Jill Evanko took a gamble by shifting away from focusing on products for traditional oil and gas and moving to emerging clean energy, trying to stay ahead of the global demand curve.
“The most important risk I’ve taken in my career was the decision to take an industrial portfolio of products servicing traditional oil field and gas industries and pivot that same product portfolio to service an entirely new set of emerging clean energy markets to keep up with the growing global focus on sustainability and corporate social responsibility,” she said.
“While our core technology allowed for this shift, some of the technologies we needed to invest in were not yet commercialized. However, to be successful, I completely devoted myself to the execution of this strategy, empowered my team to adopt this vision, and took aggressive steps to grow the business organically and make significant inorganic investments to achieve this vision.”
That pivot has paid off for Evanko, CEO and president of Chart Industries, Inc. The company is an independent global manufacturer of highly engineered equipment servicing multiple applications in the clean energy and industrial gas markets.
The company’s product portfolio is used in every phase of the liquid gas supply chain, including upfront engineering, service and repair. Chart is a provider of technology, equipment and services related to liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, biogas and CO2 capture, among other applications.
Chart has 5,100 employees in more than 25 global locations from the U.S. to Asia, Australia, India, Europe and South America. In 2021, Chart had revenues of $1.3 billion, and in 2022 the company was expected to generate revenues in excess of $1.7 billion, representing 30% growth.
Evanko has made giving back a priority and part of Chart’s corporate culture, establishing the company’s Giving Back program. The company matches employee donations up to $250 per person annually, plus offers each team member one paid day off to support a community-based initiative of their choice. The program has been adopted in every region where the company operates, including the U.S., Italy, Germany, China, India and more.
“I embrace and celebrate our diversity, realize the importance of employee engagement, career growth, development and recognition and the role this plays to ensure the continued growth and best talent for the organization, regardless of gender,” Evanko said. “It is my goal not to be the best female CEO but to be the best CEO.”
