Chemical engineer Robert “Bob” Johnston brings a global perspective on ExxonMobil to his leadership of its Baton Rouge Chemical Plant. Since 1987 he has been with the corporation and held management positions in the U.S., the United Kingdom and Singapore.
“The diversity of assignments and locations has allowed me to learn a lot from the different organizations in our company,” Johnston says in the Executive Spotlight feature from the new issue.
Last year, as site manager at its Beaumont Chemical Plant, he led a team that “achieved [its] ‘best-ever’ performance in just about every possible metric,” he says, “including an injury-free year.”
On Oct. 1 Johnston began his tenure at ExxonMobil Baton Rouge, which he describes as “an important global investment for our company and a strong global competitor.” It’s larger than the Beaumont site, yet he underscores the similarities in overseeing the two: “We operate across the world with common processes and similar systems, such as our Operations Integrity Management System. This system is the cornerstone of our commitment to managing safety and achieving excellence in performance.”
Read the full Q&A with Johnston. Here’s a sample of what you’ll find:
If you could have dinner with any three living people, other than relatives, who would they be?
“There are a number of people who I would really like to ask what they are thinking. But I know there would likely be very little they would actually share. On the other hand, there are some people with great life experiences that would be fascinating to hear. Barbara Bush, Chuck Yeager, and Steven Spielberg may not have much in common, but I am pretty sure there would be some pretty interesting stories!”
