Avnet, Inc., a Phoenix-based global technology distributor, marks its 50th anniversary as a public company on the New York Stock Exchange today.

To celebrate, CEO Roy Vallee will ring the closing bell. Vallee was a featured speaker at the 21st Annual Compete Through Service Symposium presented by the W. P. Carey School's Center for Services Leadership. After the speech, Knowledge@W. P. Carey talked with Vallee about the Avnet story, and one of the key ingredients to the company's success: employee engagement.

In our next issue we'll bring you a two-part podcast with leadership expert and management professor Angelo Kinicki on the topic of employee engagement. Today, let's hear Vallee explain how Avnet cultivates engagement among its employees.