Leading Transformation

Antje Gerber, Executive Vice President International Chemicals, Sasol

© Sasol

Under her leadership, the company is reshaping its go-to-market strategies and recalibrating its asset footprint – all while fostering a dynamic workplace culture amid industry challenges. In this interview with Christene Smith of CHEManager, Gerber shares insights on balancing short-term profitability with long-term green investments, scaling sustainable technologies worldwide, and cultivating an agile organization ready for the future of chemicals. This conversation offers a compelling glimpse into the strategic vision and leadership fueling Sasol’s transformation journey. 

CHEManager: Since your appointment as EVP, what has shaped your overarching strategic vision for building resilience and long-term value in Sasol’s international chemicals business? 

Antje Gerber: Coming from outside the company, I knew Sasol had a fantastic reputation in the market. And once I began working and got to know the company from the inside, I saw first-hand our strengths – a highly capable workforce, excellent customer relationships, robust research and development, great products, and some tremendous assets. 

But I also saw that we were underperforming our peers, even though we were all facing the same challenging global chemicals market. 

To change the company’s trajectory, I recognized that we must move away from the fragmented, siloed structure that had developed over time and become a global, collaborative organization – removing the regional mindset from our business and replacing it with an “all for one” approach, both in how we work and how we view our progress and results.

From there, a three-pronged strategy was developed to build long-term value. 

First, adopt a new go-to-market approach, one that uses different models for commodities and specialties and focuses on value over volume. We are “leaning in” to the markets and products where we have an advantage and working to strengthen our offerings and our presence. In the past we tried to be everything to everyone, but we cannot afford that approach. So, we have begun a disciplined segmentation approach to our portfolio that is leading to more value-focused technical engagements.

Second, optimize our asset base, close or mothball underperforming assets – including non-core facilities in the US, Germany and Italy. That was a difficult but necessary step to improve our long-term financial performance.

And finally, work diligently – and successfully – to reduce our cost structure. We have a leaner executive team; we’ve consolidated functions along the global value chain; and we’re standardizing systems and implementing best practices globally. Today, we are more efficient and we make decisions more quickly. 

What unique strategies have you introduced to cultivate a resilient and agile workplace culture — enabling innovation while navigating significant organizational changes as EVP of International Chemicals?