Valentina Serra-Holm Personal Profile
With her extensive experience, Dr. Valentina Serra-Holm is a well-respected name in the industry. In addition to technical and commercial competence in naphthenic base oils, she has a breadth of knowledge of the global oil and lubricants industry. She is a much sought-after speaker at trade fairs and conferences around the world and has collaborated with customers in nearly 50 countries on five continents.
In her day job as Global Marketing and Technology Director at the specialty oil company Nynas, Valentina Serra-Holm heads a group whose competence covers everything from marketing to research and technical development. This holistic approach makes it possible to achieve better utilisation of synergies and keep a close connection between market and product development.
And this is a strength, as it makes it possible to better meet the increasing complexity of the lubricant industry.
“The changes in the base oil landscape, the growing importance of Asia in the global lubricant industry and increasingly demanding requirements on lubricant performance pose a lot of challenges to base oil and lubricant suppliers, but at the same time I think that they should be seen as opportunities,” she says. From her home base at Nynas’ head office in Stockholm, Valentina’s work area extends over the whole world. She always has her suitcase packed in order to be ready to go out and meet customers and to take part in various industry conferences.
“I love travelling, and one of the things I like most about my job is the unique opportunity to visit many countries and get to know many different cultures,” she confirms.
A tough challenge for a mother of two children – aged 13 and 16.
“I’m married to a wonderful man, who’s always been very supportive of my work, even when it keeps me away from home.”
Valentina is originally from Asti in northern Italy. She took an
M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Torino and three years later completed her first doctorate at the same seat of learning. Research took her to Åbo Akademi in Finland in the mid-1990s, where she completed another doctorate in Chemical Reaction Engineering.
Why did you choose a chemical/technical career? “I have always had a passion for numbers and technology. I owe a lot to my father, who supported my decision to study engineering even if it wasn’t very common for a girl in Italy in the early nineties. He also encouraged me to travel and taught me how to be independent – which has been of great help during my career. My Ph.D. in Finland was an important milestone in my education. I worked under the guidance of Professor Tapio Salmi, one of the world’s most prominent experts in the field of chemical reaction engineering. I developed a lot during those years, both professionally and personally. The most important learning I took with me was that nothing is impossible with hard work and passion.”
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In 2001 Valentina left the world of academia for a position at Nynas R&D. Having worked for many years in various leading functions in the areas of R&D, Marketing and Sales, she took up the position of Marketing and Technology Director in July 2015.
“One important incentive for me has always been to try and understand what drives the market in the different industries that Nynas serves and what the customers are demanding. This makes it possible to let the application requirements steer the product development” she says.
This is also the philosophy that forms the basis of Nynas’ business model. The company strives to have a deep understanding of the end markets in which their oils are used and works in close collaboration with customers to develop customised solutions. To support this approach, over several years Nynas has hired various experts from the main industries that it serves.
“We have experts coming from the lubricant and grease industries, from the electrical industry and from the rubber industry. This gives us an application understanding that I believe is unparalleled in the oil industry,” explains Valentina.
Two years ago Valentina was the first woman to be elected to the board of the UEIL. She says that these past two years have been extremely interesting.
“My work with the UEIL board has given me the opportunity to gain a much deeper understanding of the challenges the lubricant industry is facing. It’s great to have the chance to use my competence to make a difference for our industry.”
Even though work takes up a large part of Valentina’s time, there is still time for recovery. And that’s when the focus is on the family.
“Whenever we have the opportunity, I like to travel with my family and visit new countries. When we are at home I love cooking and having friends over for dinner. To relax, I really enjoy exercising, as it helps me to reflect and put things in perspective.” concludes Valentina.
LINK
valentina.serra-holm@
nynas.com
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.135 OCTOBER 2016
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