*Episode hosted by Radu Palamariu*
In this episode, I interviewed Donato Giorgio, President of Global Supply Chain for Essity, where we discussed the importance of continuous learning, mentorship, and holistic leadership.
Donato shared his journey in supply chain, highlighting some of the inflection points, like starting at Procter & Gamble and the joining the SCA Group and subsequently Essity. We also discussed Essity’s supply chain transformation, diving more into the integration of procurement, manufacturing, and logistics into their global network and emphasizing the need for a service mindset and local relevance in a global context. In addition, Donato shared his views on the importance of sustainability and their goal of using renewable resources for local production to improve the accessibility and affordability of essential hygiene products.
Listen to the full discussion here:
Connect with the Guest:
Donato Giorgio is the President of Global Supply Chain for Essity, a Swedish hygiene and health company. The product portfolio contains one-use products such as tissue paper, baby diapers, feminine care, compression therapy, orthopedics, and wound care, with approximately 15 billion in revenue. The name stems from the words essentials and necessity.
Donato is leading an organization with 19,000 direct employees and 48 production sites- leading a significant consumer company that helps people all around the world. He’s had an illustrious supply chain career for many years. He started in Procter and Gamble and has been with Essity and the SCA Group for many years.
Questions I Asked:
- What are the inflection points that made the most difference in your career?
- Can you share more about the supply chain transformation that your team went through with us? And the change in your role?
- Do you have any tips that helped you influence the board and your CEO in terms of the direction you went for during your supply chain transformation?
Show notes:
- [01:14] What are those inflection points in your career? What are maybe two or three elements or inflections that really made the most difference for you?
- [02:32] “[…] one of the most important boosts that I had for my development is to really start knowing what good looks like knowing the best practices, and knowing how to learn.”
- [05:00] “The only reason why I am in the position where I am is because I had the privilege and the fortune to learn and meet people with extremely good experience who wanted to teach me and to learn from them.”
- [08:27] “Sometimes you think that some jobs are a killer for your career, or you say, “I’m not growing so much,” but actually they are the most important to make you a holistic leader.”
- [09:50] “You need to be an orchestrator of the different parts of the orchestra. It’s not that you are an expert in playing all the different tools, but you need to know all of them, respect them, and find a way to orchestrate them.“
- [10:25] “To be successful in your career, I see two elements. One is having a mentor. Work with people you can learn from. Continuous learning is important. Second is what I consider an absolute golden rule, “Do the job that you like, and you will never have to work in your life.”
- [13:12] “I really wake up every morning with my team and with the 19,000 people that we have in the supply chain and the 35,000 we have in the company because we are all passionate about removing barriers to well-being.”
- [17:40] “My vision of this is that one day you have a container in the middle of Africa with a much smaller machine inside and a solar panel, using local agricultural waste as raw material to produce hygiene products.”
- [19:39] Tell us a little bit about your team’s supply chain transformation. Also, I think you have different roles, and now it’s end-to-end. Talk to us about that a little bit.
- [21:43] “In our industry, supply chain is a fundamental part. I always give the example that supply chain is the engine room and the steering mechanism of a big boat. The engine room needs to be efficient, reliable, agile, responsive, and in connection with all the other parts of the boat to really ensure that it works well.”
- [24:37] “When I joined SCA Essity, I really experienced the diversity because you were sitting at a table with managers coming from completely different experiences. And I was always amazed to see how we could see the same problem from a totally different perspective. We use this diversity to build on each other and not to fight. ”
- [26:57] “It is crystal clear to everyone in the end-to-end supply chain, from procurement, manufacturing, engineering to supply chain manager, and logistics, that we are there to serve our business unit, salesforce, to be successful on the market.”
- [34:13] “I don’t try to convince anyone anymore on anything, instead I start doing. I take small cases, and I take people that want to do it. So instead of putting energy in convincing people who are farther away, I leverage on the people who want to jump in.”
- [39:19] “If you are a high-level executive, particularly in supply chain, that is the function that interconnects all the functions of the company. You need to have two things. You need great ideas and you need to be able to get the votes.”
- [42:10] “You need to have the trust of the people, enough for them to say, “Honestly, I really did not understand what you mean. But I trust you, so I let you try.”
Quotes from the Episode:
About the Host:
A great conversation with Donado! I am your host, Radu Palamariu, Managing Director of Alcott Global for APAC and Europe, working on C-level and top management executive search assignments with Top Fortune 500 companies and local conglomerates in value chains for manufacturing, logistics, transportation, supply chain management, and e-commerce and also the co-author of “From Source to Sold – Stories of Leadership in Supply Chain”.
Alcott Global provides executive search solutions for key positions at all pillars of end-to-end value chains, from general management to overall supply chain operations, including executive and non-executive board roles.
In our Makers & Movers face-to-face events, we bring together value chain executives to connect, collaborate, and innovate – a forum focused on business value creation.
Last September, we awarded the Top 30 Leaders in Supply Chain of 2024, recognizing their achievements in digitizing operations, decarbonization, and sustainability and creating a diverse and equitable environment for supply chain teams to thrive and excel.
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#194: Transforming Dairy Supply Chains and Overcoming the “Perfect Storm”
#195: The CEO’s view of Supply Chain, PEs and Indian brands
#196: Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work
