Crisis management: example of a mission to a player in the chemical industry

Sudden drop in activity, downsizing, health or financial crisis, strike… Many hazards can undermine a company’s activity. If these disruptions are not managed quickly and effectively, they can threaten the survival of the company. To quickly remedy such a situation, interim management is a strategic solution.

A look back at a managerial crisis management mission carried out by WAYDEN with a player in the chemical industry.

 

The progress of the crisis management mission with a player in the chemical industry

In 2015, in a town in the north of the Oise region, near Compiègne, an American group specialising in the manufacture and sale of antioxidant chemicals called on WAYDEN.

At the time, the group had sales of $500 million and employed more than 1,500 people at 11 industrial sites around the world. At the time, the French subsidiary was meeting Major managerial difficulties. Indeed, the young site manager appointed had not managed to get the teams on board and had not adopted the appropriate management method to mobilize employees. A Massive strike then took place for 9 days so that the group ended up exfiltrating the management of the site to resolve the continuity of production. However, without authority for a few days, the “Seveso high threshold” site was threatened with immediate administrative closure by the prefect.

The European Director then decided to call on WAYDEN to find, as a matter of urgency, an interim manager in order to quickly stabilize the situation and take control of the site’s activity.

Faced with this critical situation, Benoît DURAND-TISNES, Associate Director at WAYDEN, immediately identified an Industrial Site Manager, Emmanuel LOTTYL. This seasoned operational executive stood out for his solid experience in the operation of Seveso-classified hazardous chemical facilities and his expertise in crisis management.

 

The profile of the interim manager

After training at the École des Mines, Emmanuel LOTTYL held several high-ranking positions. He has worked as Industrial Director at Novoplastic and as Managing Director of the Union of Chemical Industries in Rhône-Alpes to strengthen the reputation of France’s leading chemical region.

During the mission, which lasted 6 months, Emmanuel LOTTYL reported to the Head of Europe based in Basel. He has succeeded in Successfully achieve all the objectives targeted : re-establish confidence on the client’s French site; negotiate with the unions and the Works Council; implement new management tools and a massive transformation plan; set up a new management team for the site and participate in the recruitment of a new site manager.

This managerial emergency mission was such a success that the client wanted to continue this collaboration which gave rise to a new mission as Global Chief HSE Officer.

 

Why call on an interim manager in a period of managerial crisis?

Calling on an interim manager in times of crisis is an excellent way to quickly stabilize the situation and protect yourself from harmful consequences. Indeed, the interim manager has a strong neutral outlook, pragmatism, a sense of leadership and composure that allow him or her to make strong and impactful decisions. As a high-flying leader, he can intervene very quickly, for a given period, the time necessary to turn the business around.

Calling on WAYDEN for crisis management

At WAYDEN, we have a pool of highly qualified interim managers with 15 to 25 years of experience in strategic positions. We can identify, within this network, a professional with solid experience in crisis management and expertise within your industry. The latter can intervene at short notice, directly within your company in France or abroad. Immediately operational, he will be able to activate the necessary levers to redress the situation and ensure business continuity. Here are some examples of industrial transition missions.