1. What have you found most challenging as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise?

Timely decision-making can be a challenge especially when multiple decision-makers are involved...

2. How did you become a CEO or executive of a large enterprise? Can you please briefly tell the story?

I rose through the ranks taking different roles both domestically and internationally. Most of my career has been focused on international business development and am largely responsible for initiating our business in Latin America.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

I read emails early in the morning and respond only to the most urgent ones. Then I spend the rest of my mornings in meetings / calls with my direct reports and customers. I spend the afternoon focused on operational plan execution and governance. And, I finish my day responding to non-urgent emails.

4. What's the most recent significant leadership lesson you've learned?

Open, transparent and disciplined communication and collaboration are a key to success especially during a pandemic.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company by Andy Grove, founder and former CEO of Intel.
The book documents how to identify and exploit the key moments of change in any industry that generates either drastic failure or incredible success.
My company is and has been the global leader in its core category for the last 50 years or so much like Intel has been with respect to computer chips. As a leader it is critical to be intensely focused on the future and what could be rather than basking in your previous success. Times change. Industries change. Innovation is more rampant than ever. So, it is imperative to remain humble and never lose sight of potential points of inflection in your business which could dramatically alter the future success of your business.

6. How do you build leadership capacity in a large enterprise?

We build leadership capacity in our organization by hiring associates who share our values and our culture, who demonstrate growth potential, who are team players and excellent communicators and who have a deep desire to succeed. Continuous learning and personal development plays a major role in creating tomorrow's leaders. Associates are given opportunities for stretch assignments early in their careers enabling managing to gauge overall development and potential to assume greater responsibilities.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a CEO or executive of a large enterprise so far?

The most meaningful recent story that comes to mind is how we, as a company, came together and made the necessary pivots to effectively manage our business through the pandemic. Many of our business units are stronger today as a result and in many cases these business units have taken advantage of the crisis to gain new business and grow market share. Timely collaboration and communication has been key.