Fares Sayegh’s Post

If you aspire to build a successful future, make a difference and deliver against your aspirations, then technology, mastery, hard work and many other tools are needed. But those alone might not bring you far enough!   Throughout my many years in the professional world, and also at a personal level, I have always loved to work with young people. It is most rewarding to accompany new talents on their way up. I believe that the biggest trap for leaders is to stop asking the young for their opinion and insights, as it is this what enables us to succeed in our fast-paced world. The magic of long-term success is in the close exchange and connectedness between generations.   I was recently asked by the EU Business School Geneva to deliver the commencement address to the graduates of the class of 2024. This was not only an honor, but also a responsibility. When revisiting all that I learned about leadership in this changing world, I asked myself – what insight and learning of mine would be of timeless value to give to these students who are stepping into the professional world? The answer is actually very simple: No matter where technology will bring us, what opportunities it will open for young leaders, the element that will always stay human and make the difference between a good and a not-so-good leader is EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ), more important than ever in a world of abundance of HUMAN INTELLIGENCE (IQ), driven and enabled by technologies like AI. Why is that? Because emotionally intelligent leaders make everyone around them feel #Valued, #Included and enable them to perform at their #Peak! I call those inspirational leaders #VIPcreators. Those Leaders who lead with their heart and mind, who care and leave no one behind! If you are interested in the concept, take few minutes to watch and listen to my speech below. Again, a sincere thanks to the EU Business School and the class of 2024 for the opportunity to share my deep belief in what will make the difference in a world where there is an abundance of IQ but a scarcity of EQ! https://lnkd.in/edeZx3EY #EUGeneva #Commencement #EUClass24 #Class2024 #BreakingRecordsTogether #ValuedIncludedPerforming

I was recently asked by my friend Haitham Sadek, to join him in a conversation on his podcast program (Teen & Zaytoun), to share some advices and insights that could be of help to a young generation as they enter the professional world.

Today marks a very important day for my daughter Nayla El Sayegh who launched her new company that is focused on wellness! As parents, my wife and myself are extremely proud to see our daughter taking a courageous step to start a new venture that is driven by a passion. I have no doubt that she will be successful as she embarks on this new and exciting journey! Nayla has always been driven to make an impact and to do something she loves, but most importantly, she has a deep belief that growing a business requires a leader who can create, inside and outside their business, an environment where people she works or comes in touch with, are VIP (Valued, Included and should be given the opportunity to perform at their Peak)! Nayla deeply understands that for companies to grow and prosper, everyone should be included (as she, herself, has lived in many different countries and places that taught her the importance of being diverse and the power of including others no matter what their background or walk of life). I have always believed that parents, entrepreneurs, leaders, or anyone who wants to make an impact on their families, their business or the environment they live in, they should have the ability to create a place where everyone is and feels truly VIP, and I know that Nayla has it! https://lnkd.in/d4Dzq7aB

A core competency of Product Supply Leaders is deep consumer understanding.   When we understand and embrace the needs of our consumers, we can create the perfect products. This is the job of our colleagues in Brand Functions like Marketing, Analytics & Insights and Sales, but also and especially the job of the ones who produce & ship our wonderful products every day.   As I got back from an impressive visit to our London Site, where with Aymen Khattab, our Plant Manager, we reviewed the progress we are achieving, I was particularly amazed with our Product Supply colleagues Inés Badía Villacampa, Selam Tadesse and Amina Asghar who explained to me in deep details the Consumer Insights to which the Site is about to produce and launch our latest Innovations.   This shows one more time that our Product Supply colleagues all over the world understand the impact they make on the consumer, on our customers and on the business through the work they do, on the factory floor, in the Planning Service Centers, or together with our commercial colleagues.   A big thanks to Aymen, our London Plant Leader and his team, to Gianluca Branda, our Europe Supply Leader, and to the colleagues of the London site for this inspiring visit.   #BreakingRecordsTogether #PGLondon #PG

Deep understanding of the business we enable and of the expectations of the consumers we serve is of paramount importance for successful Supply Chain leaders! Supply Chain professionals are at their best when they fully understand the impact they can make on the business, the consumers and all stakeholders. Every time our supply chain teams connect with our business leadership to engage, learn and share ideas on how they can further enable our business is a process that brings out the very best in our teams, and brings meaning to the work they do, each and every day. Earlier this month I had the great opportunity to tour our North America sites with our newly appointed North America Fabric Care General Manager, Marchoe Dill Northern. It was great to see the engagement of our colleagues in every site we visited, where Marchoe gave an inspiring picture on our business in North America and how our sites can contribute to the regional growth plans. As the pictures show, we engaged with fantastic teams and bright minds wherever we went, from #Lima in #Ohio, to #TablerStation in #WestVirginia, and to #Alexandria in #Louisiana, our teams showed up as Supply Chain professionals with business acumen and eagerness to ensure that their impact on the business makes a difference. It was a great and fun week in a buzzing region under the leadership of our Supply Chain Vice President Helen Hamlin. Thanks to our hosts Gabriele Pacchiarotti, Tarek Habib and Garrett Dornbrook, and I am so much looking forward to my next visit! Thank you, team, for all what you are doing and let’s continue #BreakingRecordsTogether #PG

Our #Gebze Plant has always been a place to build legacy, a beacon of operational excellence, learning and teaching – great to see that this journey continues!   Some 24 years ago I visited our manufacturing site in #Turkiye, as a young plant manager to learn and re-apply from the capabilities and operational excellence our Turkish colleagues have built over the years. This past week I visited our team at the Gebze plant and was delighted to see that, generation after generation, the site leadership continued to build on their predecessors' legacy in delivering exceptional results, with high operational excellence that speak mountains to the mastery and commitment to serve our Turkish consumers and all the markets that our Gebze site serves. I had the opportunity to celebrate with our team at the plant, our Site leader, Basak Samur Aydin, passing on the baton to Emrah Albayrak to continue the journey of excellence that has been Gebze plant equities since day one. Our dear Basak will move on to lead our global Fabric Care manufacturing capability and Innovation, bringing with her a hands-on experience of how organizations can deliver superior results and products enabled by superior operational excellence". Gebze team, stay the course, keep #BreakingRecordsTogether #PG #FabricCare

Happy #EarthWeek to everyone from our Baddi plant in India!   P&G’s goal is to achieve Net Zero by 2040. And our plants and our entire Product Supply Organization have a huge role to play to get there in time, and even faster.   I am very proud of our global Supply Network, and I am even prouder when you see how all our plants, and our entire organization, work hand in hand across the globe to reach our ambitious targets.   Earth Week is a great opportunity to explore innovative ways to reduce our impact on the planet, and I thoroughly believe that the engagement of each and every colleague is critical to the creation of meaningful environmental initiatives. And I don’t only mean the ‘big’ environmental initiatives. I am talking about everyday engagements formats that I see in our plants; like the lovely frame that greeted me in Baddi, or the energy-saving competitions to encourage excitement around the topic, or the recognition programs and knowledge-sharing sessions that our sites run to create awareness and encourage innovation – it is sometimes the small things that drive the personal commitment that in turn drive the big things!   At the end of the day: Our path to achieving our Ambition 2040 starts with each and every one of us. During Earth Week, and all year long, if you want to know more, feel free to go to A Closer Look at Procter & Gamble’s Net Zero 2040 Ambition (pg.com).   Thanks a lot Anuj and our dear Baddi team for the fascinating visit... let us keep #BreakingRecordsTogether #PG #PGFabricCare #Sustainability #ItsOurHome #Baddi #India

Coming to #Cabuyao for the 2nd time, I am always amazed by the incredible friendliness, personal warmth and hospitality of the #Philippines’ people in general, and our Cabuyao team in particular. Out of Cabuyao plant we serve the entire country with #Tide, #Ariel and #Downy, and I was very pleased to see the plant setting new standards on Operational Excellence and Quality, delivering excellent dry- and liquid laundry products to our consumers.   Also, it’s important to know that Cabuyao is home to a strong team of 600+ P&Gers, of which are more than 90% Engineers – net: this plant is a powerhouse of knowledge and education, shining back into the community it serves, and back into the P&G global manufacturing network this plant is part of. I was particularly delighted to see the increasing numbers of female colleagues there (over 30%), and I am especially happy to see so many of them assuming managerial leadership posts (more than 40% of our female colleagues are Managers).   Net, Cabuyao is not just a beautiful place, it is also the home to a true manufacturing gem, and I am already now looking forward to my next visit. A big thanks to Seema Menon as our outgoing and Giuseppe Messina as our ingoing plant manager, to Bharath Seshadri as our supply leader in the Asia-Pacific and Middle-East-Africa region, and to all of the wonderful colleagues in the Philippines for a great visit. Let’s keep #BreakingRecordsTogether.

Going to Egypt was double-fun: First, a very insightful visit to our Cairo Product Supply Planning Center, led by Sarah Alrashiedy: I was amazed by our young, extremely entrepreneurial and solution-oriented digital natives, who help us digitizing our operations at the speed of light. I was equally impressed by the ingenuity on how especially our youngest talents approach the many challenges they face every day with innovative digital solutions, and how they do it with a smile. So much energy, so much fun while doing their work, so much determination to #BreakingRecordsTogether every day – it simply felt good to spend time among these young wonderful individuals.   Second, Day 2 was like coming home again: P&G Cairo Plant! My professional and personal home from 2001 to 2004, today in the very capable hands of Naif Alansari and his team. While the external environment poses challenges, this plant, this team is putting all their energy and power into making this plant a lighthouse for productivity and efficiency. True Record Breakers, a beacon for our Global Team Culture and mentality. You really see the quality of your teams in times that are not the easiest, and this plant is one of the best examples for that in our global network.   In essence, I have seen a lot that delighted me, and that deserves reapplication and recognition throughout our network. And, most importantly, Egyptians do everything with a smile; back then when I used to live there, and today. And as long as this is the case, I am never worried. Thank you, Sarah and Naif, together with your wonderful teams, for hosting our Lead Team and myself #PGEgypt #PGCairo #Cairo #Egypt #PG #ProcterGamble #BreakingRecordsTogether