How Do We Make Maintenance Sexy? | Kevin Clark, Siemens | Ep. 7

What would it take for maintenance to be seen as more than a cost centre and become something people actually aspire to be part of? In this episode of Assets UNSCRIPTED, host Berend Booms sits down with Kevin Clark, Head of Industrial Strategy and Asset Management at Siemens. Kevin started his career as a maintenance technician and has spent more than 40 years working across every level of the industry, from the shop floor to global strategy. The conversation explores why maintenance is still seen as a cost centre, why the gap between boardroom ambition and plant floor reality is harder to close than most people admit, and why Kevin believes the future of asset management depends on one thing above all: people. Key topics covered: The shift from reactive maintenance to predictive strategy, and what that honestly looks like today Why the smart manufacturing conversation lands differently in the boardroom than on the plant floor How globalisation makes local relevance more important, not less What actually determines whether technology gets adopted or quietly abandoned What it would take to make maintenance an aspirational profession Leadership as lifting people up, and why that never changes If Kevin had five years and one budget in asset management, what he would spend it on The guest: Kevin Clark is Head of Industrial Strategy and Asset Management at Siemens, with over 40 years of experience spanning maintenance technician, engineering, and strategy roles at companies including Johnson and Johnson, Caterpillar, Fluke, and Accruent. He has also held the title of Chief Evangelist Officer, a role he describes as part of a long-running mission to make maintenance a profession people aspire to. 00:00 Introduction 00:31 Kevin's journey from technician to industrial strategist 04:07 How the value of asset management has changed over 40 years 07:25 Boardroom vs plant floor: the smart manufacturing gap 10:40 The hardest problems are the ones still left to solve 12:51 Globalization and why it's a people problem 14:59 What makes technology succeed in the real world 19:09 Bridging decision-makers and daily users 22:34 The Chief Evangelist Officer and educating the market 27:12 How do we make maintenance sexy? 31:37 Leadership is about lifting people up 35:09 People and the pace of technology 40:16 If you had five years and one budget, Kevin's answer Stay Connected: www.linkedin.com/company/future-of-assets www.futureofassets.com