EU Business News- European CEO of the Year Awards 2025 Industrial Lubricants CEO of the Year 2025: Cristian Leon Inheriting part of the Verila chemical plant established near Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1945, Verila Lubricants AD is specialised in the production of mainly high-performance lubricating greases and supporting its customers to develop their own private-label grease portfolios. The company prides itself on striking a balance between innovation and exceeding customer expectations when it comes to the performance of these products, allowing its customers to achieve differentiation in a crowded market. There to tell us more about this was Cristian Leon, its award-winning CEO of a decade. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as a mechanical engineer, Cristian Leon quickly progressed to sales and trade management, working for global bands such as Shell and ExxonMobil in their lubricant divisions. Cristian now boasts more than 25 years of experience in the lubricants sector, a journey that has taken him from technical sales to technical sales support, before he led sales, commercial management, and general management in trading, paving the way for his management role at Verila Lubricants AD. Since taking over this position in early 2015, Cristian’s aim has been to transform the established Verila factory from a traditional grease manufacturer into a speciality grease manufacturer. This ties into Cristian’s ethos that less is sometimes more, with his business model seeing the company shift focus from a quantity-first approach to one where quality and innovation is the dual focus. On the back of this, more than 90% of Verila factory production are private privatelabel greases. This immense experience concerning private-label products gives Verila the edge, as it is able to add a valuable perspective to its customers as they make decisions about their products. For example, the company can advise on everything from pack sizes to product types, all whilst sharing insights into market trends. Verila is therefore able to fine tune its proposals to provide customers with tailored grease products, supporting their growth in the segment of lubricating grease sales. Key to supporting the mutual success of both Verila and its customers is Cristian’s belief that high-performance lubricating greases must find their way into the minds of maintenance specialists in the same way that the top-performing lubricating oils have. This CEO explained that, when it comes to greases, most customers still use traditional, mineral oil-based, classic lithium grease, while higherperformance greases are now available and can bring significantly more protection of the greased mechanical parts. “We should all ask more from our grease”, Cristian told us, “longer life, better protection in case of unexpected vibrations, increased compatibility, and robust resistance – even in case of incorrect/ incomplete greasing or human errors in lubrication, such as accidental mixing of different greases.” To this end, Verila greases have been designed to offer extra resistance in extreme conditions, with these high-performance products also cutting down on maintenance costs, resulting in strong customer relationships built on trust. Verila’s work in this arena is also helping to resolve one of the industry’s primary pain points at present, which is the lagging behind of greases in technical specifications and requirements when compared to their lubricating oil counterparts. More stringent technical requirements would lead to huge savings and performance improvements in all relevant fields. Verila is already working towards this, with the greases it manufactures exceeding existing – and likely any future – technical requirements by some margin, underpinning their effectiveness. When he is not overseeing the future of high-value, high-performance grease, Cristian is nurturing a culture within Verila that prizes learning from mistakes and encouraging members of the team here to participate in decision-making exercises. This stems from Cristian’s awareness that the company already had tremendous expertise in chemical engineering before he came along, and the recognition that nurturing that is the best way to get transformative results fitting of Verila’s leading reputation. “I wish for Verila Lubricants AD to consolidate in terms of size and to become more relevant, solidifying itself as one of the top speciality grease manufacturers in Europe.” Also, to ensure he is kept on his toes, Cristian constantly seeks out new opportunities to develop his own career and, in turn, the rest of the company. This was seen just a few years ago, when he graduated as an executive Master of Business Administration at more than 50 years old. One of the key things Cristian learnt during this qualification was the importance of effective communication with the younger generations – who are the future of industry – which is something Cristian has been working on ever since. Ultimately, partnering with Verila Lubricants AD – your European, private-label specialist – is a sure-fire way of achieving measurable outcomes, with its bespoke products setting the standard for highperformance greases in this industry. Much of this can be attributed to its CEO, a man we are privileged to recognise in this programme. Contact: Cristian Leon Company: Verila Lubricants AD Web Address: www.verila-bg.com Jun25144
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