Q&A: Scott Wine, chief executive officer at CNH Industrial

Scott Wine has made a career out of demonstrating that leadership is a transferrable skill set. Over the past 30 years, the Virginia native has managed everything from executive dining rooms to engine plants to a powersports company. 

“I learned a lot about leadership in the Navy and have been able to apply those skills in the various positions I’ve held,” Wine says.

In January 2021, Wine was named chief executive officer at CNH Industrial. As he approaches the anniversary of his first year in his new role, Wine shares his insight on the machinery industry and his goals for CNH Industrial going forward.

SF: As the chief executive officer, what are your goals as you build on the CNH Industrial legacy?

SW: I want to deliver the highest quality, most innovative products and solutions for our customers. If we do that, while creating a safe working environment for our employees and value for our shareholders, that’s winning for me.

SF: What excites you most about your new role?

SW: What excites me is literally the opportunity to be better for our farmers and dealers. It really is what drives me. 

SF: You’ve been in your new role nine months, what has been your biggest takeaway to date?

SW: There are a lot of tremendously hardworking, passionate, and dedicated people on the CNH Industrial team. One of the marketing leaders for the Case IH brand talks about the nobility of farming, and our employees are committed to being better for farmers. 

There are several people who feel the organization is too complex, and we are not as aggressive or as focused as we should be. As a leader, I’m trying to listen and understand what they want and then deliver it. I’ve received a lot of input, so I’m looking to act on that in the right way.

SF: What do you see as the biggest challenge for CNH Industrial short term? Long term?

SW: Short term, it’s acknowledging that we’ve grown significantly over the years. As we spin off our Iveco Group (highway business), which is large, how do we seize this opportunity to be much more efficient and effective for our customers? How do we remove the bureaucracy and waste that’s inherent in a big company and become more agile and customer focused?

Longer term, it’s figuring out how we leverage the Raven acquisition to bring the best technology and autonomy solutions to our customers.

SF: Are there any misconceptions you want to dispel about CNH Industrial?

SW: One of the perceptions I have is that we’re an Italian company and that the international influence is a bad thing. I believe it’s absolutely a positive influence on the company, and I hear our employees talk about it all the time. It gives us a vast reach not just for customers, but also for capabilities. I see that as a strong positive.

SF: Where do you see the ag machinery industry headed in the next five to 10 years?

SW: If you think about farming in general, the tillable acreage in the world is not going to increase much, so that means we’re going to have to get more yield and productivity out of farmland. CNH Industrial offers a lot of the solutions that can enable that to happen. Whether it’s providing farmers with better agronomy solutions or giving them better tractors, combines, precision technology, or autonomy, we are positioned to give them the tools necessary to feed a growing world.

SF: Where does ag tech fit into the future of agriculture and ag machinery?

SW: You must start by understanding the customer mind-set. There is a generation of farmers who have grown up with smartphones and ordering products online. They’re not going to suddenly forget those experiences when they hop into the cab of a tractor. They’re going to want simplicity of use. They’re going to want effective solutions. We’ve got to work to deliver that for them.

Ultimately, farmers want to plant straight. They want to spray perfectly. They want harvest to go incredibly smoothly and efficiently. The more we offer farmers the right solutions to do all that, the better their operations will be. With our acquisition of Raven, not only can we bring farmers the best iron but also the best technology solutions as well, which makes us confident about the future of the company. 

SF: Many companies are faced with raw material and workforce challenges. What does this mean for CNH Industrial?

SW: I’ve been around supply chains in some aspect my entire career. This is the worst I’ve seen it, by a long shot. It is a brutally difficult environment.

The semiconductor issue is frustrating because it is limiting what we can do. Other industries, like automotive, have had to shut down their factories because they couldn’t get the supplies they needed. We had largely been immune from that because we were able to purchase most of our components on the gray market and squeak by. 

More recently, Bosch, who is an engine control supplier, has been unable to meet demand. It buys all its chips from Malaysia, and the southeast Asian country was hit hard by COVID. As a result, it didn’t produce much in the month of August. Suddenly, Bosch’s inventory is way below what many industries need.

Obviously, we’re paying more than we’d like for a lot of stuff, yet we’re willing to do that if we can deliver value for customers. But it is difficult to do that right now.

We’re working through that, looking for every solution we possibly can. I’ve been impressed and proud of the way our team has reacted. They’re tireless and have come up with innovative solutions, ensuring we stay focused on the customer. 

SF: Farmers deal with a lot of uncertainty. If you could have a cup of coffee with them, what advice or encouragement would you offer?

SW: Because I have so much respect for what a farmer does, I would ask for their advice first. A farmer is tasked with a brutally difficult and tough job. He faces so much adversity, so I’d like to learn from him. Then what I would ask is for him to be more open about what problems he truly needs us to solve? What are the tools we can deliver that would be most impactful for him? Basically, I want feedback on how we can help a farmer be better.