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ApodcastinterviewwithChrisGoppelsroeder
ChrisGoppelsroederistheSwissCEOandPresidentofDSM
NutritionalProducts,aworldleaderinsupplyingvitaminsandother
ingredientstothefeed,food,pharmaceuticalandpersonalcare
industries.PreviouslyGlobalHeadofSeedCareforSyngenta,Chris
hasanMBAfromInseadinFrance.
Well,withmetodayisChristophGoppelsroederwhoisPresidentandCEOofDSMNutritionalProducts,which
isafivebilliondollarbusinesswithalongtraditionofinnovation.ThankyouandwelcometotheInnovation
EcosystemPodcast.
“Innovationis
thenumberone
storyforthe
long-term
developmentof
DSM.”
Thankyou,Mark.
Okay.IguessIwouldimaginethatthisisanindustrythat'sundergoingquitealotofchange.Howdoesthe
companykeepaheadofthesetrends?Asweweresayingearlieron,you'vegotanumberofassetsherewith
many,manyyearsofphysicallifeaheadofthem.HowdoyoumoreimportantlyIguessdesignyourlong-term
plangiventheuncertaintyoftheconsumerchanges?
Ithink,Chris,ifwecanstart,canyoujusttellusalittlebitaboutDSMandtherolethatinnovationplaysinthe
business?
DSMis–includingaffiliatedcompanies–overallaboutatenbilliondollarcompany,ofwhichalargepartasyou
mentionedisNutrition.Weproduceandsellnutritionalingredients,micronutrients.Thosearetheonesthat
reallykeepyouhealthyandfit.Andwehavebeendoingthatforalongperiodoftime.Weoriginallycameout
ofRoche,hereinBasel,Switzerlandandhaveseenmanyacquisitionsinthemeantime.Weareprimarilyactive
inanimalnutrition&health,humannutrition&healthandpersonalcare/cosmetics.
Thetwounderlyingmegatrendsthatreallykeepusonourtippytoessotosayarehealthylivingand
sustainability.Maintainingourhealthandourappearanceovertimeasbestandaslongaspossiblethrougha
healthydietisourbusiness.,Theotherone,sustainability,iscurrentlygainingmoreandmoremomentumgiven
alsothelatestglobalagreementsfromParisknownasCOP21.Forexampleforanimalnutrition&health,amore
sustainableanimalproteinproductioniskeyforthefutureofglobalmeatconsumption.
Now,stayingaheadofsuchtrendsormorepracticallyspeaking,understandingtheresultingopportunitiesforus
meantwehadtodoanumberofthings.First,wehadtobetterunderstandthebusinessopportunitiesofour
customersandthemarketsegmentsinwhichtheyplay.Thishastobecomeapriorityofourlocal&global
businessteams….inadditiontotheirday-to-dayjobs.Andsecond,innovationhastobecomethenumberone
objectiveforthelonger-termdevelopmentofourbusinessandalsothekeymotivatorforpeoplehereinthe
companyitself.
Butlet’snottalktoomuchtheory,butratherlookatanexample,onethatyoumightfindinterestingandtopical.
Internallywecallthisinnovationproject“CleanCow”anditisourlikelyresponsetocowburping.Yes,cow
burping!Whencowsburptheyemitmethanegas,infacttheyproducearound15-20%ofglobalmethanegas
emissions,puttinginquestionthelongertermsustainabilityofmeatoranimalproteinproduction
Methane,massivequantities,yes.
YeahandmethanegasistypicallyagreenhousegasbutincontrasttoCO2,itdegrades20-30timesfaster.Soif
wecandosomethingtoreducemethanegasemissions,ithasamuchfasterimpactontheworldthanthe
correspondingCO2reductionwouldhave,infactitwouldalreadyimprovethesituationforourownchildren.
Canwe(dosomething)intermsofDSM?
Yes,weactuallymightsoonbereadytodoso.Theproductwehaveindevelopmentcalled“CleanCow”hasthe
potentialtoreducethosemethanegasemissionsby30-50%whileatthesametimehavingpositiveeffectson
thecow’sweightgainandmilkproteincontent.Amiracleyoumightsay,orratherarelentlessdriveforradical
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“Ifyoudelegate
innovation,
whatshouldbe
radical
innovation
becomes
incremental.”
“Howdoyou
treatpeople
whenthingsgo
wrong?”
ApodcastinterviewwithChrisGoppelsroeder
innovation.Onethatstartedyearsagowhenimpactfromagricultureonclimatechangewaslesstalkedabout.
Thiskindofthinkingonalong-termsustainabilitylevelisnotonlyaboutinnovation,it’saboutcapturingthe
heartsandmindsofcurrentandfutureemployees.Itmakesahugedifferencewiththeyoungergeneration,but
notonlythem,Iguessyouandmeincluded.
Whenyoucameintothisrolethreeyearsagoorthereabouts,wasthereanythingthatyounoticedaboutthe
cultureatDSMwhenyoufirstarrived?
Ohyes.DSMstandsforDutchStateMinesandwhenyouthinkaboutouroriginsinmining,thenwecertainly
camealongwaywithourtoday’sbusinessportfolioinlifesciencesandmaterialsciences.Andinnovationis
writtenalloverthisjourney!
ButIguess,whenyoutalkaboutculturethenyoualsotalkaboutpurpose,thecompany’sDNAsotospeak.Not
surprisinglygivenourpastinmining,safetyofouremployeesbelongstothecoreofourDNA,itcomeseven
aheadofourbusinesssuccess.
AnothercoreelementofthatDSMDNAismicronutrientdeficiencyoftheunderprivilegedinthisworld,whatwe
call“hiddenhunger”.Thiscareaboutthethirdworldstartedalready30-40yearsago,whenthisbusiness
belongedtoRoche,thePharmaceuticalgiantwithHQsjustafewkilometersawayinBasel.Buildingonour
nutritionalexpertise,wetodaypartnerwiththeWorldFoodProgramorNGO’stohelpreduceandhopefully
ultimatelyeradicatemicronutrientdeficiencythatoftenleadstostuntingofchildrenandabrokenlife
thereafter.
Togetherwiththebeforementionedstrongfocusonsustainability,thismakesitatrioofcoreaspectsofour
DSMDNA,onethatislivedbyourcompanyCEO,FeikeSijbesmaandmanyothersincludingmyself.
Okay,sointimethatyou’vebeenintherole,whathaveyoudoneastheleaderofthisbusiness?Howmany
peopleareinthebusiness?
About12,000
HowdoyousustainthisDNAandIsupposemorespecifically,aretherecertainthingsthatyou’vebeentrying
tochangeabouttheculturetomakeitbetterorientedtowardssomeofthesemegatrendsthatyoureferred
toearlieron?
Ithinkeveryonehasadifferentwayofdrivingradicalinnovationinacompany,sothere’snogoodorbad,it’s
justaquestionofstyle,personalstyle.I’maverycuriousperson,soI’mveryinterestedinboth,potentialnew
marketopportunitiesaswellasthetechnologiesthatmightbringusclosertoasolution.Inotherwords,Ilike
tokeepmyfeetonthegroundorsometimeseveninthemudifnecessary.
Okay.Howdoyoudothat?
It’snotrocketscienceasyouknow.ItalktomanypeopleinsideandoutsideofDSMduringmyvisitsaroundthe
world,whichresultsinatremendousamountofinput.Wethendiscussthisandotherinputintopicrelatedand
alwayscrossfunctionalmeetings,eginvolvingnotonlyR&DbutalsothebusinesshereinHQsandlocally,to
bettergraspourinnovationopportunities.Thatisparticularlyimportantwhenitcomestoglobal,radical
innovationandlesssoforlocalincrementalimprovementswithintheday-to-daybusiness.
Inmyview,astheCEOyouneedtobeinvolvedinradicalinnovation,asthesetendtobebigbetsthatdetermine
yourfutureandtheunderlyingprogramsareverycostlyandresourceintensive.Ithereforedon’tthinkyoucan
delegatethoselargebetsorrisks,inotherwordstheyoftentendtobecome“Chefsache”astheGermanssay.
Besidesthe“CleanCow”projectwediscussedearlier,arethereanyotherexamplesofradicalinnovationor
prospectivedisruptionthatyou’veactuallynoticedandhaveenabledyourorganizationtoexploreandputin
placeastrategytoconfrontitortomanageit?Isthereanythingthatwecantalkaboutthatisinthepublic
domain?I’mcuriousIguesstounderstandthatthat’savery,veryimportantpoint,istotheextenttowhich
youastheleaderoftheorganizationactuallyco-ownitandeveryoneunderstandsthatbecauseinmany
organizationsasyourightlyimply,itgetspusheddownanddownandit’ssomeoneelse’sjobandnothing
reallyhappens.Yougetincrementalandyoualsogetthefearoffailureassociatedwiththinking,“I’mgoingto
beheldaccountableifthisdoesn’twork,”andclearlymostorganizationscarryasignificantrisk.
Ibelievethattheparticularapproachtorisktakingistoacertainextentpartofthecompanyculture.Whether
theCEOisinvolvedandtakesownershiporhowheortheorganizationtreatspeoplewhenthingsgowronghas
enormousimpactonwhetherpeoplesticktheirneckoutinfuture.
Anotherexampleofradicalinnovationthatwestartedoverthelastyearsislinkedtofishfeed,especiallyfor
salmon.Giventheenormouspopularityofthisfishwithconsumers,whichisalsorelatedtoitshealthyomega-3
fattyacidcontent,salmonaremoreandmorefarmedinbigquantitiesintheoceanratherthencaughtinrivers
naturally.Butfarmedsalmonneedtobefedtonsofsmallomega-3richfishtogettosimilarlevelsasthesalmon
livinginnature.
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ApodcastinterviewwithChrisGoppelsroeder
Unfortunately,anevermoreappearingElNino(warmcurrentintheocean)isgraduallyreducingtheseasonal
catchofsuchsmallomegarichfishandtheindustryisscramblingforalternatives.Wearefaradvancedinbeing
abletoprovideanature-identicalsolutionfromasustainablesource,likeweweresome30yearsagowhenwe
succeededincomingupwithasustainablesolutionforpigmentation.Theinvestmentneedsareveryhigh,
though,anotherreasontobeintimatelyinvolvedmyself.
Fromyourview,itchangesyourroleradically?
Ohyeah,itchangesitradically.
Presumablythatofsomeofyourteammembersaswell?
Yesindeed..
Ifwecanswitchgearsalittlebit,intermsofhowyouleadyourteam,whenweworkedtogether,inaprevious
organization,Iwasalwaysimpressedbyhowyouwereabletocreatethespacefortherightkindof
conversationstohappeninyourleadershipteam.I’minterestedinanyadviceyouhaveforpeoplewhoare
tryingtoencouragetheirteamtobemoreinnovative,tobemorecreative,tobemoreagile?Howdoyougo
aboutit?Howdoyoucreatethisspacefortheseconversationstohappen,toembracetheunknown?Anytips
thatyoucangiveoranylessonsthatyou’velearnedastohownottodoit?
“MystyleisI’ma
verycurious
person,very
interestedin
innovation.”
IthinkintheendwhatIcansayhereislessaboutadviceandagainmoreaboutstyle.Everybodyinthis
organizationknowsthatI’mhugelyinterestedinthe“new”andthatinnovationcapturesmymindandifyou
cometomewithsomethinginterestingIwilllistennomatterwhichpartofthedayitis.Also,Istrivenottohave
anagendathatiscompletelyfull,becausethatallowsmetobeflexibleandquicklyincludethesemental
excursionsthatIsometimesneedtounderstandpotentialinnovationopportunitiesbetter.
Whenyousaytalkingtopeople,youmentionedtometheotherdaythatit’sveryunlikelythatyou’dhaveall
therightpeopleroundthetableatthesametimethatwillcomefromtheorganization.Inotherwords,the
importanceofcollaboratingwiththirdpartieswaskeyfortheorganization.Howdoyouthinkaboutexternal
collaborationsandco-creationwithdifferentstakeholders?Howdoyoumakeyourselfeasytodobusiness
withasacompanybutalsohowdoyoureachouttopotentialcollaborationpartnersandidentifythem?
Ithinkthat’saveryimportantelementandIthinkit’sveryclearthatsizeofacompanydoesnotmatterthat
much,it’sspeedofacompanythatmatters.Andspeedcomesfromhavingtherightcapabilitiesattherighttime
intherightquantityavailable.Thelikelihoodthatyouhavethoseidealresourcesavailableinhouseatthetime
youneedthemisclosetozero.
ObviouslygoodpartnershipsinourindustriesstartwithacleardistributionoftheownershipoftherelevantIP?
Let’sassumetheIPissettledintherightway,thenIfoundthatcollaboratingcanbeextremelybeneficial.But
collaborationsarenotaspreadsheetoraNPV.Theyarebuiltupoftrustingrelationshipsbetweentwo
organizationsondifferentlevels,startingatthetopandincludingallthedifferentkeyleaderswithintheproject.
Theserelationshipsneedtobegoodandweoftencallthistheculturalfit.Theculturalfitcanmakeaprojectfly
orkillitevenifyouhavethebestsetup,thebesttechnology.
Andthenthereisthementalitywhichisimportant:weinEuropeoftenseetheglasshalf-empty,whileother
regionsliketheUSseeitmorehalf-fulloragainotherslikeBrazilevenseeitoverflowing!Acertainpassionand
can-domentalitycanbeatremendousenergybehindajointproject.
Justwrappingthisup,whatadvicewouldyougiveyour25yearoldself?
Agreatquestiontoaskafifty-somethingpersonlikeme!I’mcurious.IstartedasacivilengineerandI’mnowin
atotallydifferentsector.Itwasnotaplan.Itwasahappening.Ithinklettinggooftheplanandratherdecideby
whathappensandseewhatinterestsyou,wouldstillbehighonmylist.
Whatmattersisifyouhavetheheartforit,ifyouhavethemindforit,ifyouhavethepassionforit.Bytheway,
mykidsaregettingtothatage.Theyarenotyet25.TheyareyoungerbutweneverdiscusswhatIwoulddo.The
topicisalways,“whereistheirpassion?”It’stheonlythingthatcounts.Idon’tknowifthatresonateswithyou?
Yeah,itresonateswithmeanditalsoresonateswithsomeofthepeopleI’veinterviewedearlieronforthis
show.Imean,it’saveryconsistentmessageorathemecomingoutofthatquestionwhenIaskit,soexcellent.
Finalquestion,wherecanpeoplegetintouchwithyouandwecanincludeforinstanceyourLinkedInprofilein
theshownotes.Isthatthebest…
ThatiscertainlythebestonceIhavecleaneditupabit.
Perfect.We’llputthatintheshownotesalongwithsomeoftheothermaterialsaboutthecompany.Chris,
thishasbeenagreatpleasuretalkingtoyoutoday.IreallyenjoyedourtalkasI’msureourlistenerswilland
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4
ApodcastinterviewwithChrisGoppelsroeder
thanksverymuchforyourtime.
ThankyouMark.Itwascertainlyaroller-coasterthroughallyourquestions.ThankyouverymuchMark
Eachweek,theInnovationEcosystempodcastbringsyoufreshperspectives,key
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