EXECUTIVE INSIGHTS

Danilo Micheletti

COO at RadiciGroup

Danilo Micheletti speaks about his career journey in the engineering plastics industry.

In this conversation, Sam Yates, speaks with Danilo Micheletti, COO of RadiciGroup’s High Performance Polymers Division. Danilo shares insights from his career journey, emphasising the importance of understanding and aligning teams across different cultural backgrounds. He highlights the critical factors for successful mergers and acquisitions, including the necessity of long-term planning and flexibility in organisational structures. Danilo also discusses the evolving landscape of the industry, focusing on sustainability and the need for companies to embrace innovation and agility.

Sam: Thanks for taking the time today, Danilo. To start off, could you give us a high-level overview of your career, touching on where you are now, who you’ve worked for in the past, and how you’ve reached this point?

Danilo: Absolutely. I’ll give a summary. I started with college and then went on to university, where I pursued a degree in management engineering. It was a relatively new field at the time, back in the late ’80s. This degree was a mix between technical engineering and economics, which was quite unique. I wanted something that wasn’t as generic as economics but still had a broad scope, covering both technical subjects like mechanics and electronics, as well as finance and accounting.

This mix turned out to be quite useful throughout my career. It gave me the ability to understand both the technical side of things and the financial results and business value of what we were doing. That blend really aligned well with the work I ended up doing in the plastics and engineering materials industry.

I started in 1997 in a small division that produced engineering plastics. It was a young business at the time, but as we began to expand globally, I grew alongside it. We started in Italy, but then international opportunities opened. This was the turning point for me, being in the right place at the right time.

Initially, I took on technical roles, then moved into finance as a controller, and eventually into management on a global scale. My career took me to live in places like Brazil, the US, and China, which gave me the chance to work with and understand different cultures. I’ve had the opportunity to manage teams across multiple countries, and that global experience has been a defining feature of my career.

Sam: You’ve clearly developed a strong ability to work across different cultures. At one point, you were managing teams in 13 different countries. How do you align teams to a common strategy or mission when they come from such varied cultural backgrounds?

Danilo: It’s more about psychology than technique, honestly. The key is finding common ground, things that unite people regardless of their cultural background. But equally important is not trying to force a single cultural approach on everyone—that’s a recipe for disaster.

You need to respect what’s important to each culture while also identifying what everyone can rally around in terms of business goals. For example, I made the mistake early on of trying to impose the same organizational structure across all countries

. In Italy and Germany, for instance, we have the role of an “industrial manager,” which is critical to operations. But when we tried to introduce that role in the US or India, we realised that this position simply didn’t exist in their structures, and it caused a lot of confusion.You must be flexible and adapt your organisational framework to fit the local context: which means not being rigid in terms of titles and structure. 

 So, the approach is to maintain flexibility and look for common factors that align with the company’s goals but don’t conflict with local practices. Respecting the local ways of working while finding a structure that can function globally is key.

Sam: That makes sense. Now, you’ve been involved in several mergers and acquisitions. In your experience, what are the critical factors that determine whether an integration is successful?

Danilo: The first thing is to have a long-term plan. When approaching an acquisition, it’s not just about the acquisition itself—you need to know where you want to take the business in five or ten years. For us, we had a clear objective of becoming an international company, so we had to prioritise geographic areas where our presence would be most valuable.

Once you have that vision, it’s about finding the right fit, not just what seems appealing on paper. You can’t make decisions based on what you personally like; it must align with your company’s broader strategy.

During the integration, you need two things: a strong consolidation team and a clear model. The consolidation team needs to ensure that processes align across the new acquisition, while still being adaptable to local specifics. And you must be realistic about the timeline. Consolidation doesn’t happen overnight—our experience has shown it takes about two years to fully integrate a new acquisition. Rushing this process can lead to significant issues later on.

Sam: On a more personal note, how have you managed to maintain a work-life balance throughout your career, especially in such high-pressure roles?

Danilo: That’s something I had to learn the hard way. Early in my career, I thought success meant spending as much time as possible at work, often traveling while my family stayed in Italy. But over time, I realised it’s not about the quantity of time spent working, it’s about the quality. If you have the right support at home and a balanced life, you’re more effective when you’re at work.

The quality of time and focus on important tasks is much more valuable than just putting in long hours. Once I learned to prioritise quality over quantity, it not only improved my personal life but also made me more productive professionally.

Sam: That’s great advice. Shifting gears a bit, the plastics and chemical industries have evolved significantly over the years, particularly with a focus on sustainability and ESG. Beyond that, what trends or shifts do you see shaping the future of your industry, and what should companies be doing to prepare?

Danilo: Sustainability is definitely one of the biggest drivers. Companies need to invest heavily in research and development, especially in new technologies that focus on sustainable products. But one thing we’ve learned is that not every R&D effort will be successful. You have to be prepared for failure—90% of new technologies might not work, but the 10% that do can really make the difference. So, embracing risk in that space is critical.

The second major trend is about business organisation. Companies need to become more flexible. The traditional, conservative European approach isn’t going to cut it anymore. We need to be ready to change our business models and organisational structures quickly to stay competitive.

Sam: That’s very true. And as globalization shifts, supply chains are definitely a critical area. Is there anything exciting happening at RadiciGroup that you’d like to share?

Danilo: Two main things, actually. First, we’re heavily focused on product sustainability, which ties back into investing in new technologies. We’re putting a lot of effort into developing materials that are not only high-performing but also more environmentally friendly.

The second thing is business restructuring. We’re working on becoming much more agile as a company, changing how we operate and organise ourselves to better respond to the fast-paced global environment. Flexibility is becoming key, especially as supply chains and geopolitics evolve.

Sam: That’s really insightful. Thank you for sharing that, Danilo. It sounds like you’re doing some great work to stay ahead in a challenging industry. I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me today.

Danilo: My pleasure, Sam.