Having worked at DuPont for almost 20 years in a variety of roles, its current global business leader for advanced imaging technologies Lucy Chen moved up the ranks with perseverance and breaking the bias of the industry.
Chen held roles in business management, sales, marketing, and product management across multiple industries like consumer electronics, packaging and printing, display, LED, and various industrial applications.
She started working at DuPont’s printing business in 2016, for both Artistri Digital Inks and Cyrel Flexo plates, which was a new industry that she had no experience in previously.
With DuPont’s guidance and opportunities, she quickly advanced in the field.
“DuPont offered me many opportunities, so I was able to step into printing quickly and smoothly, and soon found it interesting and fun. I lead three very different lines of businesses – Artistri Digital Printing Inks, Display Materials and Duroptix LED Silicone. They are totally different businesses in different markets, value chains and customers,” Chen said.
“I feel fortunate working for DuPont’s Artistri Digital Inks business, which is one of the global suppliers with the broadest offering covering home and office, commercial and packaging and textile, from which I witness the fast growth of digital printing technology.
“It is my first time leading a global business team. The opportunities and challenges are very different across my business lines, but the experiences in leadership, management process, building team, and culture cultivation are well shared.
“I have gained and continue to gain tremendous value and experiences in this role.”
Striving to make her career a content one, as a leader, she believes strongly in supporting a happy team and has made it part of her agenda to make her workplace as inclusive as it can be.
To achieve that, she understands her team members’ needs, supports them to remove hurdles in their path and provides them with resources to help them reach business goal together, enabling them to grow in their desired career paths.
“My belief is that life is short. We use over 30 years of our lives working so to make our careers fruitful, we need to ensure that people are happy, and things are right. Only then will business goals be achieved,” she said.
“And for me, leadership is a two-way street – I have a great team of staff including experts and passionate young colleagues, from which I myself often gain insightful wisdom and aggressive spirit.”
Chen has also made her mark by actively engaging with her colleagues in open discussions and debates that have resulted in smarter decision-making.
“The external world is dynamic, so businesses need to continually keep making the necessary changes to their business models to keep ahead of the curve,” she said.
“In recent years, I have worked closely with my team to keep upgrading our Inks business strategy to prioritise our focus. We engage in a thorough internal and external assessment and adjust our resource plans accordingly so that we can provide differentiated offerings to targeted customers.
“There will always be tough decisions to make, especially in areas that we choose to deprioritise. But as women, we should not shy away from making those decisions.
“I rarely see the difference in capabilities between males and females in the printing industry, or in most other industries. Women need to break the bias, lean in and step ahead to demonstrate our value.”
Even though Chen finds that the print and visual communications industry is still male dominated, she said many businesses such as DuPont have made efforts to groom women into leadership roles.
“At DuPont, we have lots of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DE&I) opportunities, of which one of the key elements is supporting women’s career growth,” she mentioned.
“DuPont aims to increase its representation of women in leadership roles to more closely reflect the communities in which we live, work, and serve. It takes more deliberate steps to identify and develop women in senior level roles.
“Every leader is required to show their commitment by getting involved and making DE&I an on-going task. As a senior female leader, I actively participate in the DuPont Women Network (DWN) event to share my career experiences and mentor young women.
“I strongly believe in mentorship for the future of our industry. I had several mentors in my career, some of whom have become good friends of mine. A good mentor not only inspires mentees, but also helps them realise their full potential, picks up their ‘blind spots’ if any, and provides critical advice.”
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