As any Monument team member will tell you, a LOT can be accomplished in 100 days! Renee Havrilla, our new Global Lead for the Solvents business, was eager to share how much she’s learned in her first 100 days in the role – and the unique perspective she's gaining as she navigates the opportunities and challenges of leading such a dynamic business with the Solvents team. From deepening her understanding of our customer relationships and markets to meeting the diverse experts across the Solvents business, Renee’s first few months have built her excitement (and ours!) for what’s to come for this innovative team. Let’s dive into Renee’s insights, learnings, and vision for the future of Monument's Solvents business…

How would you describe your first 100 days in the role? What have been the key highlights?

My first 100 days have been all about learning, listening, and planning our next chapter together. The business has a solid growth strategy in place, and we’ve spent time these past few months continuing to explore where we want to grow. As an example, our first strategy session focused on the semiconductor space, where our E-grade solvents are playing a crucial role in ensuring the high purity and precision required for manufacturing advanced electronic components – while also minimizing environmental impact thanks to their lower-VOC content.

Other strategy sessions have focused on the business as a whole – identifying opportunities to meet growing or unmet market needs. That might include developing new products, expanding our efforts in sustainable solutions with circularity projects and utilizing sub-par streams to de-risk our supply of acetone. Also, we’re focusing on commercial excellence to be the preferred supplier of choice.

Has anything surprised you about the Solvents business so far?

I’ve been impressed by how quickly the Solvents team has rallied around our strategy refresh. Change – even small change – can be tough, but this team is embracing the possibilities, and they’re truly excited for the execution work.

As an example, our strategy refresh includes exploring new territory in R&D. The business continues to focus on the “D” side of R&D – particularly product development that builds on our existing products. Looking ahead, we see the opportunity to focus more on the “R,” including researching new technologies, markets, and unmet needs. And that, in turn, lets us really deliver on the hidden “I” in R&D – which is industry-leading innovation for Monument and our customers!

The Monument team lives to raise the bar. It’s a big part of what led me here, and I’m excited to see how committed they are to fresh growth possibilities.

What else inspires you about Monument’s Solvents team?

I would need a lot more space than I have here to answer that question! I’m amazed by the immense talent we have across sites and functions, as well as by the collaboration that happens across projects. As an example, when I visited our customer service team, it was great to see a very open, collaborative environment – they support one another and are always focused on helping each another deliver the best experience for our customers. It’s a culture built on trust and support, and that’s so powerful.

Our annual employee survey offered great insights into how we can continue build upon and improve our team culture even more. I’m excited to keep those conversations going – to learn more about what’s working and where we can improve. These efforts are key not only to our retention efforts but also to attracting the best talent and ensuring we build a strong future together.

What are your strategic priorities moving forward?

We have the right people and the right strategic plans – our priority now is execution. We took the time to identify the opportunities, and moving forward, we need to take tangible steps to go after them! Sometimes, that might happen in small steps, and other times, we’ll take big leaps forward. In my professional experience, execution is often the hardest part of the process, but I know the Monument team has the desire transform plans into reality.

We also need to celebrate our wins – big and small – to build inspiration and momentum for even more success.

Can you share some specific ways the Solvents business plans to innovate and grow in the coming years?

We have exciting plans in the sustainability space – especially our continued efforts to pursue circularity. We want to extract more value from our processes and create sales channels for all product streams possible. Instead of disposing of those streams, we’re finding customers who can use them for valuable purposes.

And as mentioned, our E-grade solvents are also a growth area that also delivers in the sustainability space. We’re making the right investments that allow us to scale up in this area, boost efficiency and agility, and support our customers with a wide variety of emerging needs.

What excites you the most about the path forward with the Solvents team?

We have opportunities everywhere to better communicate the value of our products and services – to both new and existing customers. We also have opportunities to flip the ratio of the time we spend on what I’ll call “everyday” work vs. the projects and work that truly push boundaries and deliver the most value to the industries and customers we serve. Those are the efforts that will set us apart even more in the marketplace and drive growth.

The Monument Solvents team is more than ready to take on these challenges for the company and our customers, and I’m honored to be part of that journey!