Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Ashl
Search every verified Guillermo Novo interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Guillermo Novo, Chair and CEO of Ashland, appeared on NYSE TV Live on December 17, 2024, after the company rang the opening bell to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Novo described the company's evolution from an oil company to a diversified chemical company and now to a specialty materials firm, attributing its longevity to its people and a focus on change. He stated that over the last few years, the company concentrated on things within its control, building resilience and agility amid uncertainty while executing a strategy of investing in innovation. Novo noted that the company had "radically changed" its business profile and portfolio, and that an upcoming investor day would focus on the future. Looking ahead to 2025, Novo said the short-term environment remains uncertain, particularly regarding macroeconomic trade issues, and emphasized maintaining flexibility to maximize performance while staying on strategy. He stated that the company's future involves growth through innovation and launching new technology platforms that customers are excited about. Novo said the company aims to keep its legacy and values while working with customers to create value for them and, in turn, for investors.
“This is a company that's transitioned from being an oil company to a diversified chemical company to now really a specialty material company, so it's been a journey of change.”
“The biggest issue over the last few years is we focused on the things that we could control. The whole issue in these uncertain times has been building resilience and agility to respond to things but have a clear strategy of where you're going.”
“The biggest transformation that we've made is huge investments in innovation. Tomorrow we're doing an investor day where we're really talking about the future.”
“Innovation is about curiosity. You have to really question what can we do differently, what is in the future, not be afraid of change, embrace the change, and that's really what's going to make you stronger.”
“We want to keep our legacy, our values as a very company with deep values on how we operate, how we respect all of our stakeholders, but then really about innovation, how do we work with our customers to create value for them and then we can create value for our investors.”
“It remains a lot of uncertain times, especially right now with macroeconomic trade issues. Over the next 6 months we'll see a lot of that work out, so we want to make sure that we have the flexibility and the strength to maximize our performance in the short term but more importantly stay on strategy.”
“The future is about growth through innovation. We have some really exciting businesses that we're investing heavily for growth independent of the environment that we're in.”
“More importantly, really launching these new technology platforms that our customers are very excited about. The future is about technology innovation, not about the past. The future is bright.”
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