The ABN Resource Podcast abnresourcepodcast

In this podcast, James Moorhouse talked with John Turner, a Vice President of International Operations at Lubrication Engineers (LE). LE  are a formulator, and manufacturer that uses their own proprietary additives to deliver real high-performance speciality oils and greases, headquartered out of Wichita, Kansas. You can learn about John’s career and how he got to where he is today. For listeners thinking about expanding their businesses into new international markets, John has a wonderful track record and stories to share about how to do it, and also what not to do.


About our guest
As VP of International Operations at LE, John has cross-functional expertise in leading businesses to maximize profitable growth, with a focus on commercial execution and channel strategies in the industrial lubricants markets around the world.

With a passion for manufacturing developed from his family’s manufacturing business, John pivoted his career in 2010 in a territory sales role at Master Fluid Solutions. He progressed through various commercial roles, and his first international assignment was to explore the Brazilian market. Later, he took on global duties that led to Shanghai, China, which was a big jump then.

In 2020, John took on a new position at LE to build a new structure and expand the firm abroad.


Successful international expansion
Successful international expansion of any company regardless of its size, according to John Turner starts with:


Vision. Understanding the big picture of where you're trying to go is key.
Plan. Have a clear plan with some guardrails for how you're going to build out your business internationally.
Focus. Where are your strengths and where are the real opportunities and how do you penetrate those markets.

“.. [global expansion] is not an overnight process. It's very much incremental, especially when you're going from scratch and then as you start getting some victories, I think it's really about continuing to try to build some momentum and, having a compelling story to tell to whether it's your distributor partners or your end -user customers or those sorts of things about the success that you're having in other parts of the world.” John Turner said.


Leading international teams
Hiring the right people is where it starts. Clearly defining what/who your organisation wants and needs. That profile is critical from the get-go. As John highlighted, it's important to vet the person thoroughly beforehand to make sure they have the organisational and personal drive to take the business forward in their local market.

As an international leader, it is essential to check in with each of the employees on a regular basis to see how they are doing, what they need help with, and to make sure they don't feel alone - it means a connection to a regional office or corporate office, so they know support is available.


Taking organisations to the next level of growth
John reflects on organisational expansion processes. He shares the big learning points from his experience, risks, opportunities and some key ingredients to make it possible on a larger scale.


Useful links
You can follow John Turner: LinkedIn

You can follow Lubrication Engineers: LinkedIn

You can follow James Moorhouse: LinkedIn

You can follow ABN Resource: Linkedin

In this podcast, our host James Moorhouse interviews Marc Lawn, the Executive Vice President at Calumet Speciality Products Partners about his broad-ranging career. The podcast has useful leadership tips for challenging economic conditions and strategies for transitioning into new sectors in your career.

About our guest
Marc Lawn is Executive Vice President - Performance Brands at Calumet Specialty Products Partners. Throughout his career, Marc worked across many industries including Food & Beverage, Media, FMCG, Chemicals and the Lubricants industry. Marc took a different approach to his career in times when professionals specialised in specific functional areas through the 1990s and early 2000s. He built expertise in operations, HR, sales, marketing, and finance to ultimately position himself to run a performance brands business within Calumet.

What is needed for a successful career transition
Since Marc has successfully transferred industries throughout his career, James Moorhouse could not miss an opportunity to ask about the qualities and skills needed for a successful career transition.

The common themes Marc learned were:


Humility.
Relatability, thinking about something that relates from sector to sector.
Adapting your style to be useful to the context.
Seeking to understand the importance of asking questions.
People see things differently. But don’t jump to judgment.

One thing Marc advises to organisations within the oil industry “look to recruit talent from within and outside of the industry to blend, and develop… there's a lot more commonality [between different industries] than we would naturally think as we go along.”

Strategy in times of economic downturns
High growth or recessionary environments can present unique difficulties. There are challenges and opportunities. As Marc mentioned in the conversation, the focus has been important to him throughout recessions. So... just because you enter a recession, it does not imply your strategy is useless. A strategy may require some tweaks for the modern-day economic environment. But if the fundamentals of the strategy were right before, it is still the right thing to do, and you should stay the course.

Marc said: “Focus on it and implement it. Protect your people and move on, but don't be blind to things that might change. Be agile with it. Don't get so blindly followed to the, oh, well, the plan says A, B, C. You know, actually, the plan might be a D.”

Traits of successful leaders
As Marc highlighted, leadership shows itself in various forms. In his opinion, humility is one of the most critical leadership traits. Undoubtedly, leaders must take charge at times, but too much power may create a lethargic team since everyone depends on the leader to decide. So profound humility is needed.

Fundamentally, the role of a leader is to clear the path, Marc said.

Leaders have to channel the right direction and ensure that the strategy is executed in the best way possible. So in any involved initiative, you should ask yourself the question, “Am I leading this initiative?”

Listen to more of this inspiring conversation now.



You can follow Marc Lawn: LinkedIn

You can follow Calumet Specialty Products Partners: LinkedIn

You can follow James Moorhouse: LinkedIn

You can follow ABN Resource: Linkedin

Our guest today, is Sanya Mathura, the Founder, and Managing Director of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd and the author of the book “Empowering Women in STEM Personal Stories and Career Journeys from Around the World”. James Moorhouse interviewed Sanya to talk about women in STEM, diversity and inclusion, the most in-demand skills necessary in the ever-changing lubricants industry, and tea!


About our guest
Sanya Mathura is the Founder and Managing Director of Strategic Reliability Solutions Ltd, based in Trinidad & Tobago. Throughout her career in the lubricants industry, she worked for major organisations such as Shell and ExxonMobil. While writing her first book “Lubrication Degradation Mechanisms – A complete guide”, she also gained her ICML MLE certification becoming the first female (and only person) in the Caribbean at the time to do so.


In 2021, CRC press, her first book publisher, approached Sanya and asked if she would be interested in writing a book geared towards getting more women involved in STEM fields.


As she mentioned in the conversation with us, “I had a lot going on at the time and almost turned them down. But, after some thinking about the impact that the book would make across the industry, I decided to carve out some time for it. While I was growing up, there were no female role models who I could look up to or who looked like me. I wanted to make sure we changed that even if it meant that I would become the role model I wished that I had.”


Attracting younger generation to STEM
According to Sanya, bringing more awareness of the many STEM areas and dismantling the misconceptions that act as obstacles to entry are excellent places to start when attracting more talent. To have a significant influence, the lubricants industry must begin with the next generation and raise children's consciousness as they develop. We should let them know that anybody may pursue a STEM area, and that Math proficiency is not a must (a common misconception!).


There are several newly published children's books on women in STEM fields, including "Energy Superheroes - women in Energy careers" by Erin Twamley and quite a few more. Another good way to raise awareness to larger groups of people.


In the recently published book “Empowering Women in STEM Personal Stories and Career Journeys from Around the World”, Sanya hopes to appeal to people who are preparing to enter the workforce or who are in the workforce and contemplating a shift out of STEM-related sectors.


Improving D&I in the lubricant industry - it’s all in the details
Small actions such as ensuring women's participation in technical talks, placing them at the forefront, and acknowledging their contributions may have a significant influence to improving Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), according to Sanya.


Simply identifying and showcasing women and minority groups, the debate is already altered. When most people consider manufacturing and reliability, they assume, "That's a man's world, it's hard job." By boosting awareness of the amount of women and minority groups through podcasts such as these or highlighting examples in the industry as role model, we begin to alter the dialogue.


The beauty of a diverse team
While asked about the key benefits of the diverse workforce, Sanya mentioned more room for creativity and more freedom for innovation. People coming from a variety of backgrounds usually mean different problem-solving approaches and that’s what distinguishes diverse teams. However, to create a true diverse workforce, the lubricants industry needs to get rid of labels, boxes, and anything else that stifles creativity, enabling teams to collaborate effectively.


Listen to more of this inspiring conversation now!

In this episode our host, James Moorhouse, invited Nicolas Frizon, Global Head of Sales, Industry and Automotive Division at NYCO, to discuss three elements of successful leadership in the lubricants industry:


The biggest challenges of leadership today
Importance of mentorship in leadership
Why it is important to get out of your comfort zone

About our guest
Nicolas Frizon is the Global Head of Sales, Industry and Automotive Division, at NYCO.

NYCO are a leading specialty lubricants and synthetic esters company. Nicolas is a Chemical Engineer with a Master's Degree in Cosmetics, Formulation, and Commercialization in Fine Chemistry. In his career to date, Nicolas has worked in chemical distribution, home care, industrial chemicals, crop care and lubricants. Starting in technical sales he has progressed into a key leadership position and is a great example of the type of varied, diverse and progressive career path a person can have in the lubricants sector.

Perspectives on what makes a great leader
Communication and Vision, according to Nicolas, are two key traits of a successful leader.

The ability to anticipate the future and to develop a vision, not only for future generations but also for the market and the business itself. This visionary side involves the ability to:


Anticipate
Analyze
Adapt

The other side of a great leader is the ability to communicate effectively with employees and clients, and above all, to have the capacity and talent to summarize and adapt to changes. A great leader is one that can bring individual ideas and individual experiences into one vision in a clear and simple way.

The role of mentorship
Mentorship is a practice which is becoming more visible and more common within lubricant organisations. It not only benefits newcomers in the path of growth and development but mentors themselves see a benefit to learning new things from younger generations.

Constant evolution in the lubricants industry
With some exciting opportunities and changes in the lubricants marketplace, Nicolas and James shared their opinions on the biggest changes and the most exciting developments in the lubricants industry.

Listen to the very end to hear what it takes to close the bridge between generations and the important role the lubricant leaders have in the industry transformation we are facing today.



Follow our guest Nicolas Frizon: LinkedIn

Follow NYCO: LinkedIn

Follow James Moorhouse: LinkedIn

Follow ABN Resource: LinkedIn

James Moorhouse, Director at ABN Resource, was invited by Rafe Britton to participate in the Lubrication Expert podcast. In this episode, you can hear thoughts on talent attraction, talent retention, diversity and inclusion, career development tips and advice on how to overcome the key personnel challenges facing the lubricants industry.

About Rafe Britton

Rafe Britton is an experienced Mechanical Engineer with over a decade of experience in the energy industry. Formerly of ExxonMobil, Rafe went on to found a Lubrication Expert.

His mission is twofold: to raise the profile of lubrication technology throughout the industry, and to expand the knowledge base and technical expertise so industries can cash in on the value that lubricants can bring.

Talent in the Lubricants Industry

One of the initial topics in this episode highlights how diversity and inclusion can help overcome personnel challenges facing the industry.

James highlights the importance of cognitive diversity to solve problems and create opportunities. And also highlights the importance of knowledge transfer to the next generation of leaders whilst working hard to retain the existing great talents the sector currently employs.

Challenges in attracting new talents
By committing time and effort to talent attraction strategies shared in this recording, it is possible to acquire the right level of skills and experience to meet the job requirements in the lubricants industry. A key initiative James highlights are better communication by the lubricants industry about:


The value of lubricants and the role they play in the economy and society
Having a compelling mission and vision with clearly stated values and culture
Competitive compensation

Market Changes and their impact on hiring
The lubricant sector is facing some exciting changes. Three key areas are:

1) Sustainability

2) Electric Vehicles

3) Digital Transformation

These changes bring new opportunities, requiring a new set of skills, and amazing career growth for those willing to adapt.

James Moorhouse concludes:

“Because if you get skilled up and trained in those areas, you're going to be allowed to pivot into those new growth sectors in the market and go on and have a really amazing career in corners of the world, which are becoming increasingly important with these new technologies.”

The episode is also available on the Lubrication Expert YouTube channel.

Read more about Lubrication Expert: https://lubrication.expert/

Follow Rafe Britton: LinkedIn

Follow James Moorhouse: LinkedIn

Follow ABN Resource: LinkedIn

About our Guest

Apu Gosalia is an independent expert adviser for sustainability and strategy in the lubricants industry and beyond. As partner of Germany-based sustainability consultancy Fokus Zukunft, he helps companies to measure their carbon footprint, minimize their CO2-emissions and maintain a carbon neutral status. Apu is also the contributing editor for sustainability to Lubes’n’Greases magazine, and a frequent keynote speaker on the topic. Besides, he serves as honorary lecturer on climate change and sustainable business models at various German universities. In 2018 Apu was appointed as Senator to the Senate of Economy in Germany, where he is heading the Climate Neutrality Council in the Commission Sustainable Economy since 2021. He worked for more than 20 years at Fuchs Petrolub Group, where he last had the position of Vice President for Global Competitive Intelligence and Chief Sustainability Officer. In the latter function Apu led the company to achieving global CO2-neutrality by 1 January 2020. He also helped creating and served as chairman of both, the German Sustainability Initiative (NaSch) and the Sustainability Task Force at the Union of the European Lubricants Industry (UEIL). Apu Gosalia graduated from the University of Mannheim with a Diplom-Kaufmann and obtained an MBA from Western Illinois University in the United States.

Most significant achievements in 2021 and the lubricant sector
When achieving carbon neutrality, 2021 has brought many significant milestones for the oil and lubricant industry:

The worldwide first net-zero corporate standard - The Corporate Net-Zero Standard developed by the SBTi is the world's first framework for setting corporate net-zero targets based on climate science. It contains the guidelines, criteria, and suggestions that businesses will need to set science-based net-zero targets that are consistent with keeping global warming to below 1.5°C.

COP26 climate summit - Although the end of the summit brought some unexpected twists, it is very significant that more than 140 countries pledged to reach net-zero emissions

Progress in small and medium-sized companies – Apu outlines how lubricant companies of all sizes can be involved in the carbon neutrality and sustainability journey.

The three C’s approach

Calculate - Companies and other organizations must calculate their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions according to the GHG Protocol, the Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard to measure and manage climate-warming emissions.

Cut down - The most effective and scientifically sound strategy to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C is to make rapid, dramatic cutbacks in value-chain emissions. This is the Net-Zero Standard's main focus, and it must be a top priority for businesses.

Compensate – No company can be emission-free intrinsically. Therefore, unavoidable or not yet avoided emissions need to be compensated through investments in climate protection projects at the same time.

Sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint

Sustainability is a journey, which never ends. That means sustainability is a dynamic, continuous process of continuous improvement, said Apu Gosalia. It goes beyond just making a profit, and it is also closely related to the environmental and societal investments which leads us to the most important insights in this ABN podcast.

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