Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Dominic O'Connell, Quentin Willson, Patrick Barclay
21 highlights · 11 concepts · 21 entities · 3 cornerstones · 4 signatures
INEOS: A relentlessly expanding industrial group that went from zero to a $65B petrochemicals, energy, and automotive powerhouse in just 25 years, powered by its unique culture of grit, rigour, and humour.
INEOS: A relentlessly expanding industrial group that went from zero to a $65B petrochemicals, energy, and automotive powerhouse in just 25 years, powered by its unique culture of grit, rigour, and humour.
“Even from where I sit today I cannot guarantee the success of Oil & Gas and Auto. Only time will tell. But I guarantee that we will apply our abiding principles of Grit, Rigour, Humour to these two potentially enormous businesses for INEOS.”
“Oil & Gas is facing huge challenges as it is battered by the ‘wannabe greenies’, who haven’t yet figured out that we cannot exist for many decades to come without fossil fuels. Yes, the world will eventually master and then build sufficient green energy generation and storage to meet the demands of 10 billion humans, but certainly not in the near future. So, just as bulk commodity chemicals were as popular as a…”
“China and the Middle East are regions where our ambitions have grown. Whereas Europe, and particularly the UK, are squeezing the life blood out of manufacturing, with overburdened legislation and excessive energy costs, stemming from poor energy policies, China has blossomed. In its pursuit of self-sufficiency, it has built an immense industrial infrastructure of the highest quality. To illustrate, if you take ABS plastic, which is useful for car dashboards and refrigerators, amongst myriad other uses, China was barely a player in 1990, with a trivial market…”
“INEOS starts and ends with safety. Every employee knows this. We unashamedly have bonus metrics based on safety.”
Jim Ratcliffe, on INEOS boardroom priorities and safety culture.
“At the basic, fundamental end of the risk spectrum it starts with ‘Don’t do dumb shit’.”
Jim Ratcliffe, on the INEOS risk and decision filter.
“Grit, Rigour, Humour. It applies equally to our sports ventures. Business doesn’t always go swimmingly. It can be challenging, unpleasant, even dirty. We can’t have people shy away from facing up to the tough times. Grit is an essential quality.”
Jim Ratcliffe, on the company’s operating mantra.
“We have a thirst for challenges that will not go away. Our many CEOs and management teams will make sure of that. But we will never forget that our core business, which drives and funds INEOS, is petrochemicals, unloved in some quarters, maybe, but essential to life as we now know it.”
Jim Ratcliffe, on the company's attitude toward challenge and core business.
Withdrew from Italy after recognizing persistent lack of competitiveness—a lesson in choosing sector battles and markets carefully.
“Even from where I sit today I cannot guarantee the success of Oil & Gas and Auto. Only time will tell. But I guarantee that we will apply our abiding principles of Grit, Rigour, Humour to these two potentially enormous businesses for INEOS.”
“All board meetings in INEOS commence with safety. Note: In INEOS safety comes before finance and profit. Every single recordable injury is described by the relevant management team to Andy and me in our monthly board meetings. Cause, consequence, learnings and actions are presented and collectively agreed. INEOS starts and ends with safety. Every employee knows this. We unashamedly have bonus metrics based on safety. It requires constant attention, or it slips quickly. This means developing a corporate attitude and commitment to safety from all employees.”
“Remember, nuclear energy is not only green, it emits no carbon emissions, it also has virtually no variable costs and hence once built is extremely competitive. The major growth spurts in the world economy in the last two centuries can be clearly correlated with step changes in energy cost. Europe today finds itself unable to be competitive in steel, cement, plastics and ammonia (fertilizer) – the bedrock of a strong economy. The USA is the reverse.”
“Today I feel we have made good progress in all the areas above. Sport has settled, and we can see good progress in the America’s Cup and Football. Cycling and Formula One are both run by the world’s best pros, and we don’t presume to be able to offer a great deal of advice – well, maybe just occasionally when Toto or Dave get their tyre choices muddled (). Oil & Gas has seen the arrival of two very senior pros from BP and has been transformed. Belstaff will show its first profit for a decade or more, and it recorded its highest ever sales level in 2022. And Auto have finally sold a car! I have fallen in love with the Grenadier, which always brings a smile to my face when I open the garage door and the unused G-Wagen keys gather dust on the garage hook.”
“We have a thirst for challenges that will not go away. Our many CEOs and management teams will make sure of that. But we will never forget that our core business, which drives and funds INEOS, is petrochemicals, unloved in some quarters, maybe, but essential to life as we now know it. And that our core values of Grit, Rigour and Humour will ensure, I hope, that we will always do things well and professionally.”
“Oil & Gas is facing huge challenges as it is battered by the ‘wannabe greenies’, who haven’t yet figured out that we cannot exist for many decades to come without fossil fuels. Yes, the world will eventually master and then build sufficient green energy generation and storage to meet the demands of 10 billion humans, but certainly not in the near future. So, just as bulk commodity chemicals were as popular as a…”
“China and the Middle East are regions where our ambitions have grown. Whereas Europe, and particularly the UK, are squeezing the life blood out of manufacturing, with overburdened legislation and excessive energy costs, stemming from poor energy policies, China has blossomed. In its pursuit of self-sufficiency, it has built an immense industrial infrastructure of the highest quality. To illustrate, if you take ABS plastic, which is useful for car dashboards and refrigerators, amongst myriad other uses, China was barely a player in 1990, with a trivial market…”
“Grit, Rigour, Humour. It applies equally to our sports ventures. Business doesn’t always go swimmingly. It can be challenging, unpleasant, even dirty. We can’t have people shy away from facing up to the tough times. Grit is an essential quality. Rigour is the opposite of winging it. Lack of rigour doesn’t cut it in INEOS. Do your job fully, and well, and with pride. Prepare thoroughly and if you don’t know the answer to a question say so, but never twice. In my humble opinion the Americans do rigour better than anyone because they exist in such a competitive marketplace. The UK is slipping. And humour simply makes the world go around. Life is short and to be enjoyed. Personally, I struggle if life is too dry. You need to enjoy some banter, and don’t get too hung up on the woke agenda.”
“The rather hardboiled expression ‘Don’t do dumb shit’ features in the INEOS Compass, which evolved some years back as an attempt to encapsulate the INEOS DNA or culture. It is an amalgam of expressive words and phrases, good and bad, that we like and that we don’t like.”
“When it comes to it, success in business is all down to people. Thanks to all the INEOS team over the past twenty-five years.”
“So it was, with Grant’s ringing endorsement in our ears, that there was a frisson of excitement the following morning as we boarded our private charter heli to the Kimberleys, home of the fabled barramundi, one of the world’s finest sporting fish and target of our aspirations. The Kimberleys are a long way from anywhere. That’s what remote means. It was too far for a single hop in the heli, and so we get to the nub of our story. We had to put down at an especially remote (!) refuelling station, midway, situated in endless Australian bush country.”
“Why has INEOS been so successful in such a short period of time in an industry that has been around for over a century? We have grown from nothing in 1998 to revenues of $65 billion and EBITDA peaking at $10 billion in a mere twenty-five years. Not only that, but I would guess we will grow by another 50–100 per cent in the next five years, given what I can see in the pipeline.”
“at the basic, fundamental end of the risk spectrum it starts with ‘Don’t do dumb shit’.”
“‘Manners maketh man’. Now I must confess that again this phrase rankled with the head of HR because of its masculinity. However, please read it as gender-fluid. Which frankly it is.”
“We wrote the book The Alchemists five years ago. At that time Sports, Oil & Gas, Fashion and Auto were all nascent. I would add China and the Middle East to this list of new journeys.”
“All that said, every cloud has a silver lining. Banks are reluctant to lend into this fossil fuel energy field, the majors have cut back on exploration and the general appetite to step into this essential energy source is considerably diminished. So rather like our lift analogy in chemicals…”
“Automotive is another huge industry in flux. And again, related to the energy transition, but also for reasons not entirely clear to me, increasingly regulated down to minutiae. A regulator’s paradise. Pages of interminable detail on the dimension of the A-pillar and on the location of the spare wheel on the back. Surely the customer can choose. But regardless, we have broken through with our first product. And it does have a lovely compliant A-pillar and spare wheel, but seriously I believe it serves a unique function in the automotive world which today is unusual. There are countless SUVs to choose from, but there isn’t really a car that performs peerlessly off road whilst being a joy to drive on road. It’s rugged, unbreakable, comfortable and to me looks cool, although granted that is in…”
“We plan to increase the product range with the introduction of an electric version of the Grenadier in 2026. Slightly smaller, range of 400km and still capable of ascending the Schöckl. In addition, we have…”
“They are hardworking, highly educated, serious about their business and…”
“Early on we were predominantly European, with two thirds of our profits coming from this large, sophisticated market. Germany, Belgium, Norway and France led the way. We struggled with competitiveness in Italy and withdrew. The UK has been a disappointment. Skills are not what they were, energy is expensive, unions have been aggressive (unlike Germany, where the unions focus on encouraging employers to invest for future growth), although to be fair they have been much more constructive and willing to engage in proper discussions about the genuine health of our businesses over the last ten years, and the government has been uninterested or lacklustre at best. America has been resurgent on the back of world-beating energy costs and frankly fine management. Whereas Europe has slowly squeezed the life from much of its manufacturing base with carbon taxes, complex legislation, high labour and social costs, America has gone into overdrive.”
“Whereas we have seen the carbon tax ‘stick’ in Europe, which has emphatically failed to work, we now have a ‘carrot’ in the USA called the Inflation Reduction Act. Almost half a trillion dollars of government grants and assistance are now in place to attract the world’s best green energies and technology to the USA. If you wish to invest in hydrogen, carbon capture, solar or wind, head west, young man.”