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Sioux Source MagazineDan Shine is President of Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Analytical Instruments business, among others the world market leader in the development and construction of electron microscopes. Leon Giesen, CEO of Sioux Technologies Europe, sought him out for a good conversation about leadership, collaboration, corporate culture, and a strategic market with great promise: green energy. ‘The urgency of the energy transition is high’, says Shine. ‘We want to make our contribution, for instance by facilitating scientists in their research into batteries. That technology is still in its early stages. The opportunities for Thermo Fisher and our strategic partners such as Sioux are huge.'
Leon: ‘How do you look back on the past few years? Those must have been hectic for Thermo Fisher given your activities in life sciences.’
Dan: ‘It was rush hour. We were involved in imaging the virus, developing a PCR test and vaccines from the earliest stages of the pandemic. We also scaled up production of PPA masks, reagents, and their plastic containers very quickly and substantially.’
‘You took a risk with that...’
‘Thermo Fisher helps customers make the world healthier, cleaner and safer, just like Sioux. We are happy to invest in that.’
‘What was the impact on your Analytical Instruments business?’
‘That one was tough. During the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand fell sharply. Our service engineers could not visit customers because of the risk of contamination. We built tools for remote diagnostics to be able to still serve them as well as possible. That’s how we kept quite a lot of equipment up and running.’
‘That should make you very proud.’
‘Thermo Fisher showed that it is a good partner, even in difficult times. We got the job done and exceeded expectations. That earned us a lot of credibility, and a momentum from which we are now reaping the benefits.’
Leon: ‘The semiconductor market knows no boundaries. Life sciences remains a growth market. In addition, your strategic focus is on green energy. How will that market develop?’
Dan: ‘Fighting climate change is one of the big tasks of our time. The US and EU recently introduced legislation to stimulate the acceleration of renewable energy. We can make a substantial difference in the energy transition with our knowledge and technology. To do so, however, we need to make the right choices and make the right investments.’
‘Energy storage is an integral part of the sustainable energy system of the future. However, there is still much to be gained in battery development, quality and manufacturing. Thermo Fisher is very well positioned for this.’
‘Knowledge and skills are one side of the issue. Another is the disruption of supply chains over the past few years. That made clear how dependent we are on Asian parties for our energy transition. There are now moves towards regionalization and production in different parts of the world. It is interesting to follow those developments.’
‘Green energy currently forms a small part of your business, no doubt that is going to change soon.’
‘An estimated $10 trillion will be invested in the energy transition over the next decade - solar panels, wind, energy storage, hydrogen... That is beyond our imagination. But we are only at the beginning. It is yet to be determined what contribution those technologies will exactly make and where and how we can best add value. However, these are exciting times, that’s for sure.’
Leon: ‘How does that manifest itself in your investments? Thermo Fisher serves three growth markets. You can only spend your budget once.’
Dan: ‘Prioritizing is an important part of my job. I am very enthusiastic about green energy. But we also talk a lot about the lab of the future that is connected, and where our systems and instruments are generating more and more data. We are looking at how this digitalization can be used for preventive maintenance, help create new insights and discoveries, make our technology more user-friendly and accessible, and reduce costs. That is also where our focus lies.’
‘How can Sioux help you with that?’
‘Thermo Fisher wants to be a technology leader. Sioux is also driven by science, technology and innovation. The art is in combining our competences in such a way that we can quickly bring new socially relevant technology to the market.’
‘In this, we have already achieved great successes. For instance, our cooperation in the development of Ultra-X, the detection system of your latest transmission electron microscope, was a major achievement. Let’s continue that in green energy projects.’
‘That starts with understanding where that market is heading; understanding what customers need and connecting that with solutions so they can improve, for example, the quality and safety of batteries and control of production processes.’
‘The project in coating visualization for batteries for your division in Germany is a great first step in this for Sioux.’
Leon: ‘Last summer you visited the Eindhoven region, or Brainport, for the first time. What were your impressions?’
Dan: ‘It was wonderful to dive into the world of our suppliers. We need to include them in our strategy and growth plans so that they know what sensible investments are. We had good conversations about that. I was also very impressed by the level of technology.’
‘You must be used to that. With six top universities alone, Boston and the surrounding area is a hotspot for research and innovation.’
‘However, the expertise of our partners in Brainport is exceptional, especially in precision engineering. With that, they play a major role in our success; developing and building beautiful machines that can even visualize atoms. Moreover, I saw very close ties between them.’
‘There are few places where the supply chain is as highly organized as here, we are proud of that.’
‘Your region’s ecosystem reminded me of that of life sciences in Boston. At the Sioux Campus, I felt the same vibe of ambition and teamwork as at home. Sioux is a world-class technology partner. Your people are among the best in high-tech. You guys know what it takes to push technological boundaries. But you also have fun. For instance, Sioux Labs was absolutely inspiring for me. A nice place where people can have lunch, collaborate and meet after office hours. This strengthens the community.’
Leon: ‘We work on that very consciously. Bringing in talent is great, but you also want to keep people. This way you can continue to grow together. How does Thermo Fisher approach this?’
Dan: ‘Involvement is one of our core values. People want challenging work, but they also want to make a difference and do it together. We therefore have Employee Resource Groups in which people voluntarily work together to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. I led one myself that focused on people with disabilities and a second on our multi-generational workforce. We also enable teams to make an impact locally, for example by organizing fundraisers for charity and building houses for the less fortunate. These kinds of initiatives create job satisfaction and pride in our company.’
‘We can also make the world a little better alongside our daily activities. Sioux therefore has a Social Impact Programme aimed at adding value in the field of social innovations, technology promotion and sustainability. Especially the new generation wants more than a nice job at a good company.’
‘And you have to connect with that, listen to people and act accordingly. For example, our commitment to climate neutrality by 2050 is crucial for many of our employees.’
‘These are interesting times for CEOs in high-tech. What's most important to you?’
‘Empowering people and teams and making sure they can be successful. We are here to serve.’
‘And making it fun...’
‘Right, what a great job.’
