44 - Philippe Erhart - leadership in a crisis and how sustainability and diversity connect
Philippe Erhart, President of North America for Beauty and Home at Aptar, discusses his leadership during the pandemic, emphasizing empathy, transparency, and the decision to avoid layoffs while prioritizing employee safety. He details Aptar's focused strategy in dispensing technologies across beauty, food, and pharma, and highlights the company's aggressive shift toward sustainability, specifically converting from virgin plastics to post-consumer resin (PCR). Erhart also connects the industry's sustainability challenges to broader social issues, arguing that diversity, inclusion, and civil discourse are essential for business resilience and societal progress.