Uldis Sipols '76: Embracing change

Uldis Sipols '76

Throughout his career, Uldis Sipols '76, has dealt with and even sought change, welcoming the personal growth and variety of experiences it brings. His ability to adapt and collaborate has served him well through a variety of economic climates. Sipols is the vice president of global product supply purchases for Procter and Gamble, where he is responsible for all externally supplied finished products.

Prior to P&G's acquisition of The Gillette Company, he was the latter's chief procurement officer. In this capacity, he reorganized the company's purchasing functions and delivered significant total cost reductions to help fuel the Gillette turnaround in the early 2000s. His focus is on high performance results by leading a transition to global category leadership with the assistance of skilled people, key suppliers and state-of-the-art e-tools.

Sipols started his career with Ford Motor Company in purchasing and supply, advancing through numerous procurement, administrative and management assignments over 19 years in North American Automotive Operations, Powertrain and Chassis, as well as Diversified Products. While at Ford, he enhanced supply chain results for the Automotive Components Division, helping to enable the subsequent creation of Visteon.

Often Sipols has applied "lean" principles, usually referred to in a manufacturing context, to purchasing, a philosophy he encountered first at Ford and later while serving as corporate vice president of procurement for Washington, DC.-based Danaher Corporation, a manufacturing conglomerate whose rapid growth is fueled by mergers and acquisitions.

"Danaher is a much smaller company than Ford but they are one U.S.-based organization that was involved from their beginnings with lean manufacturing," says Sipols. "Some of the Danaher senior management trained with senseis in Japan. They credit a lot of their success to the Danaher Business System, which is based on lean principles. Knowledge of those principles is a prerequisite for doing business there, and that extended to the supply base. "

Sipols says that lean cost-reduction principles help make P&G's products both innovative and of high value relative to the competition in their product categories. "Innovation is foundational at P&G. In today's marketplace, it's really a problem if you aren't innovative. Applying lean to the back end of the supply chain helps feed front-end product and process innovation. If you involve suppliers, on all levels, including R&D, then you get maximum benefit out of supply relationships and you can pass on the value to the consumer," says Sipols.

Sipols had been working at The Gillette Company since 2002 when P&G acquired the company in 2005. Gillette became a brand under the P&G umbrella, with its products eventually divided between the beauty, oral care, and household care divisions. The acquisition created the world's largest consumer products company. Whatever potential there may have been for conflict, drama in the acquisition was minimal, says Sipols. "There are always going to be some differences from a business standpoint when two companies come together. But it's been very successful, and there are even more good opportunities to capitalize on going forward.

"Culturally, the integration was very successful," he adds. "Both companies had long histories and were healthy. They had similar ethical standpoints and very high standards. Both were interested in fielding the best team and adopting the best practices. Both recognized a good opportunity. And the product lines were complementary—Gillette brought in more of a male consumer base, while P&G had strong female-targeted brands."

As a result of these commonalities, the companies blended well. Sipols says, "P&G was already undergoing some organizational change at the time of the acquisition, and the Gillette model dovetailed well with that process, particularly given the significant synergy opportunities that presented themselves. I dove right in and stayed busy. It helped that I got along with my P&G counterpart, and both of us were genuinely interested in making changes. We got support from senior management, who allowed the teams to talk to each other right away. We were able to demonstrate the benefits of synergy savings immediately."

Another factor that Sipols regards as important to his success is his Jesuit university background. When he went to Boston to interview with Gillette, he says, "I didn't have a consumer products background. I didn't have an East Coast background. I was from the Midwest and talked 'funny.' But I did have a Jesuit education and so did some of the senior management. They took a risk and hired me." Sipols notes, "The Jesuit ethical grounding made Gillette a very principled company, which is very important in any industry. It was also helpful to me that my direct manager had attended Boston College. Once we made that Jesuit connection we had common ground." 

Sipols also credits the University with giving him a sound background in marketing, which led to his employment in purchasing. "I interviewed with Ford on campus. I just went to find out more about working for Ford, but the interviewer asked me if I had thought about going into purchasing, because it's the other side of the table from marketing. I ended up working in the recruiter's department."

Sipols' advice for business students is "no different today than it would be in better times, it's all about marketable skills. The UDM faculty are rooted in practical business experience—you will get the theory and the practice—so take full advantage of your education.

"Then after you graduate and begin your career, don't be afraid to take a risk," he says. "Try something different, whether it be another industry, company, or function. For instance, make a lateral move at the same company instead of taking a promotion. You can't really fail even if it doesn't work out, because the hiring managers are looking for folks with multiple experiences and skill sets."

Sipols adds, "Life is change. It is very difficult for those who stay in one place to adapt to change, whether it is in life or career. So embrace it. Sometimes you'll feel you're making a mistake, but you could be positioning yourself for a better opportunity down the road."