7 questions for Valvoline Global CEO Jamal Muashsher, who was once a producer on a Bear Grylls TV show

• Valvoline Global, run by Muashsher, is now a $3 billion company which distributes oil and engine lubricant products. It was acquired by Saudi Aramco.
• By contrast, its similarly named former parent company, Valvoline Inc., continues as a retail chain of oil-change and auto-service franchises.

Muashsher joined Valvoline as a senior marketing director in 2014. Before that he spent 14 years at Procter & Gamble as a brand manager. He worked on the Olay Skin Care line and in P&G’s entertainment division, where he was once a producer on Get Out Alive With Bear Grylls, among other projects.

Under Aramco, the post-acquisition transformation of Valvoline Global was one of the hardest management challenges he has ever faced, he told Coins2Day during a recent visit to London where the company is opening a new office.

Question 1: What is the most difficult problem you’ve faced as CEO?

“I think probably the most difficult thing is the transformation we went through. You know, we were carved out from our former parent company and the integration into Aramco,” he says. 

A key aspect was getting buy-in to the idea of this iconic American brand being owned by new Middle Eastern owners, from his own leadership group. Muashsher admits there was a “need for investment” that hadn’t taken place at Valvoline Inc.

“That transformation is significant and going from a part of the company where it was low-investment, to now a high-growth expectation, so the actual process of separating,” he says. “It was a lot of work. I think not just for myself, but our entire team at navigating such a significant transformational change.”

“The separation process created uncertainty for the organization. I had to navigate the sale and separation process while ensuring the organization was engaged and focused on delivering our business and customer commitments,” he said.

Question 2: Does Valvoline Global have a net-zero strategy? 

Another obvious problem facing Valvoline Global is global warming. The existential premise of the entire company is based around climate-heating fossil fuels, of course. But perhaps surprisingly, Valvoline Global is planning to reduce and offset its carbon footprint to net zero.

“The targets include a 25% reduction in [our] greenhouse gas emissions this year from a 2020 baseline; a 95% waste landfill divergence rate from our warehouses and plants, also by 2025; and net zero greenhouse gas emissions from our global operations by 2050,” he says.

Most of Valvoline’s CO2 footprint comes from its own direct operations, he says, because lubricant oil isn’t burned the way gasoline is.

“That’s where a lot of the work that we’re doing is to reduce that.” 

Question 3: What’s your strategy with EVs?

The other existential threat to the oil business is electric cars, which don’t have the moving parts that internal combustion engines do.

“We obviously are working with hydrogen fuel cell or electric vehicles, we have been at the forefront innovating well ahead of the curve to ensure that we’re providing the right products to support the industry. As it relates to electric vehicles, Valvoline has a full suite of products, including heat transfer fluids, for those electric vehicles. We’ve been working with over 35 electric vehicle OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] for many years,” he says. 

Question 4: How is President Trump’s threat of tariffs affecting Valvoline?

Next year, the company will be 160 years old and has survived World War I, World War II, and the original Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 (which exacerbated the Great Depression). Thus, Muashsher believes the company will take the current upheaval in its stride.

“Whether it’s pandemics, financial changes, world wars, we’ve been around a while. So now we’re facing different challenges … you have to be able to produce your products globally and be able to have the right warehousing and support locally to service your customers. So when it comes to tariffs, obviously we’re continuously evaluating any new news that may come out or waiting to see what new information may be available, we’ll assess and adopt, but fundamentally we see a limited impact to us in the near term for what we know because of the way we have approached the structure of our business,” he says.

Question 5: Are you seeing any evidence of consumers or businesses delaying auto servicing, because of recession fears?

Is there any inkling that customers are hoarding supply or stretching out their inventory or delaying oil changes because they’re afraid of an economic downturn?

“Currently no. The early reads are we have not seen a significant impact … whether in the US or other markets,” he says.

Question 6: Are you a micromanager or do you prefer to delegate?

Muashsher has 12 direct reports, there are 80-plus “leaders” of various business units in the company, and in total there are about 3,000 employees spread around the globe (roughly half are in the U.S.).

Each week he has a 30-minute meeting with his leadership team, there is a bi-weekly strategy review, and a financial review on a monthly basis. There’s also a quarterly global leadership meeting.

He prefers a “cadence of constant communication” where “we all sit very close together [and] we’re all staying connected and building the rhythm that’s required to be a truly unified team,” he says.

“I prefer to delegate, but I think an important aspect of it is how do you make sure that you’re supporting your team. And understanding the challenges that they’re facing and providing the resources, support, coaching, mentoring and development, to help them be successful in the roles that they have.”

Question 7: What is the best management advice you have ever received?

“One of the hardest things, when you’re going through your career is identifying ultimately what you want. And what track you want to go on. And I think one of the biggest pieces of advice is understanding what you want, and not being afraid to tell others, because you’ll be surprised how many people will be there to support you, and enable you to get there.”