Q1 – Chevron, the Company you lead in Sri Lanka, promotes itself under the theme of “Sustained Leadership”. Can you walk us through the justification for this claim.
A1 – Certainly. Chevron Lubricants Lanka PLC (CLLP) which is majority owned by the US Oil Major – Chevron Corp, is a public company in Sri Lanka, with stocks listed on the main board of the Colombo Stock Exchange. CLLP has consistently ranked among the top 40 listed entities in Sri Lanka and at the 2024 rankings was #12 on Shareholder Funds, #8 on Return on Assets and #5 on Asset Utilisation.
We have consistently delivered strong financial performance, with a history of robust returns and dividend payouts, including a dividend payout ratio of 93% in 2024, as disclosed in our annual reports
We have maintained a strong position in the Sri Lankan lubricant industry for over 30 years, operating in a competitive market that has seen significant growth in the number of industry participants in recent years
We have been rated multiple times as the most loved brand in the lubricants, oil and gas category in Sri Lanka.
I believe these facts clearly substantiate our claim of “Sustained Leadership”, despite mounting challenges such as increased competition and significant contraction of market demand during the economic crisis.
Q2 – Can you share with us how Chevron in Sri Lanka has been able to hold onto its position of market leadership for over 3 decades despite mounting challenges, and how it continues to outperform as a blue-chip stock.
A2 – Our success can be attributed to 6 pillars of competitive advantage:
- Distribution: With a countrywide coverage of more than 8,000 outlets, we have the largest distribution network of any lubricant company in Sri Lanka.
- Brand Equity: Our brand has strong presence all over the country, has great visibility, recognition and recall. Our position of market leadership over 30 years is further testament to our strong brand equity.
- Local manufacture: Of the 35 lubricant players operating in Sri Lanka, we are one of just 4 who engage in local manufacture, and we have the largest capacity lubricant blend plant in the country.
- Sourcing advantages: With raw material inputs sourced from associate Chevron companies, we benefit from economies of scale in procurement, not to mention assured quality of inputs.
- Technical superiority: Our products are designed to deliver extended oil drain intervals, subject to manufacturer recommendations and operating conditions. For example, certain products have been tested for intervals up to 10,000 km for petrol engines and up to 30,000 km for diesel engines. In Sri Lanka on petrol engines, we offer oil drain intervals of 10,000 km and on diesel engines we go up to 30,000 km on a single oil drain, which is multiple times the market norms on both product categories.
- Human energy: – We pride ourselves on our human resource, since we have highly experienced and technically conversant people in the industry, which has been a major source of strength over the years.
By leveraging on these sources of competitive advantage, combined with our agile approach in facing changing market dynamics, we are confident in our ability to continue to deliver industry leading returns to our stakeholders over the long term.
Q3 – You’ve consistently delivered industry-leading shareholder returns. However, how do you personally reconcile the drive for performance with the responsibility for sustainability?
A3 – At Chevron, we are leveraging our strengths to safely deliver lower carbon energy to a growing world. In an ever-changing external environment, our strategy remains consistent and positions us to deliver the energy the world needs today while helping build the energy system of tomorrow. Energy is essential for modern life, and we are working to provide the affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy that enables human progress. The world will need more energy in the coming decades. We believe in an “all in” approach rather than an “either/or” approach.
Our greatest strengths in building the energy system of the future are our assets, the capabilities of our people and technology, and our customers. We believe in the power of human ingenuity to fuel innovation and deliver progress. Achieving change at scale requires continued partnership and progress across the energy system in technology, policy, regulations, and offset markets.
Q4 – How has your personal leadership style contributed towards the success of the company.
A4 – I am fortunate in that I head a fabulous team at Chevron Sri Lanka. Our team is made up of subject matter experts who are committed, passionate, experienced and knowledgeable. That makes my job relatively easy, which is to unleash, stimulate and nurture the potential of my team members while creating an environment in which they can perform unhindered. I see myself as the conductor of an orchestra, who does not need to be able to play all the instruments but instead needs to be able to unify the musicians, set the tempo and shape the overall sound, thereby ensuring a cohesive and expressive delivery.
The starting point however is to communicate to the team a clear vision of what success looks like, which involves setting clear expectations in terms of desired results, outcomes, KPIs and required behaviours. Investing time with the team in developing strategies and initiatives based on market dynamics and available resources to achieve the desired results and doing so well in advance of the implementation period has been key. Thereafter it’s about close monitoring to ensure that what folks have committed, actually get done by the timelines committed. This is critical since people do what others review.
I firmly believe in spending time and effort in identifying and removing obstacles to the performance of team members, which requires frequent two-way feedback sessions with team members and a relentless drive for simplification.
Teams are encouraged to try new approaches and initiatives subject to proper due diligence to ensure feasibility. Initiatives are then subject to lookbacks to glean learnings and decide on continuation or otherwise.
Cross functional collaboration has been a key success factor for us which involves planning and coordination meetings on monthly and weekly basis depending on the tasks involved.
During the economic crisis, there was a need to keep up the morale of the team with so much gloom and doom around. As such, I took it upon myself to highlight any bit of positive news about the situation and to give confidence to the team (within the company and with our business partners) that the dark days were but a passing cloud.
My default leadership style could best be described as “Supportive Leadership”, being one that focusses on building strong relations with team members, while also ensuring tasks are completed effectively. I position myself as approachable and willing to listen to concerns and provide support while maintaining clear expectations and holding individuals accountable. I have found that this style works for me, providing a supporting environment for high performers whilst calling out areas of low to non-performance.
I am also prepared to make difficult decisions when individuals’ performance or behaviour consistently fall short of expectations. Often, efforts to coach and support them have produced the desired improvements.
Q5 – With 35+ years’ experience across local, multinational and foreign companies across different markets across the globe, what learnings from your journey could you share for those aspiring for a career such as what you have had.
A5 – Very glad to share learnings since giving back to society has been a long-term personal desire of mine, which has resulted in my active engagement in professional education over and above my day job, for over 35 years. As such, I would like to call out the following:
- Never be afraid to ask questions: – Most people don’t ask questions out of fear of reflecting ignorance. Thankfully, I got over that fear a long time ago. I have developed a level of confidence in myself that if it does not make sense to me, there must be something wrong with it. It’s interesting the many times asking the right question has revealed a flaw in a proposition being presented. Even when there has not been a flaw, asking the question has enabled me to understand the issue better. Also, once you get into general management, one is forced to gain an understanding of areas well outside one’s functional specialisation. I have found that asking questions from subject matter experts (SMEs) is the best way to learn.
- Treat others the way you would like to be treated: – Some people treat others with disrespect while insisting they be treated with respect themselves. If everyone were to treat others the way they would like to be treated, that would make our workplaces and our world much nicer and safer places to operate in.
- Perception is reality: – With a large part of my career having been spent in Marketing roles, this is a fundamental truth I firmly believe in. Perception of a message or action represents reality to the recipient. Starting from that understanding helps acknowledge feelings of hurt and misunderstanding which is a great springboard to commence the journey of healing or course correction.
- Consciously seek constructive feedback: – Constructive feedback given with the genuine intention of helping someone to improve and grow rather than on nitpicking, fault-finding and putting someone down, can be a tremendous tool. Leaders truly concerned about their own improvement and on the effect they have on others, consciously seek constructive feedback. I actively welcome constructive feedback from my team during performance check-ins and encourage my direct reports to share their insights, fostering an open and supportive environment where everyone contributes to our collective growth.