PPG’s Juliane Hefel: Lessons I Learned From Last Year To Take Our Organization to the Next Level in 2024
An Interview With Chad Silverstein
People first — Prioritizing employees and people every day, and through major changes, proved critical this year in minimizing employee churn and maximizing engagement and performance.
This series aims to discuss the experiences and lessons learned by top executives over the past year, and how these insights are shaping the landscape for change and innovation in 2024. The past year has been a time of unprecedented challenges and opportunities, requiring adaptive leadership and innovative strategies. We believe that sharing these experiences can inspire and guide others in their endeavors to drive positive change in their organizations and industries. I had the pleasure of interviewing Juliane Hefel, Vice President of PPG’s Specialty Coatings and Materials business.
Juliane Hefel is the Vice President of PPG’s Specialty Coatings and Materials business. The business creates solutions that enhance the surfaces and materials critical in our daily lives, including the silicas in our car tires, the monomers and coatings used for our eye glass lenses, a synthetic paper used in security documents like passports and drivers’ licenses, and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) materials in televisions and electronics. Joining PPG in 2022 to deliver strategic and operational leadership to the business unit, Juliane is currently leading the business through a significant transition as it prepares to sell its silicas products business and evolve the future state of its specialty products offerings.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share a little about your background and what pivotal moments led you to your current position as an executive?
Two years ago, I joined the global coatings and materials producer PPG and its Specialty Coatings & Materials (SCM) business with an appreciation for its diverse product offerings and global structure. I was particularly drawn to the SCM business and how its specialty products offerings provide real solutions, bring significant value to our customers, and enhance the surfaces and materials critical in our daily lives.
I feel at home in this uniqueness as my background includes a variety of industries and functions. I’ve always been drawn to spaces where new and fresh perspectives that help drive progress are welcome. Starting my early career in language translations, I moved into roles in procurement, purchasing and marketing, then leading global businesses.
I was born in Austria, and have lived and worked internationally in China, Germany and the United Kingdom. These diverse experiences help to guide me daily as my teams act and lead globally, especially in the areas of sustainability and innovation.
What were the early challenges you faced in your career, and how did they shape your approach to leadership?
When I was in high school, many of my peers had a clear definition of their career aspirations. They knew precisely what they wanted to do with their lives. Alternatively, I didn’t have the same clear path and had interest and curiosity in several different areas. This led to self-doubt and a tremendous amount of pressure to find clarity.
Now looking back, this openness enabled my professional path. Throughout my career, I have been able to try a wide range of new challenges and explore various industries, all while jumping into new adventures without fear of the unknown or what’s ahead. The ability to lead, even amidst an unknown future, has provided to be a valuable skill.
We often learn the most from our mistakes. Can you share one that you made that turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned?
Timing is everything. Determining if you are the right leader for a role is often a matter of timing. It’s not always easy to identify or acknowledge, but if you’re not the right leader for a business or a circumstance, it’s time to make a change. Staying in a role that’s not a good fit takes a dramatic toll on energy levels and team engagement.
Previously, there was a time that I was in a role for too long. Despite being acknowledged and promised career progression, the company’s actions didn’t line up with their commitments. There was a disconnect between what I was being told and what was actually happening. After some reflection, I realized I wasn’t the right leader for the job anymore and made a significant change — moving to a new company and position where I was better suited.
As an executive, how do you define success, both personally and for your organization?
When leading a business, delivering on financial KPIs often determines success.
Personally, I like to assess if the people in my organization like to do their jobs, feel empowered and enjoy coming to work. Creating a base and environment that allows everyone to bring their best self forward every day makes a big impact on motivation and financial performance.
In times when employees are facing uncertainties, this base is especially important. I often say that my office door is always open, and I mean it. After a recent employee town hall meeting to review aspects of a key business announcement, I had an employee come directly to me with questions, appreciation for frequent communication and to address a personal question. This is exactly the space where I find and define success.
Reflecting on 2023, what was the most unexpected challenge you faced, and how did you navigate it?
Over the past year, PPG’s SCM business completed a strategic review of its silica products business that resulted in the announcement of an agreement to sell the business.
Remember, all employees deal with uncertainty and change differently, and as such, we must lead with empathy for all.
Personally, I thrive in change situations, but also recognize it’s not comfortable for everyone. To help the organization navigate, we doubled down on change management strategies and communication. This helped shift our employees’ mindsets from where they are to where we are going. Enabling our teams to navigate through this was mission critical. Every role at a leadership level must take ownership of change management and must be able to navigate change to be successful.
What was a significant risk you took this year, and how did it turn out?
Early in the silica products strategic review process, we were advised that broad communication across our organization carried inherent risk. I’m an advocate for radical transparency and know that to maintain employee engagement, communication is essential. While it was a risk, we committed to providing monthly updates to employees and welcomed employee input along the way.
How has your company’s mission or purpose affected its overall success? Can you explain the methods or metrics you use to evaluate the impact of this purpose-driven strategy on your organization?
At PPG, our purpose is to protect and beautify the world. Engagement surveys are a great measuring point to take an ongoing pulse on how connected employees feel to the company. The success of the organization often shows through in these surveys.
Personally, I was pleased to see high engagement scores in our recent surveys, despite the potential for a large transition happening in the business. Even with uncertainty about the future, our teams stayed engaged and motivated. I attribute this to regular, transparent communication.
Have you ever been challenged by anyone on your team or have to make a tough decision that had a significant impact on finances? If so, how did you address and reconcile this conflict?
I’ll refer back to the strategic review process for the silicas business and the early recommendation to limit our communications to employees. I believed strongly in the need to push back on some constraints and invest in change management communications. In time, it proved to be the right thing to do as we retained employees and engagement during a time of uncertainty and change.
Could you list the top five things you’ve learned in 2023, with specific examples of how these lessons impacted your decisions or strategies? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
1 . Change management strategies — The only constant is change. Developing change management skills is essential for leaders. Through our recent strategic review, it was essential for me to assess global change management concepts and leverage them for our team’s success.
2 . Adaptability — The need to pivot in the moment became very clear through the strategic review process. Leading up to the announcement that the silica portion of our business would be sold, communications to our employees was planned to the minute. However, even in the moments just before a call with our entire organization additions were made at the request of the buyer. Being able to adapt and proceed quickly showed that balancing both careful preparation and openness is important.
3 . Speed is a superpower — The need to move faster as a means to differentiate a business amongst competition is key. We must embrace technology and be an ally in the need for speed and change.
4 . People first — Prioritizing employees and people every day, and through major changes, proved critical this year in minimizing employee churn and maximizing engagement and performance.
5 . Strategic foresight — There is no world in which adaptability isn’t essential. However, investing in tools and capabilities to better understand and predict future trends and then scenario plan how they might impact your business, your customers and the world around you is an absolute must. We’re taking this approach to best understand new opportunities in adjacent markets, new segments and fresh ways we can serve our customers at an accelerated pace.
How have these top five lessons from 2023 changed your outlook or approach for 2024?
We are looking at everything — from exploration and innovation to operations and manufacturing — through the lens of speed.
Agility is key in pivoting our current processes from being sequential to iterative. In the past, as an example, the product development cycle often meant our research and development teams would bring a project that was around 90% ready to a customer for feedback. At this point, there is a potential of starting right back at square one, depending on the outcome. We are changing that work to adopt an agile approach, working in much faster iterative feedback throughout the development cycle. Combined with leveraging modern technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), we are finding significant efficiencies in development times.
In terms of innovation and adaptation, what’s one change you implemented in 2023 or plan to do in 2024 that you believe will be crucial for the future of your business?
Our business is delivering on our mission to disrupt the industries we serve. For instance, PPG’s SCM business develops coatings and monomers for eyeglass lenses. The industry continues to develop and converge with new segments, bringing new players to the table. Think smart eyewear. As augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) technology becomes more of a daily reality for the Western world, there is one glaring hole: the technology advancement of the lens. Without optical clarity, the user experience is negatively impacted for the 80% of the world’s population that needs vision correction. The biggest tech companies in the world are focusing on user experience and the software itself, but are only starting to evaluate how the lens technology is produced, how it can help its users, what goes into it, and how it can make or break a user’s behavioral acceptance of the tool. Today, users cannot wear corrective lenses while using AR devices. While they can sometimes buy inserts, they are bulky and uncomfortable. There is a great opportunity in the future of AR for people who need vision correction.
As a leader, how do you foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your team or organization?
The first step to improvement starts with listening to the organization. It’s essential to understand your teams’ pain points and dive into what’s working and what’s not. I regularly conduct skip-level meetings and take this information to my leadership team as a starting point to dissect our learnings and understand what is critical for success.
I started this practice when I stepped into my role at PPG two years ago. I held one-on-one discussions with team members across all areas and levels of our business. I asked direct questions to gather insights on elements of the business that worked well, and areas that needed change. We reviewed our challenges and opportunities and prioritized our attention.
Through this initiative, we developed a key account management program and identified areas to invest in strategic marketing and a better understanding of adjacent markets and future trends. We implemented organizational change and built a strategic foundation for the years ahead, all while emphasizing the importance of speed and innovation.
Looking at the broader industry landscape, what emerging trends do you think will be most influential in the coming year?
Across the industries we serve, new players from adjacent markets continue to come to the table — for example the introduction of AR/VR to the optical industry. With industries converging we also see value chains shifting. We must be agile and ready to pivot to not only keep pace, but stay ahead of the needs of our current and future customers.
If you and I were having a conversation one year from now, and we were looking back at the past 12 months, what specifically has to happen for you to be happy with your progress?
I am excited for our newly formed specialty products segment, comprised of the specialty synthesis group, optical monomers and coatings, and TESLIN® products business lines. As our specialty products business is highly differentiated, these teams bring unique and innovative solutions to high-growth industries and markets. As we work to ensure their profitable and sustainable growth, I look forward to seeing these teams bloom and build on their strengths.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
I am always interested in exchanging views on which disruptive trends will shape our world and industries and how we could jointly leverage these opportunities to create a positive impact for our companies, societies and the world. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Readers can also learn more about PPG’s Specialty Coatings and Materials business here.
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Chad Silverstein, a seasoned entrepreneur with over two decades of experience as the Founder and CEO of multiple companies. He launched Choice Recovery, Inc., a healthcare collection agency, while going to The Ohio State University, His team earned national recognition, twice being ranked as the #1 business to work for in Central Ohio. In 2018, Chad launched [re]start, a career development platform connecting thousands of individuals in collections with meaningful employment opportunities, He sold Choice Recovery on his 25th anniversary and in 2023, sold the majority interest in [re]start so he can focus his transition to Built to Lead as an Executive Leadership Coach. Learn more at www.chadsilverstein.com
PPG’s Juliane Hefel: Lessons I Learned From Last Year To Take Our Organization to the Next Level in… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.