EDITOR INTERVIEW In conversation with... Valentina Serra Holm, UEIL President and VP Global Product Marketing, Calumet
Before your recent move to Calumet you spent 20 years of your impressive professional career at Nynas AB, most recently as Director of Global Marketing and Technology; how easy was it to make the move? It was far from easy! After 20 years with Nynas AB, it took a lot of thought and deliberation about whether I should take that step. In the end, and in the middle of my professional life, I had to decide did I want to continue to be challenged, to grow professionally and personally, to learn more, or to stay safe and always wonder whether I should have taken that leap of faith, to look for new horizons and opportunities; I decided to be brave!
With less than 6 months in your new role, was it the right decision?
Absolutely! I love the company vision, the team, the work ethos. And at this stage even the travel isn’t too daunting – I spend one week every month in the USA and can largely work from home the rest of the time, which makes me more efficient since I can put in extra hours at home when I need to. This way it is less stressful and more productive. It’s early days, barely 6 months into my role, but there is so much energy, ambition and opportunity here. Calumet offers a big, broad portfolio of specialty hydrocarbon products; we process crude oil and other feedstocks into customised lubricating oils, white oils, solvents and waxes that are used in a huge variety of consumer, automotive and industrial applications; it’s very exciting being part of this global one-stop shop.
How do you see your role developing and what are you hoping to achieve? There is much to keep me busy; we have the most advanced R&D centre at the stunning Heritage Group site in Indianapolis; some of the tests and technology I’m seeing for the first time. I want to maximise the value of our domestic and international markets
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through our bespoke product portfolio, to look at the direction of the higher market, where is it heading? And of course to enhance our customer experience.
What is your experience of the European v USA working style? Are we very different culturally? This is interesting; I can only comment on what I have observed personally but there is a distinct ‘family’ approach in the US where ‘people’ are the company’s key consideration. Care is taken to examine the potential impact on staff before big changes are made which in turn leads to a more loyal, motivated and ambitious workforce; there are lots of smiles and people are super friendly. It feels incredibly nice!
The finale to your 3rd year as UEIL President is almost here with the 2019 Congress; what do you think will be your legacy? I have one year left before my second term of office ends, so there is still work to do. From the outset I knew my role as UEIL President was going to mean taking tough decisions; some of our working practices were outdated and changes were necessary. I wanted the Association to embrace new ideas and processes, for us to be more transparent, accountable, modern and consistent. The Board was very supportive, and I believe that this approach has elicited excellent results.
I am extremely happy to see the high level of engagement of our members in the Association and it is great to see so many new faces at our committees: I hope and I believe that I will leave the UEIL with strong foundations and with a high level of member engagement for a successful, long-lasting future.
LINK
www.ueil.org
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