At an August meeting, Shari Ballard and her fellow Ecolab board members received a management briefing on external challenges to the business. The breakout included tariffs, political instability, wars, and inflation. “Every generation of CEO and [senior] leaders has their list of things that the world gives them that they have to figure out how to navigate,” says Ballard, who joined the Ecolab board in 2018.

When Doug Baker, former Ecolab CEO and chairman, approached Ballard about becoming an Ecolab board member, she had served in several high-ranking executive roles at Best Buy while the retail business was undergoing a transformation. Both companies were global and had diverse customer bases. Because of her Best Buy experience, Ballard says, she was able to share perspectives with Ecolab on “how to really think about digital in the context of both serving your customers better but also making your organization more effective internally.”

Today Ballard is the CEO of Minnesota United FC, a professional men’s soccer team. Some people may wonder if her Ecolab board service affects her day job and vice versa, and Ballard says there absolutely is an influence. “They’re all people jobs,” she says, emphasizing that every company has employees, customers, partners, budgets, operations, and a business model.

“The biggest benefit of being on a board is you’re around people—management or other board members—who are smart, thoughtful, and have their own views and life experiences,” Ballard says. “It keeps you at fighting weight. It’s good to get outside of your organization a number of times a year and look at issues in a fresh way.”

In approaching her Ecolab board service, Ballard says she always tries to “stay curious” instead of quickly offering a “blazing insight” just because a business challenge under discussion seems familiar. “I try to keep my question-to-statement ratio at the right level, where I’m spending more time asking questions to make sure I’m understanding things than I am just putting perspectives out there,” she says.

A few years into her Ecolab board tenure, Ballard and fellow board members had to select a successor to Baker, who served as CEO for 16 years. “Doug is not an easy act to follow,” she says, because he “did a tremendous job, is well respected in the community, and is an all-around fabulous human being.”

Ecolab’s board promoted Christophe Beck, Ecolab’s president and COO, to CEO, and he took the reins in January 2021. Beck entered the job during the height of Covid-19 and has faced other political and economic issues around the globe. Ballard praised his resiliency in addressing major problems that have an impact on Ecolab’s business. “It’s been a very successful transition of two very good leaders and very good people in the community with different styles and approaches,” she says.

Ballard, Best Buy’s chief human resources officer from 2013-16, says she’s been impressed with Ecolab’s talent development process for critical executive roles. “A couple of times a year, the board does a deep dive on all of those candidates internally, [looking at] how they’re progressing, what they’re learning, where they need support,” she says.

CEO Beck says Ballard’s deep business background has contributed to Ecolab’s continued success. “She brings a rare blend of leadership experience, strategic insight, operational understanding, and passion for people to the boardroom. These attributes are a guiding force and push us to continue evolving and growing fast,” Beck says.

“What really distinguishes Shari as a board member is not only her expertise, but the way she leads—with heart, clarity, purpose, and a deep understanding of the broader context in which our business operates around the world,” Beck says.

Ballard also serves on the Allina Health board. “Everybody on the planet knows that the health care system does not work,” Ballard says, because existing health care reimbursement structures don’t adequately support the delivery of care.

“It’s a very rewarding board to be on because what the organization is trying to do is so meaningful and important in the community,” she says. But she worries about the long-term sustainability of health care providers. “There’s this inherent disconnect between the people who are using the services and who’s paying for it,” Ballard says. “That is a very, very complicated problem to solve.”

Other board service

Allina Health (2020-present)
University of Minnesota Foundation (2007-24)
PetSmart (2020-23)
Minneapolis Institute of Art (2012-15)
Delhaize (2012-15)

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