David Weidman, who retired as Celanese chairman and CEO in early April, reflected in a recent interview with CW on what has changed in industry, noting what has successfully differentiated companies in the past may not necessarily work in a more global environment. “Companies must build businesses that can grow,” Weidman says. “The ‘polish the stone’ strategy will not work going forward. There needs to be strategy based on growth, it needs to be based on technology, and it needs to be much more global and international than most companies have been in the past. Being the same or marginally better than competition will not be sufficient.”