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Strategic Leadership for Today: Navigating Complexity with a People-First Mindset
Dexter Davis talks with Christophe Beck, Chairman and CEO, about the value of inclusive teams and how it influences his leadership style.
In a world defined by constant change and complexity, Christophe Beck, Ecolab chairman and CEO, believes inclusive, diverse teams are essential to navigating challenges and driving lasting impact.
In the latest episode of IMPACTful Dialogues, Dexter Davis, senior vice president, Human Resources, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, speaks with Christophe about how inclusion, sustainability and performance are deeply connected and why winning the right way matters.
Here are some highlights from the conversation.
The written highlights of this interview have been edited for clarity and readability while preserving the original intent and meaning of the conversation.
Dexter: What I admire is that you really make an opportunity for all voices to be heard and are open to hear feedback. Why is it important that you create an environment — especially with your leadership team, with the people you talk to — where all voices are heard?
Christophe: It's a few different things. On one hand, there's a little bit of assumption that the leader, especially the CEO, has all the answers. We serve 3 million customers in 172 countries with 48,000 people — thinking about complexity. So, people expect that I would have all the answers when I don't. It’s realizing that it's okay not to have the answers, but that the team will have the answers. And if the team is coming up with the answer, there will be a much higher level of ownership than if it’s coming from a leader like me.
Dexter: We talk a lot about winning the right way. How do diverse and inclusive teams play into that?
Christophe: For me, it's not to look at DE&I, sustainability, and performance in different worlds. They're all connected. Since 1923, we’ve said that we grow fast by growing our impact and growing our team. Well, it brings performance, impact, sustainability, and DE&I together. It's a way to win. It's not about saving the planet just for the sake of it, but it’s how we do good things for the community by bringing the right teams together.
The second part is to be proud of how we’ve won. We did it as a collective team, caring about each other, growing as we evolve. When we had adversity, we faced it, we stood again. We did it the right way. At Ecolab, we only win when we drive impact and we grow our teams. And that’s at the core of who we are.
Dexter: What are some things that excite you about 2026 and beyond?
Christophe: It’s the impact that we are making as a team. We’ve said by 2030, we want to be one of the first companies that’s growing fast by protecting 2 billion people from infection and providing enough water for the drinking needs of a billion people. And to do all that in ways that are net positive on people and planet — net positive in water usage, net positive in carbon usage. And we’ve been very good on that journey.
I think it's the magic of our model, of our team, of our company. We can do great by winning the right way, and 2026 is no different. We’ve spent a lot of time planning for ’26, and I'm pretty sure that nothing is going to happen as planned, as we’ve seen in the last few years. That’s the power of an inclusive team — adjusting to what’s going to be thrown at us, whether it’s problems or opportunities, and capturing them.
Dexter: How do you manage leading a Fortune 500 global company and still balancing the demands of being a father and being a husband?
Christophe: To be perfectly honest, I think I could be such a better husband, a better dad, a better friend. Many are experiencing the same — that you care about people around you so much during your professional life, and there's the risk when you come back home that you relax and care a little bit less. This is so front and center in my mind of trying to care about my family, my friends. The time I have with them has to be quality time.
For me, the best solution has been to integrate both. The Ecolab mission of protecting people and natural resources, I talk a lot about it. So, with my family, I get a lot of input. It’s part of the solution that I try to implement in my professional life as well. It becomes this more harmonious flow in life. And it's not true every day. It's not true every year. But that's what I'm trying to accomplish: that it becomes one — one flow, one life.
Download Video TranscriptIn the latest episode of IMPACTful Dialogues, Dexter Davis, senior vice president, Human Resources, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, speaks with Christophe about how inclusion, sustainability and performance are deeply connected and why winning the right way matters.
Here are some highlights from the conversation.
The written highlights of this interview have been edited for clarity and readability while preserving the original intent and meaning of the conversation.
Dexter: What I admire is that you really make an opportunity for all voices to be heard and are open to hear feedback. Why is it important that you create an environment — especially with your leadership team, with the people you talk to — where all voices are heard?
Christophe: It's a few different things. On one hand, there's a little bit of assumption that the leader, especially the CEO, has all the answers. We serve 3 million customers in 172 countries with 48,000 people — thinking about complexity. So, people expect that I would have all the answers when I don't. It’s realizing that it's okay not to have the answers, but that the team will have the answers. And if the team is coming up with the answer, there will be a much higher level of ownership than if it’s coming from a leader like me.
Dexter: We talk a lot about winning the right way. How do diverse and inclusive teams play into that?
Christophe: For me, it's not to look at DE&I, sustainability, and performance in different worlds. They're all connected. Since 1923, we’ve said that we grow fast by growing our impact and growing our team. Well, it brings performance, impact, sustainability, and DE&I together. It's a way to win. It's not about saving the planet just for the sake of it, but it’s how we do good things for the community by bringing the right teams together.
The second part is to be proud of how we’ve won. We did it as a collective team, caring about each other, growing as we evolve. When we had adversity, we faced it, we stood again. We did it the right way. At Ecolab, we only win when we drive impact and we grow our teams. And that’s at the core of who we are.
Dexter: What are some things that excite you about 2026 and beyond?
Christophe: It’s the impact that we are making as a team. We’ve said by 2030, we want to be one of the first companies that’s growing fast by protecting 2 billion people from infection and providing enough water for the drinking needs of a billion people. And to do all that in ways that are net positive on people and planet — net positive in water usage, net positive in carbon usage. And we’ve been very good on that journey.
I think it's the magic of our model, of our team, of our company. We can do great by winning the right way, and 2026 is no different. We’ve spent a lot of time planning for ’26, and I'm pretty sure that nothing is going to happen as planned, as we’ve seen in the last few years. That’s the power of an inclusive team — adjusting to what’s going to be thrown at us, whether it’s problems or opportunities, and capturing them.
Dexter: How do you manage leading a Fortune 500 global company and still balancing the demands of being a father and being a husband?
Christophe: To be perfectly honest, I think I could be such a better husband, a better dad, a better friend. Many are experiencing the same — that you care about people around you so much during your professional life, and there's the risk when you come back home that you relax and care a little bit less. This is so front and center in my mind of trying to care about my family, my friends. The time I have with them has to be quality time.
For me, the best solution has been to integrate both. The Ecolab mission of protecting people and natural resources, I talk a lot about it. So, with my family, I get a lot of input. It’s part of the solution that I try to implement in my professional life as well. It becomes this more harmonious flow in life. And it's not true every day. It's not true every year. But that's what I'm trying to accomplish: that it becomes one — one flow, one life.
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