Meet the Team – Stephen Chestnutt – Head of Technical R&D

This week we met with Stephen Chestnutt, Millers Oils Head of Technical R&D. He shared his standout moment of his career and his goal for the year.

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Stephen Chestnutt, I’m 43 and live in my hometown of Wolverhampton with my wife Natalie, my 3yr old girl Lacey, and our fur-baby beagle Holly. I enjoy long walks out and about at the weekend and love meals out with friends and family whenever we get the chance.

What is your role at Millers Oils and why did you choose it?

I have been in the role of Head of Technical R&D at Millers Oils now for the past 2 and a half months. The management team and the technical staff all show a high degree of motivation to succeed, and I was very impressed with the R&D capabilities of Millers in general. The high customer intimacy and problem-solving culture of the company appealed to my own technical problem-solving nature greatly.

How did you find your first month at Millers Oils? 

I found the first month overall very enjoyable. The induction process was useful and informative, and getting to know the team at Millers has been a rewarding experience to date. My first impressions have been very positive indeed and its clear I have joined a highly motivated and professional team of people.

How long have you worked in the lubricants industry? 

I’ve been in the lubricants industry since 2002, always in a technical/formulation based role. Where I have travelled all over the world many times over and met a lot of great people and interesting customers. I really love the technical and problem solving aspects of working in a technical role within the lubricants industry along with the sense of achievement you get when you are able to solve a problem for a customer with an innovative product or solution.

Are there any stand out moments from your career?

Probably the stand-out part of my career so far in terms of challenges were the two times I have been divested in my professional career. Once from D.A Stuart Ltd to Houghton International as part of a company acquisition, and a second time 11 years later, from Houghton International to TOTALEnergies as part of a segment divestment in the US and EEA.

What is a valuable lesson you’ve learned throughout your career?

Set yourself personal specific and measurable goals periodically throughout you working life, and make sure every day you spend a little time on making sure you work towards achieving those goals.

What is something you want to achieve by the end of the year?

Focus on growing and maturing the technical competencies of the technical team at Millers Oils in order to strengthen our product offerings, and customer intimacy within the industrial lubricants market.

What is your go-to lunch at work?

I’m a steadfast lover of ham and cheese sandwiches – a lunchtime classic that can’t be beat!

Read our latest ‘Meet the Team’ with our Technical Support team on our blog.

Find out more about working at Millers Oils on our ‘Join the Team’ page here.