Manny Martinez

Growing up in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Manny Martinez’s childhood wasn’t that different from his peers on the U.S. mainland. “I played sports, specifically baseball and basketball, and like most teenage boys I did a lot of great things and a lot of stupid things,” he says with a laugh. “Sports kept me busy and helped me learn from my mistakes,” an important life lesson that has served Martinez well throughout a 30-year pest control career that culminated in his appointment as CEO of Liphatech last fall.

In addition to being an accomplished athlete, Martinez had an aptitude for math, helping his father, who was a manufacturer’s rep for a division of Pitney Bowes, perform a variety of bookkeeping functions. “When I was a teenage boy, I used to travel with my dad during the summer months,” he recalls fondly. “We would visit his customers, make sales calls, and collect funds from the sales. I would then return to his office and do a bit of bookkeeping for him,” gaining a practical appreciation for the essential role of money in business (i.e., cash flow, asset allocation, cost of capital, etc.).

“Those early interactions led me towards a career in accounting/finance,” he says, prompting Martinez to consider a number of options, including the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., upon graduating from high school. But how does a native son of the Caribbean end up on a college campus in America’s heartland nearly 2,000 miles away from the place of his birth? The answer can be found in the upraised arms of “Touchdown Jesus,” a nickname given to the larger-than-life mural of the ascending Christ that rises above Notre Dame’s iconic football stadium.

“When I was growing up back in Puerto Rico, our population was over 90 percent Catholic,” Martinez recalls. “As such, there was an unusually large following for Notre Dame and its historic football team. I use the word ‘unusual’ because in Puerto Rico baseball and basketball were the kings of sports. Football wasn’t even on the radar screen back in the 1960s and 70s. So, as I was growing up, I developed an interest in Notre Dame and its national reputation in the business and science communities,” prompting Martinez to apply to the prestigious Mendoza College of Business.

While attending Notre Dame, true to his passion for the gridiron, Martinez served as an offensive coordinator for a local high school. “I love to study football defenses, evaluate their tendencies” and develop a strategy to pick the opposing team’s defense apart, he observes, which isn’t that different from designing a game plan for a successful business, a key job responsibility in his current role at Liphatech. PCT magazine recently interviewed Martinez, 52, at the company’s facility in Milwaukee, Wis., which also serves as the U.S. corporate headquarters of De Sangosse, the parent company of Liphatech. Excerpts of that interview appear in this month’s issue of PCT. A full transcript of the interview and additional editorial content is available at www.pctonline.com.

Q. What are the most important lessons you learned from your mother and father?

A. In my case, my dad taught me that numbers make the business world go around. If you develop a sound understanding regarding the flow of money, both in and out of a business, you’ll develop a good foundation about how to run a business. I also learned it doesn’t cost you anything to be nice, empathetic and to listen to your neighbors, friends, employees and customers. When you listen to your customers and identify their “needs and pains,” you’re able to figure out how you can be of service to them.

Q. How has your finance background proven beneficial in your current position?

A. Numbers are essential in running any business. They help you to measure your performance. For example, numbers reflect a company’s bottom-line performance, manufacturing results, the expenses associated with the day-to-day operation of a business, or a way to measure productivity. As the saying goes, “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.”

Q. What prompted you to leave the world of finance to accept a marketing position at Sandoz?

A. My first four years in the Accounting Department at Sandoz, I was responsible for “reporting the numbers.” Later on, I became a financial analyst. As such, I worked closely with the sales and marketing managers, analyzing why their sales were up or down; predicting sales projections for particular promotions, etc. I was always asking lots of questions, so I developed an interest in becoming a part of the team that “made the numbers happen” as opposed to just “reporting the numbers.” A marketing analyst position opened up, which allowed me to transition from accounting and finance to marketing.

Q. You eventually left Sandoz and took a position at Rhone-Poulenc. What prompted that move?

A. Josh Weeks, director of specialty products for Rhone-Poulenc at the time, brought me into the organization for one purpose. The company had this great molecule in their portfolio called fipronil and Rhone-Poulenc knew it was very efficacious against a large number of pests, including termites and cockroaches. They wanted to launch fipronil in the United States for termite control, so I was brought in to put together a team and develop a business plan to carry out the launch.

Q. Before you could launch the molecule, however, the company was sold, something that has occurred several times during your career. What were those M&A experiences like for you?

A. I’ve learned to try and remain positive throughout the process. In the end, you have to believe in your skill set, and you as an individual will have something to offer that will bring value to the new team.

Q. Were you recruited by Liphatech or did you pursue a position at the company?

A. From 2007 to 2011, I worked for an animal health pharmaceutical company outside the pest management industry, but in May 2011 I found myself looking for work, so I contacted Carl Tanner, then CEO at Liphatech. Back in my days with Sandoz, my first boss in marketing was Carl, who has been a mentor to me. He needed someone to carry out some business development tasks for both Liphatech and the parent company, De Sangosse, so I joined the company as a consultant to carry out these projects. In September 2011, Carl hired me full-time as the business development manager.

Q. What attracted you to Liphatech?

A. Liphatech is a small company with approximately 59 employees that has a number of key attributes including a culture of passion and teamwork. We are constantly striving to do things better.

Q. Describe your current responsibilities?

A. As CEO, my responsibilities are to listen and understand the requirements and needs of both our internal and external customers; ensure that all personnel have the proper training and tools they need to carry out their jobs; and to inspire, inform and direct our staff.

Q. In this role, you’re required to look 5 to 10 years down the road. Given that, what do you see on the horizon for Liphatech and the pest management industry?

A. Regarding the future of Liphatech, we must strive to improve on everything we do. We cannot expect to be successful tomorrow doing the same things we’re doing today. As a result, we are constantly striving to improve all aspects of our business — manufacturing, regulatory, sales, marketing, and R&D. Regarding the future of the industry, we expect regulatory pressure to grow from a number of sources including environmental groups, city and county governments, and state organizations which, in turn, will apply pressure upward to the Federal branch. The irony here is that most everyone knows rats and mice are vectors of numerous diseases and we should control/eliminate them, yet not at the expense or risk of secondary poisoning of non-target species. It would be best if we discuss rodent control issues on the merits of science, as opposed to letting emotional issues drive the agenda.

Q. Speaking of regulation, has public concern over rodenticide use had an impact on Liphatech’s business the past few years?

A. Yes. The FIFRA risk mitigation decision from 2011-2012 virtually eliminated most or all of the rodenticide business sold to homeowners/consumers. As a result, Liphatech decided to pull out of this market and focus on selling our soft baits and branded business solely in the pest management industry. Liphatech also has an agricultural and animal health business unit where we sell our rodenticides to farmers, ranchers, swine, cattle and poultry house operators.

Q. What specific stewardship measures, if any, has Liphatech implemented to address these concerns?

A. Personally, I feel the FIFRA risk mitigation measures were a positive step for the pest management industry. It’s important that any type of pesticide — whether a rodenticide, termiticide or insecticide — is handled and applied by licensed, trained PMPs and not homeowners. Liphatech has reviewed and revised the language on all its rodenticide labels to ensure we’re in compliance with EPA.

Q. Could you take a moment to walk our readers through your plans for each of Liphatech’s key brands?

A. Liphatech launched its first soft bait product in 2008. Eight years later, the company continues to experience double-digit growth with our soft bait brands — FirstStrike and Resolv. The palatability of these products is the key feature associated with our success. Interestingly enough, in spite of our success with soft baits, our mini-block branded rodenticide business (Generation, Maki, BlueMax) has also experienced growth. You can expect more soft bait product offerings in the future.

Q. How has the trend towards soft baits benefited Liphatech, in particular, and the pest management industry, in general?

A. The introduction of soft baits has benefited Liphatech and the pest management industry in many ways. They’ve generated awareness and interest in Liphatech as a company; generated heightened awareness for the rodenticide market; and have provided PMPs with a more efficacious tool to control rodent populations.

Q. As a new technology, what are some of your plans for expanding FirstStrike’s footprint throughout North America?

A. Brand awareness for our soft baits — FirstStrike and Resolv — is very high in the United States. In Canada, due to different regulatory rules related to our active ingredient difethialone, FirstStrike cannot be used outdoors (indoor label only). However, Resolv, our bromadiolone-based soft bait, is doing very well in Canada with an indoor-outdoor label.

Q. Describe how Liphatech developed its SoftSecure Technology? What specific factors prompted the introduction of this product?

A. SoftSecure Technology (SST) is a feeding device. It’s made of stainless steel, so it won’t rust over time inside bait stations. The SST is placed inside a bait station, in place of the traditional metal or plastic rods used in our industry for years and years. The PMP places the soft bait on the device. One big advantage is that the PMP can peel off the paper casing of the soft bait, and place the soft bait paste directly onto the SST. More importantly, Lipha-tech received approval from the EPA on its label modifications for pest management professionals to be able to remove the paper from all our soft bait products including FirstStrike (10gm) and Resolv (12gm). Liphatech developed the SST and the accompanying 40gm soft bait size for those PMPs needing to control large rodent populations.

Q. What can you tell our readers about Liphatech’s parent company, De Sangosse?

A. De Sangosse is a multinational organization based in Agen, France (between Bordeaux and Toulouse). De Sangosse aims to provide high-performance technical solutions in our core business areas (agriculture and pest control). With 770 employees in 15 countries, De Sangosse invests approximately 8 to 12 percent of its revenues on R&D initiatives. The company is working on some great, dynamic-type chemistries that will revolutionize the future of rodent control worldwide.

Q. What are the chances of a new Liphatech-developed active ingredient being introduced to the pest management industry in the next two to five years?

A. One of the advantages of having a European parent company is the amount of resources and R&D initiatives they are dedicating to our rodent control businesses. As such, Liphatech will have an interesting and healthy pipeline of products in years to come.

Q. When it comes time to hand off your responsibilities to somebody else, what would you like people to say about your tenure as CEO of Liphatech?

A. I would like them to say I was an honest and fair human being; I listened to and cared about my staff; I made sure that all our employees had the tools and training to be successful; I was accountable and someone who talked the talk, and walked the walk; and that I had a successful vision for Liphatech.