For skilled giant firm government Michael Polk, the choice to function an government of a smaller non-public firm was a big selection.Polk has many years of expertise driving change and transformation at giant public firms, with an illustrious profession working at Procter & Gamble, Kraft Meals, Unilever, and , the place he was CEO from 2011 to 2019.
Polk attributes significant personal growth to his nearly four decades of experience in large-scale corporate environments; however, he posits that smaller, private organizations may offer similarly enriching opportunities, with leadership challenges emerging at various stages of one’s career.
In 2020, Jim Polk returned from retirement to spearhead the transformative growth of Implus LLC, a leading healthcare equipment portfolio company within Berkshire Partners’ fold. With a global presence spanning multiple countries, Implus boasts a diverse portfolio comprising 16 manufacturers.
Due to the pandemic’s onset in early 2020, Impuls has navigated various waves of disruption, reframing its operating model to boost financial performance while simultaneously developing capabilities that position the company for sustained organic growth going forward?
Through his experience, Polk has witnessed junior employees at his organization ascend to leadership positions earlier than they would have at larger, more established companies, enabling them to grow professionally in significant strides through hands-on learning.
“As I reflect on my tenure at Implus, it’s been truly fulfilling to help shape the direction of our team and witness the professional growth of our employees as they contribute to the company’s success.”
Michael Polk asserts that leaders can gain broader experiences more expediently within small firms.
Polk posits that large companies enable leaders to cultivate profound competencies and expertise through the diverse experiences they offer, allowing for gradual development over time – sometimes several years – which ultimately equips them to recognize and adapt to various management moments, making informed decisions at opportune times; this deliberate and patient experience growth model is one of the benefits conferred by scale and diversification in large firms.
While an efficient growth model for small firms is time, Polk notes a trade-off versus being part of a larger company. “I dedicated the first decade after graduate school to building my portfolio of marketing, brand-building, and sales skills while also learning from diverse client franchises and dynamics related to various brands and class assignments,” Polk said. “As I built technical skills, more senior leaders had accountability for making bigger business trade-off decisions and as leaders we grew by observing how others led in those moments of choice.”
In smaller firms, Polk noted that with fewer assets at hand, youthful experts often find themselves thrust into more significant management roles much earlier in their careers. . According to Polk, skills are developed and refined through hands-on experience, with instruction and guidance. As a natural consequence, senior leaders become more deeply immersed within the organization, taking on the role of participant-coaches who must support team members during critical decision-making processes while also managing risk.
As a result of their small size, groups from high to backside typically have fewer layers, allowing for broader publicity to previously unseen aspects of business operations, such as working capital management, cash flow supply, sourcing and manufacturing, logistics, and industrial challenges related to retailers and marketplaces.
As CEO of Implus, Polk finds his current role to be both Rewarding and Extremely Enjoyable.
As CEO of a multibillion-dollar public company from 2011 to 2019, Polk led a team of over 50,000 individuals. Institutional Investor Journal named him to The All-America Government Team as Best CEO in the Consumer Goods industry in 2017 and 2018. He’s incredibly proud of what he and his team accomplished at Newell Brands, growing the company from $5 billion in enterprise value in 2011 to over $15 billion upon his retirement, transforming it from a holding company to an operating company through 35 transactions over that period. Additionally, he served as chairman of the Individual and Group Committee and a board member of Colgate-Palmolive for nine years, as well as chairing the Compensation Committee and serving on the board of Logitech International.
Despite numerous accolades and achievements, Polk claims he’s having the “time of his skilled life” building Implus LLC into an even larger, higher, and extremely aggressive health and wellness consumer products company before passing the baton to the next leader. He describes today’s work as a “back to the future redo” because he gets to do all the things he loved doing as a marketing and sales executive earlier in his career.
As Polk emphasizes, the responsibility for supply chain management does not differ significantly whether serving as CEO of a large publicly traded company or a mid-cap private enterprise like Implus. As the CEO of both Newell Brands and Implus LLC, I have been held accountable by respective Boards of Administrators and shareholders. . . I’ve consistently felt a sense of responsibility for driving innovation and progress in every situation, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to do so throughout my time at Implus.
As Polk clarifies, Implus’ most significant distinction lies in his CEO role, where he devotes significantly more time to collaborating directly with employees on strategic growth initiatives rather than focusing on resource allocation and having to navigate multiple layers within the organization to influence demand-creation or cost-reduction decisions being made. . . “I’m deeply committed to working alongside my colleagues in the crucible of innovation, collaboratively exploring options that will propel our organization forward.”
According to Polk, making the task more enjoyable is all it takes to make the work a pleasure.
