New Lenzing CEO Rohit Aggarwal is Leading the Textile & Nonwoven Industry
through the Headwinds of Change.
With several decades of experience in various industries, including textiles and chemicals, Rohit Aggarwal, as of September 1, 2024, brings his extensive capabilities to Lenzing as its new CEO. He is an influential leader with an eye for detail and a genuine and sincere ability to connect with people at every level. He aims to move the needle on sustainability across the textile supply chain.
Aggarwal is also a well-respected and accomplished strategic business economist and global leader. During his 33-year career, he held global management positions worldwide, gaining a sound understanding of the strategic development of international markets and the establishment of efficient management teams. Thanks to his experience in the global textile and fiber market, he is well-versed in Lenzing’s core business in all facets, content, and geography.
Upon his announcement, the Supervisory Board at Lenzing Group commented, “With Rohit Aggarwal, we have gained an international leader with profound knowledge of the textile markets, from raw materials to the processing of environmentally friendly fibers. On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, we are pleased that we have successfully appointed Rohit Aggarwal Chief Executive Officer of the Lenzing Group.”
International Fiber Journal sat down with Mr. Aggarwal at the recent IDEA®25 Show, held in Miami, Florida, by INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. While the show focus was on the nonwoven industry and sustainability, we covered various aspects of the supply chain with the leader, including his impressions of the company, the need for innovation and partnerships to drive material replacement and sustainable product development, and his hopes for industry collaboration, standardization, and consumer awareness to achieve sustainable practices.
International Fiber Journal: You have been in your role for nine months now. What about Lenzing has impressed you thus far?
Rohit Aggarwal: Having watched Lenzing grow for many years, I admired its core focus and strategy and what it stood for – not just in efforts to drive sustainability forward but also in efforts to help the industry improve as a leader.
It was an honor to be named CEO. It is an interesting discovery when one goes from being an outside observer to being inside the business. My perceptions were reaffirmed during the transition, while others were further amplified. I am struck by the depth of legacy and feeling of responsibility at the core of Lenzing’s DNA. It has been amazing to witness first-hand the quality and passion of the people, which has motivated me as well.
I see a tremendous opportunity to continue building on our legacy and repositioning and refining it further. For example, in the last few days at IDEA®25, I have spoken to many people, and what struck me was that, especially on the nonwoven side, there’s so much work to be done. So much transformation is needed to develop more sustainable replacement materials, and it will only be driven by innovation and partnerships throughout the supply chain. No company can achieve it by itself.
Therefore, my message to everyone in the last couple of days, if you feel excited about it, let’s work on it in partnership. Lenzing is in a perfect position to support these efforts for two reasons. One, we understand sustainability. We have the credentials and continue to build, invest, and provide resources. Second, we very much focus on innovation. How do we create the materials? How can we find performance in various application areas? There is a tremendous opportunity ahead, and we are really excited about it.
IFJ: You often mentioned the current market as facing ‘headwinds.’ What headwinds have you identified that Lenzing is currently tackling?
Aggarwal: The environment of the last four or five years has been challenging for everyone. We experienced ‘black swan’ events, which you can’t predict, whether the pandemic or the hyperinflation and supply chain challenges thereafter. We are seeing an evolving geopolitical situation that creates challenges, not just in terms of the whole tariff discussion, but also what is occurring in Europe – particularly the energy crisis, which has driven up costs massively.
Lenzing is well-positioned with a geographically diversified footprint that gives us resilience and strength. On the other hand, we also get exposed quickly, especially where the textiles business is linked to China, which we are working to address.
That is where my job comes in. I reinforced to our team that we can control the controllable. Let’s keep our focus on making the company agile and resilient so that we can act on any changes that occur. We could not control circumstances prior to this time, but we are in a better position now. We are investing more intentionally in our assets to create a much more resilient supply chain for our customers.
We are focused on areas, such as nonwovens, where I spend much of my time. So that’s an important part. We are investing in alternate energy sources for the European side. So, yes, there are headwinds; we are committed to finding pathways to remain resilient and relevant to our partners.
IFJ: You have broad experience in global textile nonwoven and fiber markets. Share about your background and how it can help Lenzing move forward to meet its goals.
Aggarwal: For 33 years now in my career, I’ve had the privilege to work in various industry sectors, primarily in textiles and nonwovens for the last 15 years, and the chemical industry. My work assignments have taken me to work and live in Asia, Europe, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Indonesia. Prior to this assignment, I worked in the U.S. environment. This diversity of work has allowed me to gain a million degrees of experience through the good, bad, and ugly changes in the macro environment – having seen businesses go through challenges and transform.
My experience today is the assimilation of all the learnings that I’ve had, which has allowed me to bring that to bear in how I can support Lenzing’s endeavors and future. Yes, I understand the markets, the business, and our customers, but I can bring accumulated understanding on how to take Lenzing into this next level of transformation. And that’s what I’m excited about.
Lenzing is a great company, and we have a tremendous opportunity ahead of us. My question is: How can we unlock these opportunities with the extraordinary talent in the company, and how can I partner and work with our team to continue to stay on pace?
IFJ: Can you think of a past circumstance that was a critical learning moment for you as a leader?
Aggarwal: You know the biggest lessons happen during the most challenging environments. When things are steady and going well, you take for granted that they will stay like this forever. My first shock was the 2009 financial crisis. I was leading a business we had just acquired, and my job was to change and transform that company.
When the financial crisis hit, we were in denial for too long that this would quickly tide over. Therefore, we didn’t do anything to protect the business. In hindsight, we lost cash equity, let employees down, and let our customers down. Therefore, I felt more prepared and proactive in managing every crisis thereafter. With current headwinds, it is more instinctive now to assemble and brainstorm together. Recently, at Lenzing, we established a war room to help us understand and advocate through all these changes and how the supply chains are currently configured. We want to learn how to support our partners and customers better. So yes, those hard learning moments resulted in many sleepless nights.
IFJ: Why were you selected to spearhead one of the industry’s largest legacy companies?
Aggarwal: Maybe with Lenzing’s legacy and rich history, as well as its strong portfolio of capabilities, sometimes companies like this may need some rewiring and rethinking.
Why? Because the world around Lenzing is changing. What we did 10 years ago, we probably cannot do for the next 10 years. So, how are we going to change to fit the changing environment? That is really the question. We see that the competition has scaled to a different level.
We see that life cycles are changing. Innovation needs are different. Partnerships are going to be evolving. There is much to consider about what our strategic positioning could look like in the next few years.
Today, I call Lenzing an Austrian company with a global footprint. We are trying to make it more of a global company with an Austrian partner.
IFJ: What is your bird’s-eye perspective on tariffs, and how is Lenzing planning to manage the situation?
Aggarwal: Tariffs themselves are not a problem. We have had them on and off over the years, and businesses adjust to managing those situations. This time, it’s different. The quantity of the tariffs is what is difficult, particularly in several of the supply chains, which is creating a bigger challenge for them to understand and readjust.
The greater challenge that I see is that in the industry that we participate, the overall margins are end-to-end in the supply chains, and parts of the chain cannot offset or absorb the level of tariffs that are being put on them. Therefore, the U.S. is an important market for our business, for our industry, for our supply chains. They will have a profound impact which can happen in a couple of ways.
On the positive side, it is allowing us in the boardroom to discuss how we will allocate capital going forward, and that could allow for some activity by way of capital moving back into the U.S. I think for us, this is a good thing to shorten the supply chains, make them more resilient, make them better, but it will take time for the capital to come. That could be painful, which is what we are concerned about. Discussions over the last two days are centered around minimizing that possibility.
If the industry cannot absorb it, it will be passed to the consumer level. That’s where the concern lies. What would that do to consumer demand? Where will the discretionary spending change, and which categories will the consumer support continue?
The larger question, which brings about my darkest moments in leadership right now, would be whether that dips the balance, where demand goes down significantly, which could lead to a much bigger challenge globally, even leading to recessionary conditions.
From a Lenzing perspective, I currently have more calls from our partners and customers than I would have in the last two years. Everybody wants to make sure that we are well aligned. So, reliability and certainty are at a premium right now. We are confident that because of our asset base, we can serve our customers much better than most, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re working to provide assurance that we are there for them, and we will mitigate problems as best as we can, but it’s a real challenge that the world has not faced in a while.
IFJ: Let’s shift the focus to the Lenzing 2024 Sustainability Report. You’ve mentioned before that the global textile and nonwoven industry must successfully transition to more sustainable production. What is your view on sustainability and circularity, and what is needed to attain sustainable production?
Aggarwal: There are two aspects to it. One is the technology, so obviously, it is not the issue of availability or know-how.
The short term is about balancing the industries’ need to stay on course for stability and ensuring that the economics allow you to fund change for sustainability.
We are committed to continuing to bring more sustainable fibers to market. We are investing in newer technologies for next-generation fiber technologies. For example, we announced a stake in a company called TreeToTextile recently. It is focused on developing sustainable fashion and has developed innovative processes for using recycled and sustainable materials in textiles.
We are investing in efforts internally and also scouting technologies outside. Our value is continuing to bring the world next-generation fibers. Regenerated cellulose fibers are a way to think about anything; anything regenerated is good for sustainability.
Next comes the processes, and I think the industry has to do a lot more work on those. The value and supply chains are long, fragmented, and complex, and therefore, there needs to be more standardization and awareness.
However, the pressure points must come through regulation or consumer awareness. We are currently assessing how we can achieve consumer awareness, whether through B to B or B to C channels. We’re moving more and more from B to B into B to C messaging because it will have a resounding effect if it’s the right message in the store.
I remain very optimistic. A few years back, there was much talk but little action. Now, I see a lot more action and much more awareness. I speak to brands and retailers; I feel more commitment there.
Are we there yet? No. But the pathway is visible, and it is a one-way street. The question is, how fast you can get there? It’s a challenge. We have to allow for change in each segment of the fiber supply chain, creating a significant problem for the textile industry. Encouraging consumers to buy more expensive clothes or goods due to sustainability is proving difficult.
I keep reminding the brands to go back a few years when they were only making synthetic or non-synthetic pure fiber products, which allowed for recycling opportunities. When you mix fibers, you create more complexity. There’s also much to be done in terms of education.
IFJ: There are many problems with fashion textile waste. What are your thoughts?
Aggarwal: We’re committed to repurposing fibers. We have a technology called Refibra™ which enables us to process post-consumer and pre-consumer cotton waste, like fabric scraps from garment production, into pulp and blend it with virgin wood pulp from sustainably managed forests. We face a significant burden because of the lack of availability of source material. It starts with collection and sorting.
If the collection is mishandled, we can’t scale recycled fiber solutions. All of these things in the ecosystem must come together.
I am very encouraged to live in Austria. Today, I see that 100% of the paper we use to package sweets is recycled. I have no issues with having more because it will return to circular usage. So they are doing a lot of running. What Europe is considering, where retail companies would be responsible for collection, could change many things. So let’s see.
IFJ: ESG, or Environmental, Social, and Governance, is part of your company story. You share that ‘industry collaboration with binding commitments and concrete actions must be achieved to make a difference industry-wide.’ Were you talking about ESG here?
Aggarwal: Some of our partners are requesting data from us for site level, fiber level, and carbon footprint data. They are engaging in their drive towards doing business; therefore, the collaborative approach is the only way to achieve it. The first trigger will always be what I call a ‘spearhead.’ There will be a few companies that will ensure there is a way that the business model can absorb it to attain more sustainable outcomes. If that happens and people see the company as successful, it brings everyone else into the fold.
IFJ: The nonwoven industry is a serious waste and microplastic pollution offender. The hindering factors are the cost of production and materials and the cost passed to consumers. So, how does the industry overcome it? Greener solutions have a long way to go.
Aggarwal: When you have spent years building a brand, and your consumers are used to your products, you’ve provided some value proposition that the consumer has now accepted. Disruption of this creates elements of risk. These are not small brands. These are multi-billion-dollar brands with an aversion to risk change. It is a massive strategic problem with many unknowns.
Are there other materials that can deliver the same performance in terms of innovation? Can those materials be supplied at similar costs to maintain price points? If not, will the consumer accept the materials and price differences? The answers to all that now are yes, but they require strong collaboration. My message in the last few years is that knowledge sits with us as fiber producers. There’s knowledge sitting with the converters. There’s knowledge sitting with the brands and the retailers on consumer behavior and purchasing decisions. And all that needs to be brought to the table in one place to get that knowledge into fast-tracking distribution.
So, industry collaboration, working through partnerships, sharing knowledge, and not holding knowledge back will allow the transformation to come faster. Otherwise, this could be a very long process.
It’s possible to fast-track. People are talking more and more the same language. At this show, 15 of the most prominent names came together to discuss how we can collaborate and make the change. I haven’t seen that before, so there is a degree of self-motivation or pressure, or, in the case of looming regulations, there’s a drive motivating people to have this more intense conversation.
I wish to see more fast-tracking on some of this change, but again, I’m hopeful.
IFJ: It was wonderful talking to you, and I look forward to seeing what Lenzing does in the future.
Aggarwal: Thank you very much.
