For Sarah Kelley, the most exciting thing about sustainability is enhancing product attributes, and it starts with innovation. As a Senior Product Manager of Innovation, Sarah and her team operate at the center of our product development process. Together, they translate customer needs and market insights into products that deliver high performance and attributes that attract and excite customers.
Sarah joined Sherwin-Williams in 2023, working on architectural interior paints within the Paint Stores Group (PSG). Today, she manages the premium interior portfolio across PSG, Consumer Brands Group and the primers and ceiling paint categories, managing well-known brands such as Emerald®, Duration®, Infinity® and ProBlock®.
When it comes to product launches, product marketing connects the cross-functional teams. “We bring together research and development, supply chain, finance, product excellence, segment, research, end users and more to determine what an innovation needs to be, and when each group needs to be engaged to make it happen,” Sarah explains. Having the right people in the room is critical. She adds, “You have to set the table from the beginning and remain consistent in communication about the project goals across cross-functional groups.”
That collaborative approach was central to the development and launch of Emerald® Symmetry™, a high-performance interior coating that exceeds the performance requirements of our most discerning customers with what Sarah calls the “unexpected delighter” of sustainability, brought to life through innovative plant-based technology.
“A coating without performance means nothing. Performance is a must-have for our products. It all starts there,” she says. “Sustainability gives you another reason to love it. That’s why I refer to sustainability as a delighter.” With Emerald® Symmetry™, attributes like application feel, hide and final finish were designed to stand out, allowing customers to experience the product’s quality first, while having access to features such as zero volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which helps promote better indoor air quality.
Sarah credits the success of the launch to strong leadership support, deep cross-functional collaboration and the dedication of teams who spent years refining the formulation. “So much science goes into developing paint,” she says. “We have talented scientists on our team who have dedicated years to bringing Emerald® Symmetry™ to life. Formulation matters, and it shows in the performance of this product.”
What motivates her most is seeing Emerald® Symmetry™ in action. “Watching someone apply it for the first time, hearing the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs,’ never gets old,” Sarah shares. “That reaction is what carried me through this project.”
Sarah is always on the lookout for delightful experiences outside of work, too. For her, that is family time. Most of Sarah’s free time is spent boating, shopping with her teenage daughters and serving as a booster for her eldest’s startup lacrosse program.
