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Killer Quote: "One of the biggest challenges we face today is aligning policies, technology, and consumer demand to create sustainable products that consumers are willing to pay a premium for, without compromising business viability. It's a fine line we must tread to ensure we don’t face unintended business consequences." -- Mark Eramo
Welcome to The Chemical Show™, where chemicals mean business. If you're looking for insights from business leaders of mid-market to Fortune 50 companies, this is the place to be.
Featuring interviews with industry executives, you’ll hear about the key trends impacting chemicals and plastics today: growth, sustainability, innovation, business transformation, digitalization, supply chain, talent, strategic marketing, customer experience and much more.
Episodes are published every Tuesday.
Host Victoria Meyer gained her industry experience at leading companies, including Shell, LyondellBasell and Clariant. Before taking those insights and experiences to launch a strategy & marketing consultancy, Progressio Global, and The Chemical Show podcast. Victoria brings a informed and engaging perspective, making this podcast not just about the chemical business, but about people, leadership, business challenges and opportunities, and so much more.
The Chemical Show brings you the latest insights into trillion-dollar chemical industry. You will hear from leading industry executives as they discuss their companies, business, markets, and leadership. You’ll learn how chemical, specialty chemical, petrochemical, material science and plastics companies are making an impact, responding to the changing business environment, and discussing best practices and approaches you can apply in your business.
This podcast is a must-listen for executives and business leader everywhere, leading B2B process businesses and industries, driving strategy, harnessing customers and suppliers, and driving business innovation.
A key component of the modern
world economy, the chemical
industry delivers products and
innovations to enhance everyday life.
It is also an industry in transformation
where chemical executives and
workers are delivering growth and
industry changing advancements while
responding to pressures from investors,
regulators, and public opinion.
Discover how leading companies
are approaching these challenges
here on the chemical show.
Join Victoria Meyer, president
of Progressio Global and
host of the chemical show.
As she speaks with executives across the
industry and learns how they are leading
their companies to grow, transform, and
push industry boundaries on all frontiers.
Here's your host, Victoria Meyer.
VictoriaM: Hi, this is Victoria Meyer.
Welcome back to The Chemical Show,
Where Chemicals Means Business.
Today, I have the opportunity
to speak with Mark Eramo, who
is now the co president of
S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Mark has been in the chemical industry
for a long time, starting first at
a producer and then quickly moving
into insights and analytics and all
the things that you know him for.
Um, and we're just going to be having
a great conversation today about his
history, the role of insights and more.
Mark, welcome to The Chemical Show.
Mark Eramo: Thank you, Victoria.
It's a pleasure to be with you today.
I look forward to the conversation.
VictoriaM: Absolutely.
Um, so let's just start
with your origin story.
What got you interested in chemicals and
ultimately led you to where you are today?
Mark Eramo: I appreciate, appreciate the
opportunity to kind of tell my story.
I'll start with as a kid who went
into high school loving chemistry
and math, um, and, also playing
sports and doing everything else.
But that, led me to a chemical
engineering degree from Cornell
University, where I also played football.
I like to like to point that
VictoriaM: Good to know.
Mark Eramo: I'm also, and that
led me to the chemical industry.
That led me to an opportunity to
start with an operating company,
Vista Chemical Company, um, in 1985.
It actually were the assets
that were spun out of Conoco
Chemicals at that point in time.
And I'm also very careful to point
out that while I had the chemical
engineering degree, I was not a
practicing engineer out of respect
for those who do practice the art.
So, but that degree kind of set me
up for a career in chemicals, and I'm
glad I went down this particular path.
Um, short stint with the operating
company, short stint, 10 years, 12
years, and then started with a privately
held small consulting firm called
Chemical Market Associates, CMAI, uh,
which became well known, uh, during the
eighties and nineties, two thousands.
Um, before we then became in 2011,
uh, acquired by IHS, IHS merged with
company called market M A R K I T.
So a short stint, say 2015, until
the merger with S & P Global.
That, uh, happened in, uh, 2022.
Uh, so that was, uh, I always say I've
only worked for two companies, um,
an operating company and a consulting
analytics firm, but the names changed
multiple times while I was with both.
And, um, I also reflect on the
fact that, next year, as you know,
we'll celebrate 40 years of the
world petrochemical conference.
And, and I'm celebrating 40
years in this wonderful industry.
And I've, I've really have enjoyed
being a part of this chemical.
VictoriaM: Yeah.
Well, number one, I think it's
a great heritage for WPC.
Um, I hadn't, you know, 40 years
of anything is quite a milestone.
And then to your point, it is a
great industry to grow up in, right?
If you look around, uh, many
of us in, in many ways have
grown up in the industry, right?
You start in your early
twenties and you keep on.
I tried to escape it at one
point, um, and that failed.
So here I am continuing on,
uh, in the chemical industry
for my career as well.
Mark Eramo: Yeah, I always like
to quote John Huntsman Senior,
the late John Huntsman Senior.
It stuck with me watching him at
a conference during my operating
chemical days where he used to
say, this is, this is the industry
that advances the human condition.
And I, that stuck with me and I truly
believe that, that this is the enabling
industry that makes the world better.
VictoriaM: Yeah, I love that.
And that's so true.
So true.
So tell us a little bit about S & P
Global Commodity Insights and who
you are today, because you've already
pointed out the transitions that you've
gone through in your career and that
these companies have gone through.
So tell us more about
who you guys are today.
Mark Eramo: Sure.
Thank you for that, for that opportunity.
Cause not a lot of people can
quite place commodity insights,
especially under the S & P umbrella.
So today S & P global commodity
insights sits as one of five divisions
under the S & P global brand.
Um, some of the, uh, divisions that
are maybe more recognizable, uh,
from a global perspective, there's
obviously S & P ratings, um, the
Dow Jones indices, the S & P 500.
Um, there is S & P mobility, which is
really all about the, the automotive
industry and transportation.
Um, there is market intelligence,
which is really where a lot of the
financial analysis and forecasting,
occurs, as well as in the ratings group.
So between both market
intelligence and ratings, there's
a lot of economic analysis.
Um, and a lot of focus on And
then commodity insigh under,
under the umbrella if you will.
And um, the to think about
commodity is when we merged,
IHS market merged with
S & P global in 2022.
It was the S & P global Platts division.
So the largest, you know, one of the
most successful PRAs in the commodity
market space merged with the energy and
natural resources division of IHS market.
So, um, upstream analysis,
gas and power, refining oil,
chemicals, chemical feed stocks.
agribusiness, uh, shipping,
freight analytics and forecasting.
Um, all of those things came together
with Platts, which is again, is
the pricing entity and I should say
pricing in editorial and news group.
And that is what makes up
commodity insights today is,
is all of those capabilities.
So I would say, think of us today as
benchmarks across a wide variety of
commodities, news and editorial that.
Wraps around
that, which includes the chemical
week, uh, piece, which we've retained
that brand along with the Platz brand.
And then a tremendous amount of
deep analysis and forecasting
that I like to say looks at the,
so what something just happens.
So, so what, in terms of my
marketplace that I'm looking at
and what does this mean for the
future and whether your future is.
I don't know, next week, um, or two
years or 20 years for an investment case.
We're doing things in our, in
our business to help support
the industry along those lines.
VictoriaM: Yeah.
That is, uh, you know, I got to say,
Mark, that's really expansive, right?
When I think about all the pieces
of business that you now cover and
now as co president, you really
have to wrap your arms around it.
Mark Eramo: Yes.
Yes, it did.
And I should mention that, um, I'm
co president with the gentleman,
uh, Dave earns burger, who has
also 40 years of experience.
And he started in the S & P family, if
you will, many, many years ago, the same
time, about time I started, but he came
up through the, the really the benchmark
and assessment side of the business.
And I came up on more of the
analytic side of the business.
So we're, we're excited to be leading
this team together into whatever
the next chapter will bring for us.
VictoriaM: Yeah.
So, you've seen a lot of evolution
in your career and where you
are currently with S & P Global.
What are your lessons learned when
you think about managing and helping
lead companies through transition?
Mark Eramo: Yeah, I actually get asked
this question a lot because I've gone
from, you know, a very successful,
small, privately held, very focused,
uh, chemical industry consulting firm
chemical consulting and analytics
firm to now I just described you as a
very expansive, large publicly traded
entity of five divisions and all the
things that we're contributing to.
The things I like to contrast
are the strength of that smaller
entity privately held is nimbleness
and decision making, right?
It really kind of comes down to can
you be decisive in your decision
making understanding where you want
to play in the competitive markets
and just playing to your strengths
and just basically making decisions
as you need to along the way.
Um, but then if you will, the downside
of being smaller is you may be somewhat
limited in your overall resources and the
way that you can scale your reach, right?
It's going to be a little
bit more expensive.
Flip side, you get into the
large entity that scale and
reach is really there in spades.
I mean, In terms of the commercial
capabilities we have, the marketing
capabilities that we have, I mean,
some of the things that I see from
the S & P Global, either corporate
marketing or divisional marketing
teams is just best in class of
anything I've seen over the years.
But then maybe the constraint
becomes that nimbleness, right?
Because you are part of a larger entity.
And so what that comes down to
is having the right leaders.
In a framework that those
leaders can make decisions in
and then pivot if you need to.
Right?
So it really in both cases, it comes down
to decision making in the larger entities.
The most successful ones are the ones
who can make fast decisions and pivot if
they need to, because they've got that
scale in that reach that they can provide.
I'll just add one more thing, whether
it was the small entity or the large
entity in this business, and you'll know
this right is comes down to two things.
Do you stay focused on your customers
and what they need from you and
focused on your colleagues, right?
Colleagues who are engaged and focused and
really understand how they're contributing
to the bottom line again, whether it's
a small entity or a big company like S.
And P.
If you've got that focus on colleagues
and customers, You know, I say you're
going to be successful and I, in terms
of navigating transition, that's the best
advice I give any colleague is if you keep
those two things at the forefront of your
thinking and you're not quite sure of a
decision to make sure you're keeping your
customers a priority, your colleagues as
a priority, and you're probably going to
be pretty safe in the decision you make.
VictoriaM: Love it.
That's, I think that's really wise, so
just thinking about your business, um, and
I think this is part of this evolution.
So now that you're part of S & P Global.
What's different?
What are you guys bringing to
customers and market today as
part of Commodity Insights?
How are, how would we recognize
what you're doing today versus
what you've done in the past?
Mark Eramo: So I would, I'll start with
that on what I would call the core of
our business, which again is, is really
founded in our heritage, which is
very large, successful price reporting
agency that is deep in benchmarks and
price assessments and so many commodity
markets across the world in the editorial
news that wraps around that true.
So for any given major commodity,
Where did that pricing sell?
And what's the news
that wraps around that?
Right?
And then on the other side of
our business, we kind of pick
up where that team leaves off
and come back to the so what?
And what's this mean for me tomorrow?
Right?
And so it's the resources, you
know, that kind of bring, you
know, A lot of data and analysis.
You know, I tell our teams all
the time now that, there's a
competitiveness that's playing out
as, as you know, very well in the A.
I.
Developments, gen A.
I.
And the use of tools that are really all
about the ingestion of data, the modeling
of data, and then providing that data to
the client base so that they can do what
they need to make decisions in a timely
basis and make, decisions with conviction.
about the information that
we're providing, right?
It's not that they're necessarily
following our advice, but we're
providing them a view that says
because this is what happened, you
might think about this commodity
market trending this way or that way.
And the quicker we can do that
is really becoming one of the
keys to what we're trying to do.
We always maintain a
view of the long term.
And obviously that ties back into energy
transition, um, into things that are
happening around that to the marketplace.
But yeah.
There seems to be like this need
for decision making quickly and
faster because things are happening
so fast in the market today and the
technology is changing on the AI front.
So clients want and they
need those opinions quicker.
Uh, than ever before in terms of
what we, I think about in those early
days at CMEI, we were updating a
short term forecast once a quarter.
Expectations are right now, if
something changes, the client
wants it tomorrow, right?
Quote unquote tomorrow as
quickly as they can get it.
The other thing I would add is, is being
part of S & P is I feel like we can bring
Resources to the table for our client base
that we may not have had that capability
in the past, whether it be the economics
team, whether it be our sustainable one
team, which is really at the forefront
of a lot of the sustainability and
discussions that are happening out
there conversations around emerging
technologies on energy transition.
The thought leadership and the
gathering of executives and
policy makers that occurs at a
Sierra Week as well as at A WPC.
So these are all resources that we're
able to, if you will, garnish and bring
together and leverage to the clients
that we serve on a, on a daily basis.
The challenge is to figure out what
are the right resources that bring to
the table because chances are we're
going to have it somewhere in the S & P
Global portfolio, depending on what the
challenges that any given customer in this
chemical space or chemical feed stocks or
I like to call it the downstream industry.
So as oil and gas gets processed
and turned into product, Mhm.
You know, the things that we can
bring to bear on this are, you
know, is as good as I've ever seen.
That's what gets me excited
about now leading the commodity
insights division along with Dave
is the resources are available.
We just need to figure out the best
way to bring those to our clients.
VictoriaM: Makes a lot of sense.
So how are your clients responding
when you, because this is a
lot of change for them as well.
Right.
Yeah.
Big change for you and your colleagues.
Big changes for your, for your clients.
How are they responding?
Mark Eramo: Great question.
And thanks for asking that one again,
because there's no doubt with any
major merger, there becomes this very
challenging period of inward focus.
You've got teams that need to be
integrated, products that need to be
integrated, platforms that need to
be integrated, methodologies, right?
And there's an expectation
from your customers that
you're going to get that done.
You're going to get that done quickly, and
you're going to come out with some clarity
and bigger and better than ever before.
VictoriaM: Yeah.
In all in a week or
something like that, right?
Mark Eramo: Absolutely; So, um,
February of 25 will, of 2025 will
be three years since the close of
VictoriaM: 3 years already.
Mark Eramo: Exactly.
Three years
VictoriaM: Okay.
Mark Eramo: And, um, I would
say that we're not quite done.
I, I say the integration and merger
heavy lifting is done and we're into
what I call the polishing phase.
Because we're, we're not
getting it all just right.
I mean, I'll be frank and
open and honest about that.
The best thing that hasn't changed in
the model that, you know, we provide our
client base is access to some of the, you
know, smartest people in the industry.
Right.
So I.
Those colleagues, those analysts who
are doing the research, doing the
forecasting and really involved in
the marketplace are as available as
they've ever been, to the client base.
But, you know, the platform and the actual
look and feel of certain reports and the
speed with which we bring things out.
Yes, we are doing some
polishing there still.
Uh, but it's coming.
And I'd say we're, you know, 90% done.
I think as we come into 2025, I'm really
looking forward into kind of declaring
integration and merger over, and now
we're on our way to just growth plans.
VictoriaM: absolutely.
And you know, I've been, I've personally
been involved in a lot of different,
um, transformations, uh, corporate
transformations and, and, Whether
they be via acquisition or whether
they're just an internal transformation
that is about your internal company,
but also about your customers.
And the reality is they
take several years, right?
It's about this whole keeping your eye
on the prize for at least three years.
Like, we'd like it to
be a much faster cycle.
It's not, especially when you're
dealing with thousands of people
and hundreds, maybe thousands of
processes and thousands of customers.
Right.
Mark Eramo: Yes.
VictoriaM: It's a long process.
Mark Eramo: Yeah.
And you know, the hardest thing,
um, and the thing that you need
the most that we're driving towards
is what's that new culture, right?
Is when you bring these large
entities together, um, what's the
new culture that you will create?
And, um, one thing I'll say
about that is, is I do think
gen AI is forcing us to think.
and transform how we do what we do.
And that is helping also
drive a new culture.
Uh, because certainly as as entities
come together and mergers happen
and smaller companies become larger
and larger and larger, there's this
heritage inertia that just exists.
And you kind of need a shock
to get to a new inertia.
And I think Gen AI is the shock to the
system that will create a different
kind of culture going forward as we
rethink and transform the way we can
do things because of Gen AI and the
whole artificial intelligence side.
VictoriaM: Okay.
Let's turn a little bit to just what's
going on in, in chemical markets today.
'cause of course, you know,
you're an expert and people
always want to hear from experts.
I guess I'm just going to keep it broad.
What are you, what are you seeing?
What's the biggest trends that you
guys are seeing that your customers
are asking about, um, and that you see
influencing the chemical industry today?
Mark Eramo: Yeah.
So the biggest weight on the industry
has been this continuous over
supply of various commodity markets
all companies are living Um, and
trying to figure out when does,
when does the pivot actually occur?
Um, and that's wrapped up in so
many things around new builds
around scale of assets that are
coming up, changing the build cycle.
When you look at the fact that China
can build much faster than has maybe
been accustomed to in the past demand
in China, I mean, all, all things lead
to China in any commodity market, right?
In terms of demand and then the supply
that may or may not be coming from China.
Our analysis is saying.
You know, fingers crossed, right?
For the, if I'm a chemical
industry person, you know, 2025
hopefully represents maybe a
pivot point, 20 25, 26 to where we
start to turn some things around.
So just the, the supply and demand cycle
of low operating rates and pressure on
profitability, the market continues to be
working its way through that and trying
to figure out that the added complexity
with all of this is at the same time, the
industry is being asked to decarbonize
to deal with energy transition and what
I would call the climate change era.
It's another dynamic that we're in.
I've got to take this hydrocarbon
based asset that I have, and I have to
inject some capital to lower my carbon
footprint based on commitments that
have either been made by the corporation
or commitments that are being, if you
will, demanded by countries in order for
me to participate in various markets.
And so now I have investments that aren't
necessarily accretive to my bottom line.
But they certainly support a
decarbonization profile while
I've got a core business that is
not got the best profitability.
So I have to balance that capital.
How do I keep the hydrocarbon
business running while I invest
in a greener business, right?
And I'm just using or a low carbon future
and make all these things come together.
And that again, is one of the themes
that we have for World Petrochemical
conference next year is, uh, how
do I make investments for growth?
While I'm planning for a low carbon
future, and we're saying, you know,
40 years of success and now what do the
next 40 years look like for the industry?
And that is the challenge is
I need to invest for growth.
Because while we may talk about
peak oil demand, we don't talk about
peak chemical demand, because the
chemical industry is the mean by which
the 8 billion people in the world.
We'll have consumer goods, durable
or non durable made for them, and we
don't expect that to stop anytime soon.
And so if those 8 billion people are going
to need various levels of consumer goods,
we think the chemical industry is the
enabling force that makes that happen.
As it has been for so many decades, it
will change in terms of how it does it.
But, that demand is
still going to be there.
So you've got to balance
those 2 things at this point
inflection point in the industry.
Okay.
So I would say those are the
two big challenges, right?
VictoriaM: yeah,
Mark Eramo: I've got a, I've got an
oversupply down cycle with low margins
and a lot of pressure on me from, uh,
stakeholders, whether they be policymakers
or my own board of directors, to be
able to say we're doing everything
we can for a low carbon future.
Uh, and that is a real tight rope for
the, for these companies to manage.
VictoriaM: yeah, absolutely.
And then, add the added complexities
of, of geopolitics, and the
various wars that we're seeing.
Um, That, you know, reflect on supply
chain challenges, politics, just in the
sense of, uh, leadership changes, right.
Not just the U S but globally,
we've seen a, an astounding
number of elections this year.
So there's a lot of, um, pressure
and business uncertainties in the
midst of some of these big strategic
changes that you've referenced.
Mark Eramo: Absolutely.
Yeah.
VictoriaM: So with that,
what advice are you giving?
Like if you, you know, if somebody said,
okay, well that's Mark, that's great.
I, okay.
And what should I do now?
Mark Eramo: Yeah.
So, um, some of the, I guess,
advice analysis is, is this
conversation that it needs to occur.
Let me back up a couple of things,
from the fundamentals of the
industry recognizing that, demand is
continuing to grow and how do I adjust
to a news what I call build cycle
in an age of mea units, countries
trying to really enable more crude to
chemicals, more liquids to chemicals.
Um, I need to really get my
arms around what that build
cycle is going to look like.
And so, and what will be my participation
in different countries or different
regions based on competitiveness?
Do I think, um, you know, crude is going
to stay high or is it going to go lower?
Um, is, is the Middle East and North
America going to remain You know, really,
really competitive from a feedstock
perspective as more and more demand
comes on the liquid side of the business,
whether it's aromatics or olefins.
And so there's planning that.
So really it's kind of having
scenarios for the core of your
business around what do you think is
gonna happen on the energy dynamic?
Um, and how will that impact my build
cycle, my capital investment planning
for the future On the other side of
the equation again, in terms of of
energy transition, and this is kind
of companies and policymakers working
hand in hand to say, um, how do we
make sure that the commitments we're
making and the investments we're making
are keeping up with the technology?
And that the policies are also
keeping up with the technology.
Um, and that we're also, building
from the standpoint of making
change in the products to what the
customers are willing to accept.
So you've got to that's
willing to pay for will, right?
And you've g
that will enable you to g I've got
policies that sa for me that may be
realis based on those three thin right?
And so our advice is really
just sound self serving.
Let us help you get your armed around
these different dynamics from geopolitics
and policy making versus what's happening
on the technology front versus what are
the consumers asking for and needing
and wanting and willing to pay for.
And being pragmatic about this
thing called energy transition.
Because if those three things don't get
in, get lined up, then What you do is
you get unintended consequences, the,
this, this lodging of, if you will,
um, I'll say the demand side, the
demand side of the business, right?
In other words, I go make a product
that I need a premium for, but
if nobody's willing to pay the
premium, then what am I going to
do?
Right.
VictoriaM: I mean, we're fake companies
are facing this right now, right?
That's the, that's the biggest
conundrum that we're in.
It's a chicken and egg scenario, right?
Um, we need more sustainable products.
Who's willing to pay for the
most sustainable products and
they're not willing to pay.
So then I've got to keep
doing what I'm doing.
And yet I need the higher
value to fund investment.
And,
It'll work out, but my guess is not
as quickly as anyone would have hoped.
Mark Eramo: And the policy needs to be
informed policy, the policymakers need
to not stay in a vacuum, they need to
bring industry to the table, to help
solve these, these problems, right?
VictoriaM: So Mark, let's turn and
talk a little bit about leadership.
And maybe leadership advice.
You've had a really great career,
um, 40 years in the industry.
Um, so I've actually got two parses.
We're going to.
I'm going to start with part one, which
is, um, what advice do you give to young
engineers entering this industry that
want to achieve your level of success?
Mark Eramo: So, um, I'll reflect back
on some of, the mentors and coaches that
I've had, or even still have, uh, even 40
years into the industry, which is really
be open, be flexible, um, in terms of
opportunities that may come to you in
terms of using your skillset, understand
how you wanna really apply your skillset.
And then think about in terms of, um,
especially in this world of, of being
an, an analyst of the industry, in this
segment that, you know, that I've grown
up in now for, you know, since I left
the operating world, is, you know, do you
want to be the expert of the industry?
Do you wanna manage it?
Or some combination of both.
Do you want to be a player coach?
Do you want to just be that expert that
everybody turns to for that advice?
Or do you want to be the manager?
Who's kind of bringing all the, all
the pieces together, because those
are different things and you know,
the good Lord gave us 24 hours in
a day and it's probably good to
sleep for a few of those hours.
Um, and so you can't be
all things to all people.
And so that's one of the things that
I was, you know, advised early on
One of my first roles at CMEI was
as, as being the ethylene guy, right?
Do you want to be the world's most
renowned ethylene expert, or do you
want to manage a group of people who are
those commodity market experts or, and
there is, there is the in between, right?
I call it player coaches,
which was certainly.
certainly doable.
Right?
that's one of the things younger
folks that I talk you become more
and more You know, what you do is
you take reward in seeing those folks
you're managing be successful, right?
Yeah.
So as you become more of a coach
manager, what you're really doing
is it's about putting the right
athletes in the right position.
So I always fall back to my football life.
Um, you want the right athletes in
the right positions and taking pride
in them, excelling in their game.
Um, and, and you being the one who
manages that, or if you want to be the.
You know, the star wide receiver or
the star quarterback or running back or
defensive end, then that's good as well.
And that's kind of where
you wanna focus your efforts.
VictoriaM: Love it.
That's really great.
Um, my part two of this is attracting
people into the business, whether it
be the chemical industry as a whole, or
into S & P global commodity insights,
because again, you're in a unique
space that maybe a lot of people.
Chemists and chemical engineers.
And I don't really know what the
profile is of your team necessarily.
How do you attract people
into your business?
Mark Eramo: What one of my greatest
learnings in making the transition from,
um, I'll say CMEI up in, up, up to where
I am today, right, is that you need a very
diverse workforce from all walks of life.
Um.
Our news and editorial and price
reporting people are just as important
as, um, I've got, you know, Ph.
D.
Chemical engineers who are
doing third party assessments
of industry technology, right?
And those individuals are on
opposite ends of the scale in terms
of experience and education and the
things that they've grown up with.
But we need them all.
we need everybody in betw with
purchasing experienc experience.
Um, I mean, i on and on.
And so in, in, entity, you know,
you tend just have certain profile
what you're trying to do I mean,
even in the business now, what we
want to do is put people in front of
clients who are, have an expertise
in some grounding in that industry.
I'm going to go talk to an
executive of a chloralkali industry.
I want to put somebody in front
of them who knows chloralkali or
polyethylene or benzene, whatever the
case might be, but there's a whole
other ecosystem that supports it.
And, and S & P is just
a great example of that.
I mean, we're a large company.
Tremendous diversity of, along all
different measures of diversity
and along all different skill sets.
Placing an emphasis on what
each individual brings to the
table is, is really the key.
Um, because you think about,
okay, the chemical team must
be full of chemical engineers.
VictoriaM: That would be my thought.
Mark Eramo: we have a lot of people
with chemical engineering background
in the chemical, uh, Segment, but not
all of 'em are chemical engineers.
Not all of 'em are even chemists, right?
It does take a, a variety of backgrounds
and you want that diversity 'cause
it does bring a richer experience
and perspective to the, to the table.
And that's been one of my
greatest learnings in this.
And I think what S & P offers
is that diversity of experience
diversity of individuals that they
welcome into the tent and say, we've
got all kinds of opportunities.
Come join us.
And we'll we'll find that right position
on the playing field for you, uh, based
on your skill set and what you excel at.
VictoriaM: Very cool.
Awesome.
So what's next for you?
What's next for you?
What's next for S & P
global commodity insights?
Mark Eramo: So having one day removed
from a pretty exciting announcement
of now being co president with Dave
Ernstberger of the commodity insights
division, um, that will also, be merged
with the Sustainable one group, um, with
an emphasis on energy transition and
sustainability becoming a bigger part
of our portfolio as, as we look to 2025.
Dave and I, not only stabilizing things
because it is another bit of management
change that we want to make sure is
stabilized, but really accelerating the
growth that we have in our core analysis
around the research and analysis that
we're doing in these core commodity
markets, the benchmarking assessments
that we continue to grow in really looking
at What our offering is and make sure
it's crystal clear on the sustainability
and energy transition front.
Those are our big opportunities.
Um, in addition to the core of of our
business, helping clients understand
what's coming next, what's in front
of them, what are the decisions that
the, that they're gonna have to make.
You will see all of this in
spades, uh, on display at.
WPC in March of 2025 in
Houston, um, which also happens.
Also what's happening in Houston
in March is the Syr week event,
which is also a major energy event.
So they are back to back their different
weeks this year, which is good.
And
VictoriaM: Easier, better for
you and better for the people
that want to attend both.
Yeah.
Mark Eramo: Yes, exactly.
Exactly.
So those are those are our themes.
That's where we're focused.
We're excited about it again.
I'm excited about declaring merger
and integration over and just kind
of getting on with the growth story
and focused on our client base
and how we can help them best.
VictoriaM: Yeah.
Sounds really great.
Thank you, Mark.
Thanks for joining me.
I've, I've loved this conversation.
I know others will as well.
Mark Eramo: Thank you, Victoria.
I appreciate the opportunity
and great, great conversation.
Thank you very
VictoriaM: Yeah, absolutely.
And thank you everyone for joining us.
Keep listening, keep following,
keep sharing, and we will
talk with you again soon.