When Rich Preziotti joined Vertellus Specialties Inc. in December
2007, he saw an organization that was one company on paper but
two separate entities in the workplace. Vertellus was formed in
July 2006 with the merger of Reilly Industries and Rutherford
Chemicals, but little had been done to join the two companies
together beyond giving them a common name. “They had put the
two businesses together, but they didn’t have any real connection
other than some product overlap,” says Preziotti, who took over as
president and CEO in December 2007. Employees often wore uniforms bearing the name of the company they worked for before
the merger and some of the company’s plants were still going by
old company names that didn’t exist anymore. Vertellus had no
identity to call its own. In addition, the company had a culture
where employees weren’t engaged with the corporate goals and
there wasn’t enough accountability for how people achieved goals.
Preziotti knew things needed to change if the 800-employee specialty chemical provider was to move forward and keep growing
and innovating.
In short, he needed to build a new culture.
His ability to do so successfully helped Vertellus hit $450 million
in 2007 revenue, up from $425 million in 2006. Revenue is expected to top $550 million for 2008.
Here’s how Preziotti built a winning team.
