James Michael Lafferty: An Inspiring Leader Improving People’s Wellness Worldwide

True inspiration comes from real-life achievers; their success stories motivate, energize, and boost enthusiasm in others. Such is the story of James Michael Lafferty, the CEO of Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH), the MENA region’s largest hygienic tissue producer.

James started his career as a professional track and field coach before joining his hometown company, Procter and Gamble as a fitness coach in 1984. Soon he met a Brand Manager of P&G, who recommended he apply for the company’s brand management program, which James promptly did, only to be turned down during the interview process. However, James refused to accept that result, and after a couple of attempts, he joined the company as a Brand Assistant. This eventually led to his 25-year-long career in P&G, which ended with CEO roles in Poland/Baltic States, The Near East, and Western Europe.

After leaving P&G in 2009, James led several multinational companies, including Coca-Cola and British American Tobacco. Later in 2015, he became a board member of Fine Hygienic Holding, and three years after that, he joined the company as its CEO.

“My story is simple – from the Weight Room to the Board Room! It goes to show that where you come from, what you studied, or how you started doesn’t matter. It’s all about the person. Do they have the desire? A work ethic? This is what matters.”– James says.

The Global Wellness Company

Formerly known as the Fine Hygienic Paper Company, FHH was established in 1958 to provide hygienic paper products, which were not widely available in the MENA region at that point in time. Although FHH started its journey by manufacturing facial tissues, toilet paper, facial towels, jumbo rolls, and baby and adult diapers, the brand has now expanded into a diverse area of wellness products to meet the increasing consumer demands.

“Starting in 2019, in a prescient move ahead of Covid, we decided to pivot into more of a wellness positioning, and we hence started expanding into healthy beverages (Nai), PPE (Fine Guard Masks and Gloves), and disinfection products (Fine Guard).”– James recalls.

Tackling Challenges

The Covid-19 pandemic has posed massive challenges for supply chains across the world. Multiple lockdowns and stay-at-home orders resulted in a temporary halt in the flow of raw materials and finished goods, disrupting the entire manufacturing sector worldwide.

FHH too faced the same issues; the interruption in the supply chain caused massive delays in the shipment of several raw materials it needed to manufacture products. However, James encouraged his team to act quickly to expand their supply network and stockpile several key materials, to meet the additional demand.

Although the pandemic created a complicated and challenging situation, it also created several new opportunities that have led to positive change for FHH.

The organization launched its masks in early February, much before masks were even recommended, eventually saving thousands of lives from the deadly pandemic. Additionally, the pandemic also caused the inception of FHH’s advanced germ protection line, Fine Guard, which has allowed the FMCG behemoth to expand quickly worldwide.

In addition to launching new products to safeguard its clients from the pandemic, FHH introduced a series of initiatives to ensure employee well-being, overall health, safety, and productivity. It transformed its work-from-home policy to work-from-anywhere. It also launched an Employee Assistance Program to help employees address covid induced mental health challenges, providing 24/7 confidential hotline counseling for all FHH employees and their family members for free.

Looking at the Future

While discussing the future plans, James mentions that since its inception, FHH has championed innovation, progress, and diversity. Looking ahead, it will continue to lead by moving at the forefront of holistic wellness.

“Our vision is to improve the wellness of the world’s consumers. We offer a range of world-class products that improve health in small yet tangible ways, be it our sterilized Fine tissue products, our long-lasting Fine Guard disinfection products, or our clinically-proven Motiva supplements.”– explains James.

Thanks to his love for innovation and wellness products, James is not afraid to look beyond the horizon. He and his team are now planning to launch a groundbreaking wellness tea from ancient Lebanon. After years of research, clinical trials, and approvals, the wellness tea will finally be released in several markets across the world.