Leadership Matters

Welcome to the next edition of Leadership Matters where we ask leaders around the Pacific Zone for their insights and advice about leadership matters to support our continuing journey of personal and professional development.

In this edition, we hear from the Vice President of Power Products Tim Pratt, who is responsible for the Channel & Partner Business division, focusing on sustainable energy solutions that combine power products, software, and services for partners and customers. His strategic vision targets innovation in the New Energy Landscape, driven by the rise of microgrids, electric vehicles, and energy storage, all aimed at enhancing energy independence. 

Tim stepped into his role as VP in January 2025.  In his previous role as General Manager of Marketing, Tim significantly contributed to the growth of the Power Products division, excelling in areas like the New Energy Landscape and contractor distribution channels. He joined Schneider Electric 12 years ago and has progressed through various positions, including regional sales manager.

What motivates and excites you about your role at Schneider Electric?

In my role at Schneider Electric I’m privileged to lead an amazing team of people who have an outstanding customer focus and offer world-class support to our partners. Right now, we’re navigating the energy transition. In some areas, deployment is well underway, and my business sits right at the heart of it—focused on electrical distribution and eMobility. 

Two things that really excite me, are the energy transition, and the decarbonisation of our energy grid!  As a Schneider Electric employee and leader of our Low Voltage distribution portfolio, it sits at the core of all decarbonisation activities. Seeing the growth and opportunity certainly excites me, along with more sustainable data centres. I think that data centres, AI, and the energy transition all occur together, and it’s incumbent upon Schneider Electric to show how we can do it sustainably. 

We’re one of the leading companies in the world when it comes to sustainability. How are you and your team contributing to this?

The team and I have developed a partner sustainability programme for Schneider Electric. Globally, we call this the Decarbonization Champion Programme. We're deploying this with our partners to educate and enable them to start to understand their own emissions and build a strategy to reduce them over a period of time. This provides our partners with not only great insights and a decarbonisation roadmap, it allows them to differentiate in the market. As an example, when they bid for tenders, they can now bid proudly saying they are on a journey towards decarbonisation. 

Furthermore, I had an active role in the electrification of Schneider Electric’s fleet. An important initiative for the Pacific Zone was to transition away from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to electric vehicles. This has been a big shift in the organisation and for our people and I’m proud to say that our sales workforce and all our drivers have really gotten behind the initiative. 

Of the customers you’re working with currently, what are they doing to be an #ImpactMaker in the market in which they’re operating?

Firstly, we have our e-mobility partners. They’re a proud network of e-mobility EcoXperts who provide charging infrastructure solutions for commercial, industrial, residential, and transport sectors, among others. They’re helping with the energy transition by installing the charging infrastructure that’s required for electric vehicles and electric vehicle trucks. They are really making a difference that way. 

When we look at our switchboard builders and contractors, they’re assisting with the building of new data centres and AI technology. We are seeing a great uptake in AI being used for sustainability purposes. 

I also shared earlier the Decarbonisation Champion programme. As the world’s most sustainable organisation, we are really proud that we can now enable our partners to come on that journey with us, while decarbonising their operations. 

What was a moment in your career that was pivotal or changed you in some way?

Schneider Electric Pacific launched our President's Awards for the first time about eight years ago. I was the inaugural recipient of the ‘people leader of the Year’ award. It was a moment in time when I realised - for the first time - that my ability to lead and have such impact. It was a nomination by several employees at the time and it was a really humbling moment. It showed to me that effective people leadership is more than just managing a P&L, it's about managing individuals and enabling them to be the best they can be. 

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

As a leader, one of the best pieces of advice I was ever given was that time is your most valuable thing. And it's how you spend your time, where you invest your time and who you invest your time with, which will deliver the greatest results. On top of that, someone once told me to actively listen at all times, to be in the moment. Whether it be in front of a customer during a tough situation, or with someone in your team, or really in any situation, you must always take the time to listen.

Which of our company values resonates with you most and why?

All of them mean something to me, but if I had to pick one, it’d be curiosity. I believe deeply in embracing change. But to embrace change, you have to be curious. You have to understand what's happening around you, and you have to understand why. Being an electrician by trade, I've always naturally been curious. I learned by pulling things apart, that was always my way. So, curiosity is one of those values that I really think if we can lean into, whether that's with people, with a product, new go-to markets, or new structures. It suits you well to understand it before you take action. 

Within Schneider Electric, it is great to see Curiosity being practiced more and more. I love our early career cohort as they come through. They show genuine curiosity, and they demonstrate that every day. I think that's great for our more mature workforce too, to be able to see and embrace that. But with topics like AI and the use of Copilot at Schneider, I'm starting to see more people get curious about how we can use these tools and what are the benefits that they can gain.