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00:00:00
00:00:01
Daniel Llensa
50 Plays5 months ago
We talk about staying in one place for your whole life and working for the same (chemical) company for the past 21 years.
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Transcript
Introduction and Reflection on Past
00:00:01
joewaltman
All right, today we've got Daniel Lenza. Daniel, thanks so much for joining.
00:00:06
Dani
Hi Joe, how are you? Thank you very much for having me.
00:00:09
joewaltman
All right, first question, refresh your memory. What were you doing before in Seattle and what have you been up to for the last 21 years?
00:00:15
Dani
Is it 21 years now? Yeah. We start counting down towards the pensions and these kinds of things.
Career Transition from IT to Business Focus
00:00:22
Dani
Yeah. So ah before, before INSEAD, yeah, I was, you know, some background industrial engineering.
00:00:30
Dani
um You know specializing energies weird thing. I never did anything around that and then joined the Accenture ah Which I did was working for Accenture for four or five years which was a really process IT t related yeah ERP this kind of stuff and Yeah, and you know, I just wanted to get out of that.
00:00:51
Dani
Yeah, that was said that was my main driver and and the
00:00:54
joewaltman
And where were you doing this?
00:00:56
Dani
in Barcelona? oh Always been, but I mean, I'm going to save you that question.
00:00:58
joewaltman
Okay.
00:01:00
Dani
Always in Barcelona.
00:01:01
joewaltman
Gotcha, okay. why why would Why would one ever leave that place?
00:01:05
Dani
No, I mean, I've tried a few times, ah you know, and and to be honest, it's, you know, it's it's ah it's it's a place I love, I enjoy. I mean, maybe some years ago, I would have had the motivation. It's always a bit difficult to drag the family around. I mean, they also love it. And especially, you know, get ah I don't know whether it's just very Latin thing, Spanish thing, you know, very family bonded.
Family Ties and Decision to Stay in Barcelona
00:01:29
Dani
so that always makes it a bit difficult you know actually just you know maybe it was about one hour before before talking to you i got a call from my boss asking me you know are you relocatable the same answer listen you know not really i'm not that interested So yeah, always in Barcelona. And yeah, then I applied for INSEAD, to be perfectly honest, know when when that happened, it was ah with a bit of immaturity around me, I would say. And I didn't really quite know what, I didn't know that much about the school and
Education at INSEAD and Return to Barcelona
00:02:02
Dani
so on. I mean, it just knew, I wanted to take an MBA, I checked and this is a good one, and let's go for it.
00:02:07
Dani
and um ah yeah And then after that I took an INSEAD. After that I did want to get back to Barcelona. So at that time and a girlfriend, now wife and mother of my kids was in Barcelona. So yeah you know I applied and took a little bit of time to find a ah job ah in at the very beginning. know I just got back into something very very interim.
00:02:34
Dani
ah kind of you know It was like ah like a bit of an interface between the IT process and business. I was not really convinced about that. um but But I took it and I did that for about one month, but very rapidly within the same company.
00:02:51
Dani
yeah I did express my desire to move into the business side of things. So I started moving in in that direction and I'm still in the same company. So it's been 20, 21 or 22 years.
00:03:01
joewaltman
Oh, wow.
00:03:02
Dani
Yeah, oh it's oh always.
00:03:03
joewaltman
yeah you You might be the only person, your first person we've talked to after, I don't know, 50 or 60 of these things that's been in one company since then.
00:03:04
Dani
i mean
00:03:10
Dani
i'm I'm very loyal. and very little but you could wait maybe ah Maybe I'm just lazy, but but I'm loyal. But the fact the fact is, I've been doing really different things. yeah so so and I also get that mood where I do something for maybe five years. Maybe five years is about my time before I start getting bored about something.
00:03:28
Dani
ah but I have been moving and I started a couple of years after that and I started day taking care of ah Spanish, ah one business for Spain, for it's it so it's a painting.
00:03:40
joewaltman
Well, let's zoom out. let's let let's tell us what Tell us what this company is and what they do.
00:03:43
Dani
Yeah, so so we make a paints and coatings. Yeah, so it's a chemical company. It's a
Role at AkzoNobel and Industry Insights
00:03:49
Dani
Dutch company. It's called Axanabelle. So it's one of the large paint and coatings ah company out there in the world. And they you know, you you might be able to three know think about three or four ah companies like PPG or Sherwin-Williams or Axanabelle in Europe, right? So it's a big player.
00:04:07
Dani
And um you know we're very strong in in Europe, Asia, you know not that strong in in um in North America, quite strong in South America. And i'm you know we paint anything yeah from from you know from from wolves to airplanes ships whatever you want and i've i've been involved i started with that with what we call packaging coatings so my world is the world of cans yeah metal cans so i was i was running the metal can business
00:04:40
Dani
uh in Spain that you know that that was about three four years um after that uh you know I moved still on metal cannon or any kind of beverage you know these kind of these kind of stuff you know all this all these kind of cans and
00:04:55
joewaltman
Meaning you you paint the actual can itself. You're not selling can paint in cans.
00:04:59
Dani
No, no yeah yeah not no. So what we do is is we these cans, a normal can, a beverage can or a food can, that would rust. yeah So all these have a internal protection, which is a coating, which is chemicals. And outside we have, I don't know, inks or whatever it is, or varnishes, or you know which which also protects the can from from the outside. So anything you see metal is coated somehow.
00:05:28
Dani
ah so So yeah, um I did that you know four or five years in Spain. Rapidly then I moved to Key Account Management and I took care of ah our largest account worldwide, which was a European account. Then I got a second account, ah though there's two accounts merged.
00:05:46
joewaltman
and this would And again, excuse the the the dumb question. These would be companies that need to coat metal for some purpose.
00:05:54
Dani
Yeah, yeah. yeah so So what my customers do is they they they know they're the biggest suppliers of empty cans to the Coca-Cola's to the Heineken's, whoever it is.
00:05:55
joewaltman
Yeah.
00:06:01
joewaltman
a Okay, okay.
00:06:04
Dani
Yeah. So so they provide the empty can and the lid. Yeah. Then you fill it up with whatever you want.
00:06:09
joewaltman
Yeah.
00:06:10
Dani
You put the lid on and you put it up there in the market. But before you make the can, you actually need to coat it. Yeah, so we we are in the business of making these.
00:06:15
joewaltman
Yeah.
00:06:18
Dani
It's really a B2B kind of business, you know, it's really three three, four players out there in the world.
00:06:20
joewaltman
Sure.
00:06:26
Dani
And yeah, which, you know, and you you you need size because you have a massive ratio from the cost of the coating to the cost of the finished goods. So, you know, liabilities is quite high, it's quite technical, really long qualifications.
00:06:38
Dani
So it's, you know, it's it's it's it's an interesting business, but it's it's a mature business.
Career Advancement and Role Diversity
00:06:44
Dani
and and yeah So I was i know did that get key account management for some years and then I moved to a director role. and Also i was I was then the director for the European, African and Middle East business ah packaging.
00:07:01
Dani
yeah Which i did for another two three years and after that you know i got the full ah the direction for what we call metal so metal is packaging that also includes other sets of business which is more industrial what's more Architectural domestic appliance so you know it's different kind of customers it's also paying accountings but at massive scale yeah here we're talking about you know Arcelor, Midal and Data Steel all these guys are customers you know they make big big coatings and then you know they make buildings and roofings and and all this kind of stuff and yeah and that's what i'm doing so i'm i'm now the business director for Emiya for Metal so we know which is you know a sizable kind of you know 500 million turnover kind of business and and yeah that's that's what's keeping me busy
00:07:24
joewaltman
Yeah.
00:07:54
joewaltman
and and well like like yeah I'm sure you've kept in touch with with you know some of our colleagues who have been bouncing around you know jobs in the world and countries and and you know industries. What's it like being the guy who's been you know in the same company for 20ish years? and you know
00:08:14
Dani
Yeah, I mean, i you know, it it's it it feels, I mean, for me, it feels just very honest to myself. Yeah, it's it's how I am. You know, I'm i'm not really, you know, I'm, i'm you know, i' i'm ah like I like that degree of stability. You know, I like a job that that, you know, helps me, one, you know, apply all the things that we've learned and our P&Ls, all this kind of stuff, you know, and managing their teams and and the whole business and so on.
00:08:41
Dani
I really love, I travel a lot, yeah so so I've got my teams all ah all across. and so So for me, that's that's really been good fun. and yeah My only comment there probably is, is yeah you know it's I'm still here because I've really been doing you know within the same area yeah so we within the same segment. It's really been very, very significant different roles. And I think probably the last ah five, six years is where I've really moved from ah the more operational stuff. yeah And and it's it's it now really is full P and&L management. and they know that's what i mean a bit of And I feel a bit more now disconnected from from what's happening in the ground yeah with the teams, more looking just into numbers here and there.
00:09:30
Dani
But yeah, I mean, I enjoy that. And yeah, I don't know. I mean, I'm 51 now. So and if God knows what's still ahead of me. But so I don't know if it's going to be another 10 or 15 years in in this world or or it will be in other industries. and now that I will see. We'll see what happens.
00:09:51
joewaltman
Yeah. Yeah, I i suspect yeah as as we get older, ah there's probably people are probably feeling more and more envious of somebody like yourself who's got the the stability and the and the but let's call it what happened.
00:10:03
Dani
yeah Yeah, I think we we you know ah you know i think it's it's all about you know being being wary of what you wish for yeah and you know and everything comes with a prize. and you know my my set of you know i read you know I have a fantastic ah and professional career, ah but it is true that I'm not the person who's gonna you know who who's gonna put the professional life way ahead of my
Balancing Personal Life and Career Choices
00:10:31
Dani
personal life.
00:10:31
joewaltman
Yeah. Yeah.
00:10:31
Dani
I mean, i like my i know I live where I want to live.
00:10:36
Dani
I have the balance that I need. you know I'll be stressed here and there, but at least you know I know where home is and and I like keeping it that way.
00:10:45
joewaltman
Well, and that's what I'm getting at. I think many many of us, myself included, you know
00:10:48
Dani
yeah
00:10:52
joewaltman
due to a lack of understanding what was really important to us, kind of chased a bunch of different things. And then only only recently, I've kind of figured out like, oh, actually, yeah, this is's it's about you know who I'm around and where I'm living, less less so than you know what I'm doing and how I'm earning an income. ah On that note though, ah you know ah pardon the implied sort of skepticism of this.
00:11:13
joewaltman
i question, but how much of your of your loyalty to this one company do you think is a function of the fact that you're in, you know let's be honest, a relatively small market of of Barcelona ah versus you know a more dynamic place like a New York or a London or ah or whatnot where you've got many more options?
00:11:28
Dani
No, yeah. Yeah, definitely. there's There's a big chunk of that. I mean, you know, in even I think, you know, I think it depends. ah it's It's not only that, it's Barcelona. You have some exposures. um You could, you know, I could spend my life on on a plane and probably open that scope too. um But yeah, I mean, Barcelona has been always a bit more industrial and and it and it is more limited in terms of really good career opportunities. so you know it's ah yeah that That definitely plays a significant role. Absolutely, absolutely.
00:12:02
Dani
yeah
00:12:03
joewaltman
But no regrets, some i'm I'm assuming.
00:12:05
Dani
Oh, no, no, no, no. Happy man. Happy man. You know, you know, if, you know, if I wanted, I would have moved.
00:12:07
joewaltman
yeah yeah
00:12:11
Dani
Yeah. I would have been in in Dubai or, you know, I mean, all all of that has knocked at the door and and we had the option. I mean, I think, ah you know, where in the past, you know, I've had sometimes question marks, you know, is this the right decision?
00:12:25
Dani
Yes or not. I mean, I think the, you know, my my personal ah career progression and has proven that you know very happy with the decisions taken so I think it's it's it's the right path it's the right path absolutely and I was just kind of and we've enjoyed messy more than you guys I couldn't have done that from London
00:12:39
joewaltman
Yeah, that's great. That's great. Go ahead, go ahead.
00:12:50
joewaltman
Yeah, we don't we don't talk about politics or stuff like that, so we don't want to cause any problems. Although that said, he's he's us us dumb Americans have have definitely gotten excited about his arrival in and our you know silly little soccer league.
Networking and Professional Support
00:13:06
joewaltman
ah Well, let's let's um let's ask the question we asked everybody at the end.
00:13:08
Dani
No.
00:13:11
joewaltman
Is there is there anything you know we can do to help you ah professionally or personally and vice versa? Are there any things you're able to to offer to the community?
00:13:19
Dani
Yeah, so and in terms of helping, um yeah, for me, it's, ah you know, probably it's also know very similar to what I can offer in that sense. You know, I'm, I highly appreciate accessibility. Yeah. And so I think, you know, there will be people out there And you know, I've heard about this, you know, you know, people work in the work in laurels or Heineken's or you know stuff like that. Well, sometimes, sometimes these are some of our customers. Yeah. And it's always helpful, ah you know, business is business, but it's always helpful sometimes, you know, to, you know, if you need some contact or reach this kind of things, you know, it just facilitates things from time to time.
00:14:01
Dani
um Experience-wise, I offered exactly the same, you know, anyone who needs to reach out, you know, to where we make things, industrial kind of world, in this part of the world, sometimes very specific in these kind of segments, I'm there and I'm a super reachable person. So, you know, I appreciate directly or people who may know um I'm there. Yeah. So that's, you know, that that's what I can offer, I would say from that business perspective.
00:14:29
Dani
Yeah, I mean, I'm always impressed, too, by, you know, where when you look at some of the careers and, you know, investment, the way that people know actually make money, the way they invest their money. I mean, that these are things that, you know, ah you know, always happy to learn about that investment opportunities and stuff like that, you know, more than helpful.
00:14:44
joewaltman
Hey, Danny there.
00:14:45
joewaltman
I think we may have lost.
00:14:46
Dani
Oops, did you freeze?
00:14:49
Dani
Yep, we froze a lot.
00:14:49
joewaltman
You back? All right.
00:14:50
joewaltman
Cool. You're back. OK. We lost you for a second. but
00:14:50
Dani
Yeah, I'm back.
00:14:53
Dani
You see, this is what happens in this in the industrial world. We don't pay our bills. Yeah. And
00:15:00
Dani
No, but but I don't know where you lost me, but but I think the message was you know accessibility and always interested in ah in investment opportunities you know that that that that people are working around, you know ah way they can always make retirement easier, right? But overall, Joseph's side, it's really, I'm very happy to share my experience where people need it and I make myself really accessible.
00:15:24
joewaltman
Well, there i mean as I've mentioned, if any investments do happen as a result of this podcast, I'll i'll expect you to give me a very modest commission. I'm a work on the honor system there.
00:15:33
Dani
of course Of course, I'll say i'll say i'll say send you a few cans.
00:15:34
joewaltman
but but but
00:15:37
joewaltman
Thank you,
Welcoming Visitors to Barcelona
00:15:38
joewaltman
thank you.
00:15:38
joewaltman
yeah at all And I also assume that if anybody is is swinging through Barcelona for for pleasure reasons, you'd be you'd be happy to at least give some pointers and maybe meet up for for a meal and a drink.
00:15:38
Dani
but
00:15:49
Dani
Absolutely. As I said, I live in Barcelona. I live still live but by the beach area. I live now in a nicer house, ah also by the beach, so you know about 10 yards away from the beach.
00:16:01
Dani
So if anyone is around and wants to see no visit a nice place, I'm very happy to to help, host, whatever it is. yeah Always welcome.
00:16:09
joewaltman
Wonderful. i Offer accepted. Hey, thanks so much for the ah for the time. Really good catching up.
00:16:15
Dani
It was my pleasure. Thank you.
00:16:17
joewaltman
Ciao.