelations and communications.He sets policy forthe company which operatesin 26 different countries andmore than 300 locations. Thecompany reports its annualrevenues at $6.3 billion.“I was a walking time bomb.”“My responsibilities includecompensation and benefits,staffing, employee relations,employee developmentand training, communicationsin all languages, employeesafety and securityand community relations,which locally includes theannual Jamie Farr OwensCorning Classic,” explainsHigh.He was born in Wake Forest,North Carolina, where hismother Clarene still lives. Hisfather, J.C. High, is deceased.High earned his bachelorof science degree in businessadministration at the Universityof North Carolina atChapel Hill, and his master ofscience degree in administrationfrom Central MichiganUniversity in Mt. Pleasant.“During high school, oneIt was 22 years ago. I was playing handball and had a funny sensationon my left side. I sat out and watched for awhile. Eventually, I felt atingling in my left arm. I didn’t think it was a heart problem becauseI’d always led a very active life. But I wanted to be sure, so the nextday I called my family doctor.I went to have an EKG performed, which came out fine. My doctorwasn’t convinced my heart was okay, so he referred me to St. V’s tohave a stress test. That was the test I flunked . . . badly. I had a cardiaccatheterization and it showed three bad blockages. I was scheduled foropen heart surgery immediately.I am now 83 years old. I still snow ski, I walk five days a week and Iwork part time. You expect to live a long time, but why jeopardize itby doing bad things? I watch my weight and eat properly. I’m havingfun and enjoying my great-grandkids!of the part-time jobs I heldwas washing dishes and busingtables for the local HolidayInn. I would often set upparties for big groups. That’swhen I said to myself, oneday I’ll be at the other side ofthis table,” remembers High.“That was a critical momentfor me. That was whenI realized you had to set yourobjectives of what you wantto do with your career. So Ientered the University ofNorth Carolina and majoredin business,” he adds.Coincidentally, that wasalso a critical moment for thecivil rights movement. “Inthe South, we integratedduring 1971, my senior year.Up until 1968, when it wasdeclared unconstitutional,we had the so-called freedomof choice act in NorthCarolina. Reflecting upon it,I did a lot of work in helpingintegrate the university.When I first enrolled, itwasn’t very fashionable forAfrican-American studentsto go to the University ofNorth Carolina,” High recalls.After he graduated fromcollege, High’s first job inmanufacturing was as a firstline supervisor. That exposedhim to the role of a humanresources department in developinginterpersonal skills.Working for Union Carbideat a site which manufacturedbatteries gave High an unprecedentedopportunity tolearn a business from thebottom up.He prepared for his role ashuman resources director ofOwens Corning through a“collection of value-addedexperiences. I have worked inplants, subsidiaries, jointventures, corporate headquartersand global industries,”says High.Before joining OwensCorning, High served as vicepresident of the energy giantConocoPhillips, where, froma human resources perspective,he says he played a keyrole in the merger of the two(Continued on Page 8)Share your story on theSt. V’s Web site atmercyweb.orgBob, open-heart surgery survivor©2006 Mercy Health PartnersCharleston House(Nu-Tu-U)An upscale consignment shop4055 Monroe St. Toledo, OH 43606Full Line Of PlusSizes Availableall sizes, name brand shoes, fashion hats,jewelry. An exclusive Paris Boutique.Open 10 am - 4 pm - Tues - Sat.419-472-4648