Our Veterans, a Valued Resource of Insights
By Vartan Yeranos, veteran and Clorox Creative Services project manager
With all of our deployments over the years, it seems like everyone knows someone who is in the military. One of my great friends in the National Guard did a tour in Afghanistan and another has a brother in Special Forces that was deployed three times. This connectedness has not only raised greater awareness of veterans’ service to their country, but also puts a deserved spotlight on the skills veterans bring to the corporate world.
I served in the military, and I’m one of nearly 400 veterans who work at Clorox. While the technical skills of working with plastic explosives doesn’t carry over to my current position in the CPG industry, Clorox’s values and leadership ideals are similar to those honed in the military, including the U.S. Army’s 11 Principles of Leadership. I’ve got these principles posted at my desk — Set the Example, Know Yourself and Seek Self-Improvement, and Build the Team, to name a few — and do my best to apply them every day here at Clorox.
Clorox’s focus on agility resembles a common phased often used by my 1st Sgt O’Neil: “Adapt and Overcome!” The Army and Army National Guard also stressed training the trainer and mentorship, which are approaches that Clorox uses to support one of its company values, “Work Together to Win.”
To paraphrase Victor Hugo, “Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come.” Clorox understands the benefits of hiring, developing and retaining veterans within our organization. In fiscal year 2014, veterans represented more than 5 percent of our new hires.
Today, Clorox announced the launch of VetNet, a network focused on bringing veterans together to share their experiences and perspectives with each other and the rest of the company. We believe that by sharing our personal and professional experiences, we can, among other things, provide meaningful consumer insights that help us better connect with veterans and their families who buy our products.
It’s great to see the company standing with us as veterans and showing their support by hiring, empowering and embracing our military network within the company and our greater community. It makes me proud to be
a U.S. veteran working as a Clorox employee.
Vartan Yeranos is a Creative Services project manager on Litter and Kingsford products. He has a BFA in graphic design with an emphasis on illustration. He started working with Clorox as an entry level designer 22 years ago. In addition, Vartan spent four years in the U.S. Army. His last duty station being 9th Battalion, 4th Psychological Operations Group (Airborne), 1st Special Operations Command. He also spent 10 years in the U.S. Army National Guard and completed his enlistment as Detachment Sergeant, HHD, Engineer Brigade, 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized) with the rank of Sergeant First Class.