Few people grow up planning a career in the cleaning industry. Most find their way in by accident, and the ones who stay often discover far more room to grow than they expected. Helping that discovery happen sooner has become a priority for Vectair Systems.
Vectair Systems is the presenting sponsor of the Emerging Leaders Program at ISSA Show North America 2026, set for Nov. 16-19 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The program recognizes professionals under 40 who are making a mark in cleaning and facility solutions, giving them industry visibility, professional development and time with established leaders.
Steve Schoembs, CEO of Vectair, brings a long view of how talent develops. He spent years with Procter & Gamble working on businesses around the globe, then served as CEO of a North American paper company. He joined Vectair as president in October 2025 and stepped into the CEO role this past February.
Vectair focuses on odor control, scent marketing and hygiene, primarily for commercial washrooms. The company is headquartered in the U.S. and outside London, operates in 90 countries and added Big D Industries and WizKid Products through acquisitions in 2025. Its ties to ISSA run deep. Schoembs noted that one founder of a company Vectair acquired has been attending the show for more than 50 years.
For Schoembs, the show itself is only part of the equation. “Really, it’s all about what do you do in between ISSA that’s important,” he said.
What the next generation brings
Schoembs sees several qualities in younger professionals that are pushing companies to get better. Curiosity tops his list.
“The curiousness of the next generation is pretty remarkable, asking questions about not only how we do things today, but providing creative solutions or creative ideas on how we can do things in the future to be more effective,” Schoembs said.
These emerging leaders are also digital natives who came up using data, analytics and AI tools in school. Schoembs believes that background changes how decisions get made. “Data drives so many decisions, and having the ability to have that background and bring their tools to the table is super important,” he explained.
Sustainability is another strength. Schoembs described it as a core tenet for many younger professionals, both at work and in the rest of their lives. “That doesn’t mean just products that are sustainable or recyclable,” he said. “It’s really about your company, what your company’s goals are.” The timing suits Vectair, which has made sustainability one of its main growth pillars for the next five years.
Show them the path early
People who never pictured themselves in this industry need to see where it can take them. Schoembs said that starts with a conversation early in someone’s career, in their first or second role, about where they want to be in 10 or 15 years and how they can get there inside the company. He stressed the value of talking about “real roles versus hypotheticals.”
Experience across departments matters too. “This next generation of leaders want to be the future leaders of the industry,” Schoembs said. “In order to do that, we have seen that being able to work in multiple disciplines … is really important to create a rounded career and skill set so that you can be the future general managers and leaders or CEOs of companies within the industry.”
Flexibility tops the wish list
Vectair employs many young professionals in the U.S. and Europe, and Schoembs said flexibility in how, where and when they work is near the top of what they want. The company tries to balance that against the needs of the business, often allowing a day or so a week of remote work depending on the role.
“We found it helps us from a business standpoint for them to stay engaged and excited about the work that they’re doing,” he said.
Mentorship and career path clarity round out his list. Younger employees want people inside and outside the company who will help them build skills. They also want to see a future, with a clear picture of the roles open to them “so that they can be a long-term employee of Vectair for the next 20-plus years and be successful along the way,” Schoembs added.
Why the sponsorship made sense
Vectair builds its strategy in five-year cycles organized around five pillars of growth. Talent and employees ranks first.
“That’s the number one thing for us,” Schoembs said. “How do we grow our employees, retain our employees and attract the best talent in the industry.”
That pillar covers talent development across the organization and a goal of becoming the employer of choice in Vectair’s markets. The company also pushes employees to take on leadership roles in the industry and in their communities, such as local chambers of commerce.
One result is Ignite, Vectair’s leadership development and mentoring program. Each year the company selects a group of rising employees, sometimes five or 10 and sometimes more, for a yearlong program run by outside industry experts rather than by Vectair. Participants work together as a group and meet individually with coaches. Some have found the coaching valuable enough to keep their one-on-one sessions going well past the one-year mark, Schoembs noted.
More than a logo on a screen
Schoembs is clear that the sponsorship should mean something beyond brand visibility. “It can’t just be a logo on a screen,” he said. “Really, our focus at Vectair is on developing our future leaders, and we want to bring some of the things that we’ve learned internally broader within the industry.”
He hopes the approaches Vectair has tested in-house can help other companies build programs of their own. “If we can help other companies and other leaders within those companies to develop similar programs, that’s how we believe that we can help the industry professionals in a unique way,” he added.
The value of hard lessons
Vectair expects its leaders to mentor others, formally and informally, inside the company and out. Schoembs said the most useful mentoring includes the mistakes.
“It’s not all just about the good,” he said. “I went through this situation and learned a hard way that this certain thing wasn’t the right way to approach a tough situation. We can teach that to those of the next generation, so maybe they don’t make the same mistakes that we did along our career paths.”
Advice for the class in Vegas
The message Schoembs wants every emerging leader to hear at the show is simple: stay engaged. He encourages them to treat every connection as an opportunity, whether it’s a coworker, customer, supplier or someone from another industry they meet on the show floor. Mentors and mentees share the responsibility of keeping those relationships going between events.
“Stay engaged with the work. Stay engaged with those that you may have met throughout the time at ISSA, and particularly with the events for the emerging leaders,” Schoembs said. “It will pay dividends for you. Learn as much as you can. Enjoy your time.”
