Armed with a first class degree in Chemistry and a career spanning research, business management and marketing, Mike Hindmarsh is on a mission to find new ways to grow the company’s revenue.

Although AkzoNobel is “stellar” at creating new products and technologies to sell to its current paints and coatings markets, Mike believes that income streams adjacent to its core business – and growing markets – can help to supplement its global revenue.

“Should we be selling paint by the square meter of beautification? Because actually, people want to buy the end result – and they’re happy to pay for it,” Mike observes.

Mike sees potential in leveraging AkzoNobel’s core skills and expertise by offering services that complement its paint sales. He cites Incubator’s recent investment in startup Qlayers’ robotic spray painting as a good example of how diversification and collaborative innovation can support the company’s drive for sustainability (creating less overspray and waste, in this case), better customer service and future growth.

Looking beyond AkzoNobel’s traditional, transactional mode of doing business comes easily to Mike. He’s keen to think creatively about the future. “The economy’s moving away from capital expenditure to operating expenditure, so could we innovate within our portfolio to meet customers’ needs on a monthly, rather than a one-off, basis? It’s worth investigation.”