In times of transformation, companies are often tested on what really drives performance and resilience. For Ana Fonseca Nordang, Umicore’s Executive Vice President for People & Organization, Procurement & Transportation (P&T), and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), the answer is clear: “ Performance and resilience only comes to life through people”.
“People are the most important asset of any company,” she says. “Not the plants, not the technology, not even the materials we work with. It’s people who bring everything to life.” Since joining Umicore, Ana has been deeply involved in shaping and unleashing the talent and potential of people, while overseeing Umicore’s ESG and P&T agenda and strategy. On paper, these areas may seem very different, but in practice they are tightly connected.
From strategy to execution: people at the core
People & Culture is a key pillar of Umicore’s CORE 2028 strategy, and Ana sees this not as a symbolic statement, but as a business imperative: “If you want to deliver on any strategy, you need motivated, engaged and inspired people,” she explains. “‘Culture eats strategy for breakfast’ as they say. Strategy may change yet culture is a long term decision that needs continuous care, investment and attention.”
Over the past months, this focus has translated into concrete initiatives, including the rollout of Umicore’s refreshed values of Courage, Collaboration and Accountability together with Enterprise Leadership. For Ana, this work is about bringing clarity and guidance for our people, setting expectations on the performance culture we want in Umicore while raising the bar.
“It may look simple to move from one set of values to another, but it is actually a big change that we are asking our people,” she says. “We are being more precise, more concrete, and more ambitious about what these values mean in practice.”
She acknowledges that change requires people to adapt. “Some of the work we are doing has a real impact on people, and that is never easy. But I do believe it creates a stronger foundation for the future, the company and our colleagues.”
Leadership as a business capability
A recurring theme in Ana’s career, and in her vision for Umicore, is leadership. Not as a title, but as a capability that exists at all levels of the organization:
Leadership is not about having a title, a role or a team. It starts with how you act, how you speak, and the choices you make every day.
She strongly believes that leaders are the key drivers of culture, performance and change. “Leaders develop people, that means their choices of today impact the next generation of leaders. That does not happen in a classroom. It happens on the job, role-modelling through experience, responsibility and learning by doing.”
For Ana, this is also deeply personal. Early in her career, she experienced both strong and poor leadership, and both left a lasting impression. “I have learned as much from bad leaders as from good ones,” she reflects. “They taught me what kind of leader I want to be, and how a leader can create positive impact in an organization.”
Efficiency, integrity and impact beyond People & Organization
In addition to People & Organization, Ana oversees P&T and ESG, areas that play a critical role in Umicore’s strategy, efficiency and compliance.
Procurement and transportation, she explains, is not just about cost efficiency, but also about safety, compliance and responsible decision-making. “When we standardize how we work, for example in travel, it is not only more efficient. It also allows us to better safeguard our people.”
On ESG, she describes a steep but rewarding learning curve: “Working on our decarbonization roadmap has helped me better understand both sustainability and the business itself.” She is particularly proud of the collaborative approach taken. “This roadmap has been co-created between the business and ESG. That matters, because sustainability is not a separate agenda. It is part of who we are and how we operate.”
Staying in control as the future takes shape
Today, Umicore is operating in a complex and fast-moving global context, but Ana trusts the approach that the organization has taken: “What excites me is that we are taking charge of shaping who we want to be,” she says. “We are not waiting for someone else to tell us what to do.”
According to her, it’s about building a company that is more resilient, simpler and better prepared for whatever lies ahead.
The future may not be clear, but the work we are doing now makes us stronger and gives us more opportunities for the advancement of Umicore.
This is how she wishes colleagues to feel at Umicore, with an ideal balance of excitement combined with a drive to continuously improve. “I hope our people feel proud, but I also hope they feel a bit of urgency. Pride should not lead to complacency yet motivation to be better themselves, to strengthen their teams, and to help the company move forward. And we can do this through courage, collaboration and accountability.”
