As Group Director of Marketing and Sustainability at Stahl, a global leader in coatings for flexible materials, Laura isn’t trying to save the planet with slogans. She’s trying to shift one of the most complex industrial ecosystems on earth — from the inside, and with both feet on the ground.

“Unless the customer can open up a new market or sell and expand their business, there’s no way,” she explains.

“It has to match the financial models we’re used to. And that is growth. That is margin.”

In a sector where performance isn’t optional and price is still king, Laura is proving that embedding ESG doesn’t have to mean abandoning commercial sense. In fact, it may require doubling down on it.

From Forest Hikes to Factory Floors

Laura’s leadership isn’t rooted in management theory. It’s shaped by childhood hikes in the Dutch forests, dinosaur-themed booklets sold for WWF donations, and a pragmatic curiosity about how the world works. That early pull — to both storytelling and environmental protection — never really left her.

It’s what later drew her into marketing roles in the chemical industry, an unusual path for someone with a deep connection to nature. But it wasn’t a contradiction. “You need chemistry to make everything — the car, the phone, the infrastructure. The question isn’t whether the industry is flawed. It’s how we use its strengths for the transition we need.”

This isn’t naivety. It’s realism, sharpened by years of procurement and commercial experience. And it’s exactly this worldview — simultaneously systems-aware and market-savvy — that defines her approach at Stahl.

Can Brand and ESG Coexist?

Sustainability often gets siloed, shoved into compliance or PR. At Stahl, Laura’s dual role as head of both marketing and sustainability raises eyebrows. But she sees it differently.

“The brand is an expression of our strategy. And ESG is central to that strategy,” she says.

“It means I can avoid greenwashing — because I understand the business, the factory, the customer.”

This is ESG as substance, not surface. Under Laura’s watch, the sustainability message isn’t painted on — it’s pressure-tested against margin, materials, and market dynamics.

Transparency Is Not a Tool. It’s a Culture.

Responding to a Financial Times article on AI and supply chains, Laura is clear: data alone won’t save us.

“We have a data overload. Tooling isn’t enough. We need value chain collaboration and we need to educate the consumer.”

The bottleneck isn’t technical — it’s human. It’s our inability to align incentives, share data meaningfully, and build trust between players who, until recently, competed on opacity.

The most compelling example? The fashion industry’s Zero Discharge initiative — a rare show of consensus that allowed sustainability standards to become visible and functional. Laura wants more of that: one outcome, one standard, one clear signal to the consumer.

Is It Really Possible to Lead Responsibly?

It depends what we mean by “responsibly”. If we mean sacrificing growth for virtue, then no — at least not yet. But if responsibility means balancing commercial outcomes with environmental and social integrity, and doing so transparently, then yes.

“You need belief,” Laura says.

“And a few brave companies to step back and ask: where do I want to be in ten years’ time?”

It’s a leadership model that doesn’t demand sainthood — just a strategic patience, a willingness to collaborate, and a refusal to let perfection kill progress.

In a world shouting for silver bullets, Laura Willemsen is offering something rarer: a blueprint for change that’s incremental, integrated, and real.

There’s an uncomfortable truth lurking in the conversation around ethics, governance, and corporate responsibility: most leaders only think about accountability when they’re forced to. By then, it’s usually too late.

For Andy Norris, that’s the crux of the issue. Accountability, he argues, doesn’t start with frameworks, board charters, or glossy ESG reports. It starts with people. And more often than not, it starts with childhood.

“The lessons we absorb about fairness, right and wrong, and responsibility — they shape every decision we make, whether we’re conscious of it or not,” says Andy.

It’s an insight born not from textbooks, but from a career that’s spanned the operational trenches to the boardroom. Andy has worked with multinationals, advised on governance across sectors, and seen firsthand how flimsy accountability mechanisms can be if the foundations aren’t there.

🚧 The Flaw in Modern Governance

In today’s corporate landscape, governance often feels like a checklist. Diversity targets? Ticked. ESG policy? Published. Whistleblower hotline? Installed.

But as Andy points out, “You can have all the policies in place, but if people don’t truly feel responsible for their actions — if accountability isn’t part of the culture — those mechanisms collapse under pressure.”

It’s not about removing structures, but understanding their limits. Real change starts earlier, deeper.

🛠 Building a Culture of Pre-Boardroom Accountability

So how do organisations embed this ethos? Andy suggests three starting points:

✅ Values before policies: Hire for integrity, not just technical skills.
✅ Reward the uncomfortable: Celebrate those who raise concerns, even when it’s awkward.
✅ Model it at every level: Leaders set the tone — not with slogans, but with actions.

It sounds simple. It isn’t. It requires what Andy calls “the courage to care,” a willingness to have the difficult conversations long before crisis hits.

⚡ The Business Case for Ethical Foundations

Beyond the moral imperative, Andy is clear: ethical leadership isn’t just about ‘doing the right thing’ — it’s commercial common sense. Organisations built on genuine accountability attract better talent, weather reputational storms, and create long-term value.

“The companies that succeed,” Andy explains, “are the ones where responsibility isn’t an add-on — it’s part of the DNA.”

FINAL THOUGHT

In a world obsessed with quick fixes and external validation, Andy Norris offers a refreshing — and necessary — reminder. Responsibility doesn’t start in the boardroom. It starts long before.

The real challenge? Having the humility, at every level, to accept that.