UL Solutions’ Jennifer Scanlon Leverages Technologies to Increase Business

Jennifer F. Scanlon’s deep knowing of technological know-how has been critical to her accomplishment as CEO of two historic businesses. Immediately after commencing her career at IBM, she served as CIO, head of Company Approach and CEO of revolutionary building items maker USG Corp. Now, as President and CEO of UL Answers, Scanlon qualified prospects 15,000 workforce in pursuit of the firm’s mission of performing for a safer entire world and carries on to expand its approaches and capabilities to make certain that it stays on the slicing edge of innovation.

Her ideal guidance to CIOs: “Do not be worried of rough jobs – just take them due to the fact you will master from them.”

Q: How does your qualifications tell your leadership nowadays at UL Options?

Scanlon: The phrase “all organizations are now tech companies” speaks to the significance of the good utilization of technological innovation in get to remain competitive.

I regard my technological know-how history as significant to my profession, but so is my organization improvement encounter in driving progress, as properly as my interest to boosting an inclusive and empowering organization tradition. That is what’s so great about UL Solutions—we’re committed to our mission of doing the job for a safer environment. I think that leaders are prosperous when we help our staff to reach their full possible simply because they are enthusiastic and encouraged by the importance of their function.

Q: When did you imagine about turning into a CEO? Was it constantly your purpose?

Scanlon: I was 21 when I joined IBM, and I was determined as another person with substantial potential. They designed further studying alternatives for me, and they paired me with senior executives. At the time, IBM had 400,000 staff. They probably instructed at the very least 20,000 people precisely what they instructed me, which was I was anyone worthy of investing in for coaching and growth.

Still, that was essential for me to hear, mainly because it sparked an ambition in me. I made the decision I really should seize the opportunity and study as much as I could.

Q: What’s the ideal tips you’ve got at any time received or given?

Scanlon: Here is my assistance: consider the employment no just one else needs. It may possibly audio odd at first, but it can be a critical answer. Every one of us is capable to do a quantity of jobs. We are typically more competent than we might give ourselves credit score for. There are tricky jobs at every single corporation, UL Alternatives involved. I urge you, if you have the skills and satisfy the prerequisites, never be afraid of hard jobs—take them because you will find out from them.

Just take the work opportunities no one particular else wishes. That way you will generally be discovering and prepared for what is next.

Q: How has your technological know-how history contributed to your vocation in getting to be a CEO?

Scanlon: My technology history has always been significant but there have been essential abilities I have added together the way that deepened my leadership and ready me for bigger troubles.

I commenced my occupation at IBM, a corporation renowned for its technological know-how and learning tradition. When I joined USG, I figured out the great importance of creating alignment as I executed an ERP procedure for the firm’s North American operations. When I was CIO, I took on the included responsibility for company system for no extra pay back. It was a demanding job, a genuinely expansive studying option. Right now, I regard technique as a person of my strengths. My operational roles served me to create my capability to travel progress, the lifeblood of a firm’s results. Tech knowledge and understanding are essential in any leadership purpose nowadays, but driving small business development and constructing an inclusive and welcoming society is also critical.

Q: Can you tell us about your system to remodel the company, enabling its 80,000 customers to entry the full portfolio of UL Solutions’ solutions and products and services?

Scanlon: UL has been in small business for 129 many years due to the fact we have been ready to adapt.

Our ambition summarizes our method to serve as our customers’ most dependable, science-primarily based safety protection and sustainability companion. We check, inspect, and certify merchandise to preserve you safe and sound from electromagnetic connectivity to micromobility of e-bikes and e-scooters and new matters all around environmental sustainability and governance.

We’re centered on cybersecurity, battery safety and human aspect security, as nicely as those improvements that lead to autonomous electrical vehicles.

The emphasis of our transformation was to reorganize all around our buyers, putting them in the center, and producing less difficult obtain to what ever security science knowledge they need to have. We have the privilege of doing work carefully with them to carry their improvements to sector safely and proficiently. We keep on to satisfy our mission of performing for a safer world.

Q: How is UL Answers getting ready for the up coming generation of technologies? Electrification? 5G? New Mobility?

Scanlon: Our partnership with our shoppers is a massive purpose for our early engagement in coming tendencies and opportunities. We have the skill to pivot quickly to satisfy emerging consumer desires. In 2020, for case in point, we out of the blue needed to function with our prospects and other companions to produce a certification tactic for UV-C radiation machines (which could kill the COVID virus). Inside of six months, we experienced the suggests to certify and assistance ensure the protected procedure of the two remote and stationary UV-C devices. By partnering with our clients, who are bringing their innovations to current market, we remain on the slicing edge of developing the testing and certification methods that help make innovations secure.

Q: You are an advocate for STEM education and escalating range in science, technology, engineering and math. Why are various views crucial?

Scanlon: Range of opinion and viewpoint enlarges our thinking and improves decisions. I communicate routinely on the value of larger participation of females and men and women of shade in technological know-how because I consider you simply cannot be a major corporation if you leave out any group and their imagining and lifestyle encounters.

We have to tackle the absence of variety on two fronts—encouraging youthful ladies to see the wealthy opportunities in STEM and encouraging to produce knowledge as a result of the numerous organizations that assistance ladies and people today of shade.