From Stag Hill to global innovation leader: Liben Hailu’s Surrey story

Graduating with a BEng in Chemical Engineering in 1989, Liben credits Surrey with shaping the way he thinks, not just what he knows: “The chemical engineering training I had at Surrey was foundational.”

Courses in fluid dynamics, thermodynamics and heat transfer didn’t just teach formulas. They taught him how to think. “You learn how things work and why they work,” he reflects. “And when you keep asking why, you clarify problems better. A problem well-defined is a problem half solved.”

That habit of technical curiosity, questioning assumptions and mastering fundamentals, became a defining leadership trait. Today, he laughs that even his family sometimes grows tired of his constant questioning. But in boardrooms and laboratories across the world, his inquiring mind has been one of his greatest strengths.

The power of the sandwich year

One of the most transformative elements of Liben’s Surrey experience was the University’s renowned sandwich placement programme, now called Professional Training Placements.

Spending a year in industry at ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries) near Liverpool gave him exposure to real-world engineering before he had even graduated. “It was phenomenal,” he says. “You don’t only learn about industry during that year, you grow as a person.”

At a time when international travel was far less common than today, some of his peers accepted placements across the globe. This experience broadens perspectives, builds confidence and, for many students, shaped lifelong careers.

For Liben, it confirmed that industry was where he ultimately wanted to make his mark.

From Ethiopia to Guildford

Arriving in Guildford from Ethiopia brought challenges beyond coursework. Transitioning to university is difficult enough; doing so across cultures compounds it.

“There’s the cold weather,” he smiles, “but more than that, it’s understanding cultural norms, not just the language, but how people interact.”

Surrey’s diverse student body helped him find his footing. Surrounded by fellow international students from across Europe, the Middle East and beyond, he quickly realised he wasn’t alone in navigating adjustment.

And there was another, simpler support system: the campus cafeteria.

“I didn’t know how to cook,” he admits. Living in Stag Hill Court, he relied on the student union cafeteria for meals throughout his degree. “It sounds silly, but not having to worry about that made the transition much easier.”

A Cambridge detour and a defining decision

Liben graduated top of his class at Surrey and received a job offer from ICI before completing his final year. But encouraged by inspiring lecturers, including Professor Jonathan Seville, he chose instead to pursue a PhD at the University of Cambridge under the renowned late Professor John Davidson.

It was an extraordinary opportunity. Cambridge deepened his research training and analytical skills. But during his PhD, something shifted.

A visiting speaker described how chemical engineering principles applied to everyday consumer products, from ice cream to household goods. Liben was captivated. “I’d never asked how ice cream was made,” he recalls. “It opened up the world of consumer goods.”

After interviews with Unilever and then Procter & Gamble (P&G), he was struck not just by the technical challenge but by the culture and meritocracy P&G described. He accepted the offer.

That decision launched a 23-year global career spanning Europe, Asia and the United States, across Fabric Care, Home Care, Beauty Care, and Battery sectors, before stepping into senior leadership at Duracell.

Leading across industries

Over three decades, Liben has moved across industries, functions and continents. 

“You go into a new sector and you have no clue about the technology, the consumer, the usage,” he says. “You learn from scratch, master it, and then move on.”

That ability to connect ideas across disciplines now defines his innovation philosophy. He believes breakthrough ideas often happen “at the seams”, where chemistry meets physics, where manufacturing meets consumer insight, where one industry’s solution inspires another.

Innovation, to him, is simply “a new way of doing things that creates value.”

Giving back: education as the great equaliser

Liben’s journey from Ethiopia to Surrey, Cambridge and global industry leadership deeply informs his philanthropic work.

A longstanding supporter of educational and community initiatives in both the US and Ethiopia, including organisations such as United Way of Western Connecticut – a charity in the US focused on equity, community and financial security – he believes education is the ultimate equaliser.

“I’m a good example of that,” he reflects. “My education opened doors.”

He now serves on the board of a boarding school in Ethiopia founded to nurture high-potential students from disadvantaged backgrounds. In just a few cohorts, more than 100 students have completed their studies, many progressing to leading global universities.

“The ripple effect,” he says, “is enormous, for individuals, for families, and eventually for the country.”

Mentorship and long-term impact

Throughout his career, mentorship has played a critical role. Early sponsors at P&G helped him navigate complex corporate systems and accelerate his development.

“Mentorship can’t be forced,” he says. “It has to be natural. You need alignment professionally and personally.”

Many of those early mentors remain close friends today, a testament to the lasting power of those relationships.

He now hopes to offer the same guidance to Surrey students, encouraging them not to “sweat it out alone” but to seek mentors who can help them grow.

AI, innovation and the future workforce

As AI reshapes manufacturing, research and product development, Liben sees both immense opportunity and responsibility.

“AI literacy will be a differentiator,” he says. “It increases personal productivity, but its real power comes when it’s integrated structurally into how you work.”

For today’s students, his advice is clear: harness AI ethically, focus on creating value, and combine technological tools with human judgment.

“Channel your efforts into how you create value with these tools,” he advises, “not just using them because everyone else is.”

Why Surrey?

Interestingly, Liben didn’t initially plan to study chemical engineering. He once considered medicine, until a hospital visit convinced him otherwise.

Looking for a course that combined mathematics and chemistry, close enough to London yet intimate in size, Surrey stood out.

He remembers late nights in Stag Hill Court, friends tapping on his window for entry, half pints of lager at the Students’ Union, trips into Guildford, and racing back from London before his unreliable first car’s headlights failed in the dark.

But more than the memories, it was the mindset Surrey gave him that endured.

“The foundation was important,” he says simply.

From Stag Hill to global boardrooms, that foundation continues to shape not only his career, but the many lives he now seeks to impact in return.