Research and development can be a powerful tool for organizations. Connecting scientific, technical and creative insights to solve problems or enhance daily life is a credo that Milliken is proud to work toward every day.

Dominick Valenti, Ph.D., speaks to the direct impact forward thinking can have on successfully creating innovations. His team-oriented and long-term mindsets have served him well throughout his time at Milliken. To explore the role forward thinking has on cultivating innovation, we asked this year’s Milliken Honors Futurist winner for his insights. 

Tell us a little about your current role as Director of Sales and Marketing, Agriculture at Milliken Chemical, as well as your past experiences within Milliken.    

This is an exciting new opportunity for me as of November 2017. My previous role was as Global R&D Director for Milliken Chemical’s Performance Colorants and Ingredients (PC&I) business. The agriculture business unit is newly formed within PC&I and is composed of existing Milliken channels in turf, fertilizer, crop protection and ice melt, combined with an agricultural seed business from last year’s Keystone Aniline Corporation acquisition. We are excited about Milliken’s participation in the agriculture industry – as we believe it will not only offer countless innovation opportunities, but will also be immensely rewarding. One definition of agriculture states that it is “the cultivation and breeding of animals and plants to provide food, fiber, medicinal plants and other products to sustain and enhance life.” Enhancing daily life is a core component of our innovation work at Milliken, and this venture is a natural fit for us. 

What does being a futurist mean to you, and why do you consider it important in the chemical industry as a whole?

My first thought is that it means you should own a DeLorean with a flux capacitor and visit Disney’s Tomorrowland as frequently as possible. I never really considered or thought of the term Futurist. In a professional sense, I was trained to, and have a passion for, identifying and solving problems. Working at Milliken taught me to focus on not just can we solve a problem, but should we solve it. To me, this type of big picture problem solving is a matter of urgency, competencies and value. In many respects, being a futurist is fundamentally tied to the past and present. If a futurist is someone who has the foresight to solve the issues of our future, I believe it starts with analyzing the collective experiences of the past, observing the issues of today, and relying on your ability and endurance to solve those issues for the good of tomorrow.

Your award recognizes a long-term mindset. How do you see this manifest in your day-to-day work and in Milliken innovations?

Identifying and implementing long-term solutions is a team sport. No one individual can be particularly successful alone. Milliken provides the environment and the talent to achieve such a goal by fostering an environment where teamwork is prioritized.

Most of our innovative ideas are the result of collaborative efforts between sales, marketing, manufacturing, support and technical teams, and are heavily influenced by our strong customer relationships. The credit, first and foremost, belongs to this team, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to represent them. 

Why do you consider Milliken a forward-thinking company?

Milliken is a forward-thinking company because it consistently invests in its associates, business development, and research and development efforts. It is inspiring to work for an organization that has the patience, tolerance and wisdom to invest in long-term initiatives, then backs up those efforts with hard work, focused diligence and accountability.

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with other Milliken associates?

A future-focused way of thinking is not a guaranteed quality for any organization. The only way to ensure its existence is to fund long-term initiatives to secure the future and cultivate existing business today. In short, your pipeline must have a full fast lane and slow lane, in order to provide a consistent wealth of opportunities.

Looking to build a lasting career at a company that invests in your future? Visit our careers page to explore positions within our global community of forward-thinking innovators.