Zoetis

 

Meet Wetteny Joseph: At The Forefront Of The World’s Leading Animal Health Company.

Equine health leader Zoetis has Wetteny Joseph as its executive vice president and chief financial officer. From his infancy in Haiti, he has come a long way. It hasn't always been easy—he would sometimes give himself self-talk when he was the only one of Black descent in the room—but he appreciates the difficulties just as much as the accomplishments. That's how you "develop a new muscle and help develop an area that you need to grow in," according to Wetteny. Wetteny and I recently discussed his path to leadership, the reasons he values experiences over titles, and his counsel for the upcoming CFO generation.

The company Zoetis is both fascinating and significant. Could you briefly explain your work to us?

Someone has already been affected by Zoetis if they have walked their dog or added milk to their coffee. The biggest company in the world for animal health is called Zoetis. As a purpose-driven organization, we are propelled by innovation and strive to improve animal care in order to better the world and humanity. In addition to providing livestock—the raising of animals for use by farmers and producers—we are also innovating to meet the most pressing needs of our clients in the pet care industry, with the goal of strengthening the human-animal link.

Because of how unusual your history is—I doubt many CFOs of $80 billion firms grew up in Haiti—I want to chat to you about it. How did that feel?

To begin with, I am the ninth of ten siblings—I have nine brothers and sisters. At the age of twelve, I arrived in the United States unable to speak English. Thank goodness, I picked up the language really quickly. I was so interested in finance that by the time I started high school, I had already enrolled in a degree in it. Being a child in Haiti, especially, does not entail the same degree of responsibility. My parents must feed all of us, and I feel bad for them. It is among the most impoverished regions in the Western Hemisphere. While we had our share of struggles, we also enjoyed playing and the warm weather as children.

Now, let's discuss your career. You began your career at PwC, excelled in the home improvement industry at Home Depot, and then transitioned to the field of life science. How was the experience of making a sudden and significant career change?

My main goal upon joining PwC was to gain as much experience as I could. "I'll go anywhere as long as there's a project or something that I can get experience from that I would otherwise have to wait a long time to experience locally," would be my statement in this scenario. I wasn't based in South Florida throughout the summers of my first four or five years with the company.

I've always been interested in biological sciences. I can relate to and empathize with the goals and objectives of such businesses, both in terms of human health and, more recently, animal health. After relocating to New Jersey in 2008, I started working for a pharmaceutical services company that provides manufacturing and drug development services to a broad range of clients, including small and major biotech organizations worldwide. I learned a lot about what drugs are being developed and how corporations are pursuing them as a result of that.

You spoke about this guru who had a profound effect on your career. Have you started coaching some upcoming professionals since taking on the post of CFO?

I do make the most of every chance to do that. Although we don't often get to choose our sponsors, we do have some influence on how we go about expressing our goals and intents. When you take the chance to put your all into something and execute it well, you build supporters who believe in you, offer you chances, and talk about you outside of the room.

Approximately forty CFOs were interviewed for my book Secrets of Rockstar CFOs, and throughout that time, each one of them stressed the value of having a mentor at some point in their career. You too are evidence of that.

Mentors are defined rather broadly in my opinion. You can also receive mentoring from your peers. Over the years, I've experienced quite a few of those. When examining the organizational charts, that can take on a variety of forms and dimensions at different points along the stack. I am also mentored by a Gen Z. She offers me insight into the future generation, and we mentor one other. In ten or twelve years, those are the CFOs. I hope that my experiences will impart some knowledge to her. If someone wants to, they can be a mentor.

The Fortune 500 includes you as one of the few Black CFOs. How has the trip been, and how can you use your knowledge to help others?

I never saw anyone that resembled me in these roles when I was growing up. These days, the number of Black CFOs on the Fortune 500 is quite small. As I was getting older, I could recall visiting important clients, having meetings with CFOs or other high-ranking finance personnel, and wondering what they were thinking as I entered the room.

These were not free jobs, and I almost felt like I needed to give myself a pep talk. It took me a long time to advance in my career to that degree. I had to take a step back, consider it, and say, "Let it be their problem if someone is wondering if they belong here or not. You've worked extremely hard to reach to this point. Pay attention to the task at hand.

I approach my work as a CFO with the idea of changing roles every two to three years. Though I don't think I'm shifting my opinions, I do believe it is my personal obligation to make sure I participate.

The corporate world frequently discusses the value of inclusion, equity, and diversity. In your opinion, what can corporate leaders do to help the upcoming generation of Black financial leaders reach their full potential?

Ensuring the development of the upcoming generation of talent is a crucial requirement for leaders. It's taking deliberate steps to ensure. You must deliberately ensure that you have a wide pool of candidates if you see openings, unfilled positions that need to be filled, or fresh opportunities to take on a challenge if you genuinely think that a more diverse leadership team will be more effective and inspire better performance.

Now let's talk about some of the problems you've faced in your career. Could you describe a particularly difficult period in your career, the challenges you overcame, and some of the problems you encountered?

I've had a lot. For some reason, I tend to cherish the more difficult times or the ones when I reflect, "If I could go back, I would probably do this differently." I think I appreciate those a little more than the ones that were huge successes because the latter usually make the most of our current strengths.

One of the first that immediately sprung to mind was the chance to oversee a very significant project endeavor in addition to what I would consider to be my day job. I constantly strive to help others grow because I have been stretched to do the same for them. In this instance, I stretched someone to the point where, even with assistance, it was rather evident that they were not ascending to it. I was offering direction and assistance. It was too long before anything was done about it.

It doesn't imply that you don't provide people with stretch assignments. In addition to making sure you have the ability to support them as they grow and develop—rather than just saying, "Let's see how you do," you also want to make sure you don't hesitate to support individuals when you realize that they need it.

Why did you decide to apply for the Zoetis role?

What I found most admirable about Zoetis was how it rose to the top of the industry—through innovation, no doubt. The other is that we work in two main domains. It falls within the categories of livestock and pet care. People all throughout the world are deeply attached to the human-animal bond.

This is where my experience with livestock relates to our company's goal and mission. I was raised in Haiti. I have personal experience with the hardships of malnourishment and hunger. The company's goal is to supply high-quality animal protein to feed not just the world's 8 billion inhabitants, but also nonetheless, the ten billion that will follow. With my background, I can definitely relate to that.

The culture you're attempting to establish at your company is ingrained with an appreciation for customers. Explain that to us.

I've always been interested in business in general. "Why would a customer choose this company's products or services over someone else's?" is the opening line. What does the client find valuable? Who are the rival companies? How do they proceed? Which vendors is the business dependent upon?

This curiosity has been very helpful to me because it means that you are always examining a wide range of topics, not only finance or the particular area you work in, but also the firm and its surroundings from the outside. In order to better understand how our services and products fit into their larger worlds, I attempt to visit and meet with clients whenever possible. I always share those anecdotes with the teams back home. It's bringing them to the client.

CFOs frequently have a unique opportunity to bridge the gap between strategy and execution. To be able to lead the execution and make that plan a reality, finance is at the core of it all. Do you think that's why the CFO position is so important?

You are the only person in the entire C-Suite who is both a financial specialist and has strategic vision, unless you are one of the 100 firms where the CEO used to be the CFO. That is why having a CFO is so important. Investing in a firm without a top-tier CFO overseeing financial operations and contributing to the company's value proposition would be unwise.

What subjects should the upcoming generation of CFOs start learning about, in your opinion? More specifically, what will enable them to land the job and succeed in it when they do?

Though there isn't a precise route, I will give a few things. Whatever function you perform, whatever position you have, or whatever department you work in, make sure you understand the business. As much as you can, try to comprehend the business from the outside in, as well as from the viewpoints of its suppliers, clients, and rivals.

Make bold goals for yourself. Have high goals, but be patient in the process of achieving them. You may be able to encounter something through a variety of avenues or opportunities. For example, I didn't really plan to operate a business, but the chance presented itself. I took the opportunity even though at first I thought I wasn't ready for it, and it has improved me as a CFO. The routes don't have to be difficult or quick. They can be highly different.