This week, Daniel and Efrain step slightly outside Consumer Goods and Retail to speak with Juliane Hefel, Senior Vice President Industrial Coatings and Specialty Products and Executive Oversight EMEA at Paints leader PPG. Born in a small town in western Austria, she began her career as a translator before moving into Procurement. She spent 16 years at Henkel, with roles in Düsseldorf, Shanghai and Detroit, then joined PPG in 2022. Currently, she double hats: leading both Industrial Coatings and Specialty Coatings and Materials Businesses with, since 1 September, Executive Oversight of PPG’s EMEA business. Daniel spotted her story on LinkedIn and knew it deserved a place on the show.
Tune in to hear about:
- Why she moved from procurement into general management, and how having sat on the buyer’s side of the table helps her today
- Why she calls Shanghai the most impactful move of her career
- PPG’s sustainability goals, and innovation “beyond the can”: digital tools, automation and faster product development
- How PPG used AI to cut the development time of a fast-curing refinish clear coat by around 20%
- Leading through COVID, and why you can’t overcommunicate
- Her leadership style, built on trust and “radical transparency”
- Her view of Detroit, which is better than its reputation
