The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Newell Brands returns to town with new CEO
An estimated 90% of all U.S. households use Newell products.
An estimated 90% of all U.S. households use Newell products, from Sharpie to Rubbermaid and more.
Newell Brands, a Fortune 500 company that boomeranged its headquarters back to metro Atlanta last year, now has a CEO who lives in the city.
Ravi Saligram became top executive of Newell — the maker of Sharpie pens, Calphalon cookware, Rubbermaid goods and a number of other household names
— in October, shortly after the company moved its headquarters back to Sandy Springs. In 2016, Newell relocated its headquarters from that city to Hoboken, New Jersey, where former CEO Michael Polk lived. Polk retired a year ago.
Saligram and his wife, Nalini, have bought a place in Buckhead, and they are looking to establish deeper roots in the city. It’s their second time living here. From 2000 to 2002, Saligram was an executive with InterContinental Hotels Group, and his two daughters attended Westminster.
“I’ve lived here during another very trying time — during 9/11,” Saligram said in a recent interview. “Atlanta is a great city. I had no hesitation about buying a place here.”
For Saligram, moving to Atlanta during the coronavirus pandemic and a time of racial unrest has been especially meaningful. It’s given him an opportunity to dig deep into the company’s commitment to the community and inclusion.
“I very much want to get more involved in the community,” Saligram said. “Atlanta has an opportunity to become the model city for racial harmony — where black lives truly matter.”
On June 2, following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, Saligram sent a letter to employees titled “Embracing our Humanity.”
He wrote, “I sincerely hope this tragedy will galvanize Americans — black, brown, white, Democrat, Independent, Republican, male, female or however one identifies — to come together to acknowledge and reject racism and discrimination of any kind. As Americans, we need to proactively address aspects of our society in which discrimination and racism are systemic and root them out. We need to open our hearts and truly believe that every one of us is equal, not succumb to tawdry stereotypes or allow the insidious hand of unconscious bias to seep deep into our souls.”
He also convened many of Newell’s Black employees to hear
about their experiences.
“One of my managers had been pulled over 22 times by police for no good reason,” said Saligram, who is a native of India. “I’m ashamed I knew so little about their lives.”
The topic of race also has hit him personally. One of his daughters is dating a Black man from the Ivory Coast in Africa; they met when they were at Harvard University.
“I went through several months of self-examination,” said Saligram. “I saw the guy really cared for my daughter. We have been slowly getting to know him. It’s been a personal journey.”
In between his two stints in Atlanta, Saligram was CEO of Vancouver-based Ritchie Bros. for five years and CEO of OfficeMax for three years. He also served as a key executive for Aramark Corp. for eight years.
“I’ve had the opportunity to be CEO three times,” said Saligram, who just turned 64. “How can an immigrant do that, but people who were born in this country have been denied that?”
Saligram wants to work with other local business leaders to see how they can make a difference. “I want to commit to that in this phase of my life,” he said. “Are we creating a community of belonging, not just inclusion?”
When he was 20 years old, Saligram said, he moved to the United States with $9 in his pocket. He had studied engineering in India, but he hated the field. So he got his MBA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where an aunt and uncle lived.
That led him to a career in marketing, brand management, strategic development and company turnarounds.
Because of a changing retail environment and Newell’s limited investment in innovation, some of the company’s leading brands experienced lackluster sales. Also, turnover in leadership and Newell’s 2016 acquisition of Jarden, a company with a different culture, led to low employee morale.
Newell was a perfect challenge for Saligram, who at first resisted accepting the job because he had planned to retire. But his wife urged him to accept it, saying he was too young to stop working.
Saligram decided to take the job after reading reports from Newell employees, who were clearly demoralized.
“Sometimes, executive hubris creates problems,” he said. “A lot of our problems were self-inflicted. When I read their plight, that was the tipping point. How could any company have gone through
■ CEO: Ravi Saligram
■ CFO and former interim CEO: Chris Peterson
■ Fortune 500 rank: 243
■ Years on the Fortune 500 list: 31
■ Headquarters: 6655 Peachtree Dunwoody Road
■ Eight business units: Writing; outdoor and recreation; home fragrance; baby; connected home and security; appliances and cookware; food; commercial. The writing, baby and food units are based in Atlanta.
■ 30,000 employees globally; 1,172 in Atlanta
■ 2019 net sales: $9.7 billion
■ Originally moved its headquarters to Atlanta in 2003 from Freeport, Illinois.
■ Moved its headquarters to Hoboken, New Jersey, in 2016.
■ Relocated its headquarters to Sandy Springs in 2019.
■ 90 percent of U.S. households buy Newell brands.
Familiar brands include:
■ Paper Mate
■ Sharpie
■ Dymo
■ EXPO
■ Parker
■ Elmer’s
■ Coleman
■ Marmot
■ Oster
■ Sunbeam
■ FoodSaver
■ Mr. Coffee
■ Rubbermaid Commercial Products
■ Graco
■ Baby Jogger this? So I decided to come on board.”
Before the pandemic hit, Saligram was busy transforming Newell, investing in
■ NUK
■ Calphalon
■ Rubbermaid
■ Contigo
■ First Alert
■ Mapa
■ Spontex
■ Yankee Candle the company’s brands and focusing on its stakeholders: employees and customers, as well as shareholders.
“Pre-COVID, I knew the
No. 1 priority was to get the right leadership team,” Saligram said. “There’s no way you can drive sustainable shareholder value if your people are not with you.”
He described Chief Financial Officer Chris Peterson, who had served as the interim CEO, as a partner in running the company.
Saligram went on to say that, of Newell’s eight business units, four are headed by women and four by men. Now his goal is to increase racial diversity throughout the company.
“At Newell, my focus now is on the lives and livelihood of our Black employees,” he said.
The pandemic impacted Newell’s brands differently. For example, the appliance and cookware unit is doing well because more people are cooking at home. But the writing division — Paper Mate and Sharpie — has taken a hit because of the closing of schools and offices.
When annual bonuses were being discussed, the decision was made to spread them evenly across all business units.
“This year, we will go one for all and all for one,” Saligram said. “It was initiated by the business units that are doing really well. It was selfless. We are not in it for ourselves.”
Saligram is proud of Newell’s brands.
“Our brands touch lives,” he said. “We give small pleasures. We brighten everyday lives. We bring joyous moments and peace of mind. It’s very important when people are making purchases that we fulfill our promise.”
That’s why Saligram responds to nearly every complaint that he receives.
“If someone is so upset that they write to the CEO, I like to answer myself,” he said. “Our role is serving people.”
It is estimated that 90% of all U.S. households use Newell products.
“We have 100 brands – and 25 of them are iconic brands with leading shares in their categories,” said Saligram, whose first love in business was marketing. “I love things to do with consumers.”
Saligram wants to “restore Newell to its former greatness.” In 1994, Rubbermaid (now Newell) was Fortune magazine’s No. 1 Most Admired Company in the country.
“I have fallen in love with Newell. I feel I’m adding value,” Saligram said. “Not a single day, in the last nine months since I’ve joined, have I regretted the decision. Our best days are ahead of us.”