Additional Q&A with BASF's Dan Carrothers

Included in September PCT is an Executive Forum interview with Dan Carrothers, the veteran industry executive who recently joined BASF Pest Control Solutions as business unit manager. In that Q&A session Carrothers discussed plans to build BASF’s St. Louis operation into a “Pest Control Center of Excellence.” Below are additional questions and answers from this interview that did not appear in the magazine.

Q. What attracted you to the pest control market after being away from the specialty chemicals industry for a number of years?
A. First of all, I liked the fact BASF is an industry leader that behaves in a quietly confident manner. Second, when I looked at BASF’s portfolio – both the current and future products in its pipeline – it became apparent they’re committed to the pest control industry.

Q. With the acquisition of a Whitmire Micro-Gen in 2009, BASF’s product portfolio expanded exponentially, posing both opportunities and challenges for the company. How would you assess the integration of those products and do you see the company’s strategy for positioning those products changing under your leadership?
A. If you really want to be a key partner, I think you have to try to provide PMPs with as many solutions as possible and those solutions have to be best in class. They have to be solutions that enhance the PMPs’ productivity or enhance their profitability, but mostly they’ve got to perform day after day after day. I think what BASF has today in terms of combinations of products for specific pest categories – termites, rodents, ants, bed bugs, flies – is really a gem in the rough.

Q. How does BASF view the public’s growing desire for green technology and what is the company doing to address these changing public attitudes?
A. First of all, let me speak just as an individual consumer. I think anybody who doesn’t take the environment seriously isn’t being honest with themselves. Sustainability is critical. And the only way to sustain an industry is to ensure that the products that are developed to sustain that industry are not harmful to the public or the environment, which is what we do. Second, we need to determine the minimum amount of product we need to use in order to accomplish the job we have in mind. Let’s use only as much as we need to do the job and to do the job properly and no more. And I think one of the things BASF has done very effectively over the years is looking at ways we can accomplish that goal, again, without diminishing the performance of our products. I think where a lot of green discussions have gone south is because the solution simply didn’t solve the problem, and I don’t think that’s what people have in mind. One of the neat initiatives that’s going on inside BASF is to determine the eco-efficiency of the products in our portfolio. We’re trying to determine the environmental footprint of logistically getting our product to distributors and the way the product is applied by the end user, and then compare it to other alternatives. So, I think one of the things that BASF is trying to do, is determine the eco-efficiency of the products that we’re bringing to market and then, quite frankly, challenging ourselves internally to say, “Are there steps along the way, are there things we can do to pull some of that out so that the environmental footprint is smaller and our efficiency as a company is higher?” I think those are worthy initiatives.

Q. How do you see the BASF portfolio changing over time?
A. One of the things that I personally want to do is to establish some broad, strategic goals for the BASF pest control group. Those goals include how do we enhance the PMP’s productivity and profitability? If you want to enhance productivity and profitability you’re going to have to deal with things like labor. Some of the technology and innovation that is coming from us on the termite side of the business will offer solutions to those labor and productivity issues. On the general insect side of the business, callbacks are an issue. Our technology has to be positioned to ensure those productivity and profitability killers are eliminated. It’s aspirational to a certain extent, but in reality many of the products that are already in our portfolio or about to be added to our portfolio are designed to accomplish those things. I think a key plank to all of it, however, is the promise of performance. I don’t think you can ever underestimate how important and critical it is that your products perform day after day after day. As we look out into the future, we’re never going to lose sight of the fact that no matter how we want to adjust the formulation or adjust how it is delivered, we can never trade off performance while we’re looking to address other attributes.

Q. When you talk about your goals and objectives from a marketing perspective, you get very excited. What is it about marketing that you find so compelling?
A.  I’m inherently inquisitive and curious, and marketing is very much an inquisitive person’s job because the answers are never black and white. Marketing is one of those things where the more you know, the more you realize that the problem you thought you were solving has changed. The other thing I would say is that the whole concept of deriving insights from data and then determining the implications of those insights, I find very intriguing. I also think there’s a certain discipline to marketing. Marketing is far more disciplined and routine-based than what most people think. There’s a lot that goes into developing a marketing message. I think if you’re a good marketer, you do a much better job of putting the right message to the right person at the right time, and I think the recipient of that is appreciative of the discipline required to accomplish that goal, as opposed to simply broadcasting one message to the entire marketplace, knowing full well that for the vast majority of them it’s just noise.

Q. On a personal level, what do you like to do to relax?
A. First of all, I’m a very big hockey fan. One of the beautiful things about moving to St. Louis is the fact they have an NHL franchise here, the Blues. My wife Kim and I also have a house down at the Lake of the Ozarks and we love boating and being out on the water. Nothing beats getting out on the water, finding a cove, swimming off the back of the boat, and just enjoying the day with your family. It’s a great opportunity to get the batteries recharged before the next week rolls around. Since I grew up on a farm in Canada, I also enjoy being outdoors. During the summer, from pretty much the minute I get up, I’m outside. Whether it’s looking after my yard or the working in the garden, it really doesn’t matter, I just enjoy being outside.

Q. What is it about hockey? Is it just your Canadian heritage or is there something innate about the game you find so attractive?
A. Part of it is just being Canadian. My mom was famous for saying, there are only three things that Canadians need to know how to do – skate, swim and ride a bicycle. Everything else after that is just gravy. Number two, hockey is extremely fast. I think that’s very much my personality. Hockey also is a team sport. It’s all about how well you play as a team. When I was growing up and playing hockey I didn’t get to play every single shift. But there were specific times when I was to go out, whether it was a penalty killing, so it was my role to be on the ice only during those situations. I didn’t mind because that was my role. I liked being part of a team. If you look at the great teams, there’s almost always a great coach too. I’ve always been impressed with how a great coach manages to get everybody not only to play their best, but to play as a team, not solely as an individual at the expense of the team. That’s a part of hockey I really like a lot.

Q. As a lifelong hockey fan, what is your favorite team?
A. My favorite team is the Pittsburgh Penguins. That goes back to the Mario Lemieux days. When “Super Mario” was playing I was just absolutely infatuated with what he could do on the ice. I was even more impressed that he could accomplish it coming back from Hodgkin’s disease and overcoming debilitating back problems. To still be in the top 10 in scoring during all of that is just incredible. Now that Sydney Crosby has come to Pittsburgh, and he lived in Mario’s basement for a year, I’m still very partial to Pittsburgh. I’m going to be a St. Louis Blues fan, but I think at the end of the day if Pittsburgh comes to town I may have to change my colors for the day.

Q. One final question, in doing our research for this interview, we noticed that one of the books you said you recent read was Keith Richards’ autobiography, which we found a little surprising. Why did you choose to read that book?
A. At my bedside right now, I have three books. I have Karl Rove’s new book, Courage & Consequences; I’ve got former President Bush’s memoirs; and I’ve got the Keith Richards’ autobiography. First of all, I’m a huge fan of the Rolling Stones, even though my favorite genre of music is country. I’ve always been a fan of the Stones, in part, because my oldest brother was a huge fan, so growing up I listened to his LPs all the time. I also find Keith Richards extremely interesting. You could look at him in one regard and say he’s done everything you could possibly do to kill yourself, but on the other hand if you look at the success of the Rolling Stones, he and Mick Jagger have co-written virtually every single song together. He has amassed a small fortune on his own. Even though when you listen to him it’s kind of hard to follow him for a variety of reasons, he’s actually pretty coherent and succinct about things that are important to him. So I’m intrigued more than anything else at what it would be like to be in Mick Jagger’s shadow, yet still be one of the most recognizable rock stars on earth. I go from Karl Rove to Keith Richards. In some ways, I think that sums me up.