The Queen of Clean at RC Show 2018

“Any innovation has to be a global innovation customized to regions and customers, the internet of things is happening anywhere. Connectivity is global, touching the lives of people all over the world.”

Ilham Kadri, president and CEO of Diversey, is known globally for her leadership in the not-for-profit sector, and as an advocate for women, literacy and the democratization of those things she believes should be basic human rights — like access to water and sanitation.

The ‘Queen of Clean’ embraces this title with the pride she extols to cleaners everywhere. As a young girl in Morocco, her grandmother would tell her there were two exits for girls; the first is a husband, the second is the grave. Then her grandmother told her to find a third exit. “My third exit was and is education…My grandmother was a cleaner and illiterate…Cleaners are invisible heroes. Those people are not just cleaning your toilet, they are saving your life.” Kadri honours cleaners and she works to instill a sense of pride in an industry that reports around a 70 per cent loss of personnel each year. Kadri credits cleaners with literally saving lives every day. She advocates for female literacy and gender diversity in the industry, which is still vastly female.

ON LEADERSHIP

Live the DNA of the company you want to create. “I like ownership mentality. I want people to drive to work and feel like they own the company.” Kadri explains that customer centricity is Diversey’s core value.

ON INNOVATION

“When you are born in the hospital we are there. In the first classroom we are there, at work we are there. Great vacation…we are there.” – Ilham Kadri on Diversey’s presence in the world.

SUSTAINABILITY, DOING MORE WITH LESS, FEWER RESOURCES, LESS WASTE

Diversey’s line of Accelerated Hydrogen Peroxide (AHP) products are fast-acting, broad spectrum cleaner disinfectants that are kind to surfaces, users and the planet. This level of sanitation makes your establishment safer for both you and your guests. AHP kills Ebola in less than a minute in one wipe, yet is eco-friendly, and safe to handle, which is key in foodservice.

THE INTERNET OF THINGS

Smart systems, remote monitoring and digitalization of operations—Kadri calls this the ‘Internet of Clean.’ From soap dispensers to dishwashing, the technology proactively notifies you before a crisis. IntelliCare is a hybrid system (auto and manual) hand soap dispenser which is monitored automatically. “Food poisoning is really a lack of hand hygiene,” Kadri says, adding that this happens not because restaurant staff are lazy, but because too often there is no soap in the dispenser.