Want a glistening factory? First kill the snakes.

I worked for 40 years over five decades at Procter & Gamble, a company that many associate with consumer advertising, branding and marketing. But at its core, the P&G I grew up in and was privileged to lead for a dozen years was an innovation and manufacturing company.

Every brand we sold benefited from product and technology innovations. When I retired in 2016, more than half of P&G employees worked in product supply — engineering, manufacturing and purchasing — and operated more than 150 manufacturing and distribution centers across the U.S. and worldwide.

'After we cleared the live explosives from the site, which had been used as a firing range during the war, and killed the venomous snakes that swarmed the location, we set the team of locals and experienced players from the region to work building a proper manufacturing facility.' A.G. Lafley, Procter & Gamble