Driving Customer-Centric Change - Erwin Wieffering on Leading SafetyKleen

DESCRIPTION Welcome to Transformer CEOs with me, Erik Schmidt. As well as hosting this podcast, I advise Chairs, CEOs and investors on driving performance in tough environments. Today I’m joined by one such CEO - Erwin Wieffering, CEO of SafetyKleen, who has led multiple transformations. Today, we talk about the necessary craziness and resilience of a transformer CEO, achieving that vital balance between work, health and family, and why you cannot win without hiring great talent who truly share your vision. KEY TAKEAWAYS Embrace a little constructive craziness in service of a clear North Star. A degree of audacity is part of the transformer CEO´s job profile. Multi‑year transformations are marathons; build habits, routines and support systems that allow you to get knocked down, course‑correct and keep the organisation’s energy high. Design your diary, travel and role so that your family and wellbeing aren’t permanently in the red. If you don´t, your credibility and the quality of your decisions suffers. Spend disciplined time with sales and service teams on the frontline. Test, learn - then scale. Resist the temptation to roll out one-size‑fits‑all models at speed; instead, prove concepts in test beds, support roll‑out with dedicated “SWAT” capability, and don´t try to transform by committee. BEST MOMENTS "Every week I'm sitting either in a truck or I sit in the car with a sales guy.” "Less is more always works. Put a few people with good brains in a room and they actually make it work...it´s very hard to transform by committee." "To be a transformative CEO - don't go in and try to manage something, go in with a purpose, and actually know where you want the north star to be." GUEST BIO In 2021, Erwin Wieffering became Group CEO of SafetyKleen International market leader in parts cleaning, waste collection, and environmental advisory services across 90+ branches in 15 countries. Previously, he was President EMEA of Britax Römer, and the 1st Global CMO at Verisure, where he shaped its global marketing and commercial strategy. Erwin served at Procter & Gamble, in various leadership positions across different geographies, for 18 years. He holds a Master’s in General Management from Nyenrode Business University. PODCAST DESCRIPTION If you're a CEO, Chairman or investor this is a destination podcast for you. At some time, all companies get out of step with their consumers, fall behind the competition or lose their top talent – or all three. The financial fallout can be severe. The Transformer CEO podcast meets global leaders who have taken on the brief to transform their company from ugly duckling to swan. It explores their corporate and personal journey, their leadership values, their challenges and successes along with their mis-steps and learnings. It inspires those about to start, re-assures those already underway and offers a benchmark for those who feel they have concluded. If you want to know what it takes to succeed in tough environments, you'll not want to miss Transformer CEOs. HOST BIO Erik is described by CEO and Chairmen as "exceptional", "undoubtedly one of the top global HR leaders" and "a strong strategic thinker and amazing change leader". After 35 years working with some of the most successful companies on the planet including Diageo, GE, LEGO, HSBC and Pandora, he focuses in the podcast on sharing the unique character of corporate leaders who take on some of the biggest challenges and win. This is also a critical topic in his consulting work where he partners with CEO’s, Chairmen and Investors as Founder & Managing Director of Erik Schmidt Consulting & Advisory (erikschmidt.co.uk) to help companies achieve out-performance. https://www.erikschmidt.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidt-erik/ This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/