ANSELL
Q: Congratulations on assuming the leadership role at Ansell – especially as its first female CEO. How does it feel stepping into this role, particularly coming from a different industry background?
A: I’m privileged and honoured to serve as the CEO of Ansell – a remarkable company with a proud 135 year heritage and a clear purpose: to make the world safer for our customers and employees every day.
As for being a female CEO, I have never viewed it differently, having come from Scandinavia where equality is deeply embedded in society. What makes me especially proud in Sri Lanka is seeing the strong pipeline of young female leaders emerging across the organisation. We are proud to be a role model locally with a workforce that has an over 50:50 female to male balance and many women serving in leadership positions.
Q: Following your initial interactions, what are your impressions of Sri Lanka operations and what excites you most about this location?
A: This is my first professional visit to Sri Lanka (although I have visited before as a tourist) so I had very warm feelings for the country. To me, Sri Lanka represents energy, exceptional talent and pride. During my earlier visit, I was deeply impressed by the warmth of its people, their hospitality, the food and the beauty of the country.
From a professional perspective, the talent and expertise in Sri Lanka are outstanding. Even today, many of our leaders are contributing in global roles and functions while being based here.
I believe there is even greater potential to create more global opportunities for Sri Lankan talent to grow while enabling the wider organisation to learn from the exceptional knowledge and capabilities that exist here.
Q: We are operating in a highly volatile global environment shaped by unprecedented geopolitical challenges. As the leader of a global MNC such as Ansell, how do you navigate and respond to such complexities?
A: This is a highly volatile and dynamic world. At the same time, we are all accustomed to navigating uncertainty – as has Sri Lanka. There is always something happening, and organisations everywhere must learn how to respond and bounce back.
The key is to remain laser focussed on what matters most and communicate clearly across the organisation. For us, the first priority is keeping our employees safe and continuing to provide solutions for customers. The second is ensuring availability so we can continue to serve them and support growth.
It comes down to resilience, clarity of purpose and strong execution. Teams need clear goals, quick follow-ups and the ability to move with speed. Focus and speed are critical, along with constant communication of priorities. At present, our priority is to serve our customers, ensure they have the products they need and help them continue their work.
Q: With global supply chains undergoing significant shifts, what role do you envision for Sri Lanka in building a more resilient and diversified manufacturing footprint?
A: Sri Lanka is well recognised as a manufacturing nation and for Ansell it is already of major importance. Today, a third of everything we produce comes from Sri Lanka – and that significance will continue.
I also see tremendous value in the expertise we have here across engineering, technology, and research and development. We have outstanding R&D capabilities in Sri Lanka with many patents developed by our local teams. With this talent base, we can continue to grow and strengthen our global contribution.
From a manufacturing perspective, we will continue to invest and expand in Sri Lanka because the track record is so strong. Our teams have consistently demonstrated capability and performance; and with continued investment, Sri Lanka can remain a highly important part of Ansell’s global network.
At the same time, given geopolitical dynamics, we must ensure a balanced global manufacturing footprint with different hubs across regions. To remain competitive amid rising low-cost manufacturing centres, the key for Sri Lanka is to keep strengthening capabilities, innovation, productivity and specialised expertise – a challenge many countries face today.
Q: What key capabilities should Sri Lanka’s operations strengthen to remain competitive amid the rise of emerging low-cost manufacturing hubs?
A: I believe the opportunity for Sri Lanka is clear and I saw it firsthand while visiting our factories. This is not only a low-cost manufacturing hub, it is also a centre of capability and talent – a rare combination. Few countries offer world-class skills, strong talent and cost competitiveness at the same time. That is a unique advantage and something we want to continue building on.
We are very proud of the global engineering, manufacturing technology and R&D capabilities we have here through our local teams. We also have more than 150 university interns each year in Sri Lanka, helping us build a pipeline of future talent not only for local operations but global needs across functions such as finance, HR and manufacturing.
One capability that will be especially important for Ansell globally – and here in Sri Lanka – is our digital and AI road map, followed closely by automation. We are already having strong discussions around the investments needed in artificial intelligence and automation, and how to accelerate that journey.
What stood out to me during my factory visit was that this ambition is coming from within the organisation itself. Employees are already thinking about kaizen, the future of manufacturing, AI and digitalisation. That makes this an even greater opportunity. Our priority now is to move quickly, take a step change forward and build the future together.
Q: What is your perspective on accelerating automation and digitalisation across Ansell’s manufacturing network, and where should Sri Lanka focus its efforts first?
A: With the great talent available here, the focus should not be limited to manufacturing alone. There are many other areas with strong potential including HR, finance and planning functions. With the highly capable university graduates in Sri Lanka, the question is how they can help drive the next step change across these sectors. That is something I would be very interested to see develop further.
Another area where I understand there is significant future potential is the startup ecosystem. How can Sri Lanka build more startups that can support and collaborate with larger companies? For established businesses such as Ansell with a vast history, startups can play an important role in driving innovation. Building an ecosystem where startups can thrive would be very exciting to see.
Q: How can Sri Lanka’s operations play a more significant role in product innovation and R&D, beyond manufacturing excellence?
A: I believe part of it comes back to leadership support and I need to play a role in helping facilitate that. Our Sri Lanka research and development team is already filing many patents, and has done so consistently over the years. What the business now needs to do is bring our customers closer to our R&D teams here so that we remain fully focussed on the needs of the end customer and end user.
That means fostering close collaboration, ongoing dialogue and stronger consumer insights so we can create innovations that genuinely improve the lives of those who use our products. As a leader, I see it as my responsibility to help enable this as we move forward. We are strongly committed to our future growth strategy and that means keeping the customer at the centre of everything we do.
Q: Sustainability is increasingly critical. How do you see Ansell advancing its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) ambitions, particularly in areas such as circularity and waste reduction? What role can Sri Lanka play in supporting these goals?
A: Coming from Scandinavia, where sustainability is deeply embedded in business culture, it is something I see as fundamental. It is part of the DNA of companies there. That is why I am very impressed by where Ansell already stands today and by our commitment to weaving sustainability into our future growth strategy while ensuring we do the right thing. We do it for future generations – I do it for my children – and that is why it matters so much.
At Ansell, we have ambitious targets including net zero and Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) commitments. Here in Sri Lanka, our operations already achieve zero waste to landfill, which I am very proud of.
In addition, close to 95 percent of the energy used in our factories here comes from renewable sources. As the global leader in our industry, we must continue to pioneer progress, do more and lead by example.
ESG is not only about environmental sustainability – it is also about social responsibility. I am energised and proud when I see what our teams in Sri Lanka are doing across many fronts to be responsible corporate citizens and advance the social agenda.
Looking ahead, Sri Lanka will remain central to Ansell’s growth over the next five to 10 years. Already, 30 percent of our global manufacturing footprint is based here, and we will continue to invest and grow our presence.
Beyond production, the outstanding talent in Sri Lanka will be a major driver of future success. Through partnerships with universities and programmes such as our annual intake of 150 interns, we can continue to nurture capability, energy and passion for the future.
Q: And finally, you are shaping the strategic direction of Ansell as CEO – how do you see Sri Lanka contributing to the company’s global growth over the next five to 10 years?
A: I see my role as being to support our teams and help them succeed. My focus is on how I can facilitate their progress, and ensure we have a clear growth strategy that is detailed and well-defined. When the growth building blocks are clearly quantified, it becomes much easier for the entire global organisation to understand how each person can contribute.
The priorities are growth and a strong talent agenda; and inspiring people to dream big, be courageous, go the extra mile and continue with passion. I believe we already have that culture within Ansell. My role is to help drive the growth agenda, ensure it is detailed enough to guide action and create opportunities for
talent to thrive.
