Omar Asali: Driving Innovation & Sustainability in Industrial Technology

Omar Asali, Chairman and CEO of Ranpak, shares his viewpoints on the increasingly transformative role of technology in the industrial space. As head of Ranpak, a global leader in environmentally sustainable, protective packaging solutions, Mr. Asali is convinced that automation, digitization, robotics, and other enabling technologies will propel his and other large-scale industrial companies to provide higher-value, compelling, efficient and sustainable solutions for their customers.

Since 1972, Ranpak’s mission has been to deliver sustainable protective packaging solutions that reduce costs, reduce environmental impact and support global business needs. Omar Asali became CEO in 2019 and has leveraged his broad industry background into the often siloed industrial sector.  One of his primary focus areas is bringing the best talent and technology to Ranpak, bolstering its reputation as an innovative leader in sustainable industrial supply chain solutions. Prior to Ranpak, Mr. Asali was CEO and President of HRG Group and Vice Chairman of Spectrum Brands.

Discussion Points

• The five-decade history of Ranpak highlights a consistent focus on both sustainability and automation / technology deployment.
• The impact of transforming internal and external systems into an updated technological mentality can be challenging, but certainly not insurmountable, in an industrial complex, where digital is “non-native”
• Ranpak is managing change by setting realistic timeline expectations and justifying the financial impact for customers.
• Focusing on the “E” of ESG is critical for the next few decades, and imperative if we are to be true stewards of our earth, its climate and the environment.
• Accessing talent in the Ranpak orbit includes partnering with smaller tech companies, investing strategically with VCs, along with incubating and retaining organic talent.

Ayna Insights is brought to you by Ayna.AI—a managed service provider that combines domain expertise and transformation capabilities to create alpha—performance superior to market indices—in the industrial and industrial technology sector. Ayna.AI is an affiliate of Fernweh. The host of this episode, Gaurav Batra, is President and CEO of Ayna.AI. Fernweh Group is an investment company that is adapting an engaged investor and operator model to create “segment of one” leaders in industrial and industrial technology sector.

For More Information

Omar Asali LinkedIn

Ranpak Website

Ayna.AI Website

Fernweh Group Website