feature

Up to the Mike
Solutia’s New Division President,
Mike Donnelly, Talks to Window Film Magazine

Mike Donnelly Résumé
Title: President and general manager of Solutia’s Performance Films division.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
Last Job: President and general manager of Solutia’s Technical Specialties division.
History with Solutia: Joined Solutia as part of the Flexsys leadership team in connection with Solutia’s 2007 acquisition of Flexsys.
Experience: Nearly 40 years of manufacturing, business and leadership. Worked for Akzo Nobel for eight years and Stauffer Chemical Company for 15 years.

At the recent SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Window Film publisher Deb Levy sat down with Mike Donnelly, the new president of Solutia’s Performance Films division, to talk about the industry and his new position.

Window Film: How was the transition into your new position?

Mike Donnelly: It’s been pretty intense, to be honest. This is a very exciting and dynamic business and there is a lot to learn. I didn’t come from the window film business so I have been doing this for seven weeks now and I am still transitioning and still have a ways to go.

Window Film: Tell me a little about your goals for Solutia.

MD: The goals in this division are grow, grow, grow. We see this division as an opportunity. Solutia has gone through its own transformation from bankruptcy, to out of bankruptcy, to shedding some bad assets. Right now it sits on a platform with three very good divisions. With an intent to grow the company, we recently made two acquisitions, one for window films (Novamatrix) and the other for our Advanced Interlayers division. We made an acquisition in Germany of a business called Vistasolar. We think we can grow the Performance Films division in double digits over the next five years. We see opportunities in things like energy as the world re-focuses more on energy savings. We have some really good projects like the Enerlogic architectural product that we just introduced that will take advantage of that market. As people become more energy-conscience we think that category awareness will go up and so we think it will create a lot of growth opportunities for us and the industry in general.

“I would guess that most people think of window film as a low-tech cheap pair of sunglasses t
hat you put on your car or home to keep out the UV light. Yet, the amount of technology that goes
into these products is much more than I could have imagined.”
—Mike Donnelly

Window Film: What direction do you think the industry will take over the next few years?

MD: The world is changing and getting back to an energy focus. That is going to be big for us. You will see more and more energy-related products coming out. Weight-reduction films—those that have the capability to reduce weight—will be big. So if you look at our Enerlogic product, for example, you apply it to a single pane of glass and get double-pane benefits, which obviously has energy savings as well as weight-saving benefits. We are going toward higher technology products. Historically [the industry’s focus] has been more around tinting products. Now there is a lot more technology going into products and the winners are going to be the ones investing in and developing higher technology products.

Window Film: What do you think the biggest challenges are facing the industry?

MD: Category awareness. This is an industry that is under-penetrated in terms of the amount of film that is on glass. That is the bad news and the good news is that it is under-penetrated and provides us with a lot of opportunity. We are focused on getting that category awareness out there and capitalizing on the green movement.

Window Film: Is there a need for a specific product in the industry?

MD: I’ll go back to our Enerlogic product because we think it’s a game-changing technology. Think about the number of windows in the world that are single pane or inefficient. Simply by applying this film you get a steep change with a little money. It’s in its infancy, but we’ve seen very good growth in the first year. We are introducing a second version of that product at the end of this year [2010] or beginning of next year which we think will continue to make that product grow.

Window Film: What has your experience taught you about the product?

MD: It’s a highly technical product. I would guess that most people think of window film as a low-tech cheap pair of sunglasses that you put on your car or home to keep out the UV light. Yet, the amount of technology that goes into these products is much more than I could have imagined. It’s high technology and will continue to evolve to higher levels of sophistication. It
gives us a competitive advantage because a lot of film companies are smaller than Solutia. We have a lot of resources and are committed to growing the product line.

Window Film: I had the privilege of interviewing both Kent Davies and Ray Kollar in the not-too-distant past. This does speak to the fact that there have been a fair number of changes in management at Solutia Performance Films in a short amount of time. Have you thought about how to handle walking into a situation that’s undergone that amount of change?

MD: I haven’t thought about it in the context that you are talking about it. To give you a little background about my career—I’ve done a lot of start-ups around the world, building organizations, getting them up and running. I’ve been in situations where turnarounds were needed. I built a business in the rubber chemicals side that is really a model business for that industry. The issue here is getting the growth expectations that we want out of this business. Those expectations are very high. My goal is to get us to move faster than we thought we were going to and get us there sooner and better [than the competition].

“I have been involved in a lot of start-ups and that has been by choice. I like being in places where
there is activity and change and challenge.”
—Mike Donnelly

Window Film: It does seem that Solutia has a great amount of faith in these products line, but as you were saying, they haven’t felt like the results have been there as soon as they wanted. Would that be accurate?

MD: I wouldn’t quite say it like that. I think Solutia has looked at where we need to go from here. The focus that’s been put on this business in the last 18 months has been very good and was a step in the right direction.

Window Film: I know some of your larger competitors have really made major shifts in how they go to market. For example, some have eliminated their automotive films. Others have gone out with a strong environmental message. Is Solutia considering a move like that?

MD: We have a very good portfolio of products and that’s important for our dealers and distributors and the marketplace. With the Novomatrix acquisition we have really rounded out our portfolio in terms of super premium products- that was their niche. We have acquired some people who are very good at marketing and branding. It’s creating opportunities for us to take their model from the East to the West. It has created a really strong presence in the East for us, which everyone knows today that is the place to be. So we look to not give up any of our broad portfolio. We are looking at both architectural and auto as growth platforms, particularly architectural. There is so much talk about the green buildings and we see that as a wave that should continue.

Window Film: I know that at least one of your predecessors was criticized for being a great strategist but maybe not having the rapport with the dealer network that would have brought some different results. I would expect that communication with the dealer network is very important to you. What kinds of things are you going to do to make the dealers feel good about the management change?

MD: It always starts with communication and just getting out there, meeting the dealers and distributors. The first objective is to listen and understand what their needs are and then figure out how together we can do better in business. The other part of it is that, in terms of fulfilling their needs, you can have a great strategy, but if you don’t have the execution then you don’t get there. This is a business that has a strong customer and service focus. We have to be number one there. We feel we are now, but the world doesn’t stand still. We need to up our level of customer and technical support—getting the product there on time, when they want it, filling the orders accurately the first time. If you are running a business properly you can’t just be an expert in strategy or manufacturing you have to have the whole package.

Window Film: You strike me as someone who puts a lot of pressure on yourself. Am I getting that right?

MD: I’m driven. I have been involved in a lot of start-ups and that has been by choice. I like being in places where there is activity and change and challenge. At the same time, I would like us to have fun and be a team and enjoy our successes. To be successful you have to be driven and get everyone moving in the same direction. The Giants didn’t win the World Series by not practicing a lot and working hard and we should do the same.

Window Film: How are you personally going to define success in this position?

MD: That will be defined by the market. The customers will define that for us. If they are happy with us then that will be a sign of success. I can sit here and give you growth numbers and—obviously we will have objectives there— but at the end of the day it’s about how the market is receiving you and your organization and its products.


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