TLT: How long have you worked in a lubrication-related field, and how did you decide to pursue a career in the lubricants industry?
Perry: I’ve been in the lubrication world for more than 35 years, and a lot of what shaped my career came from the people I learned from early on. I was lucky to work with Bill Herguth, who really influenced how I think about this industry. He taught me that it is not just about the product or the test results; it is about listening, building trust and taking the time to understand what a customer is actually facing.
That approach naturally pulled me toward the intersection of chemistry, reliability and condition monitoring. What has kept me here all these years is the opportunity to marry customers to the right solutions and to keep learning right alongside them. Every customer brings something new to the table, and that constant learning is what still makes this work interesting and rewarding for me.
TLT: What has been your most rewarding accomplishment throughout your career in the lubricants industry?
Perry: Honestly, the most rewarding part of my career has been the relationships I have built along the way. I have been fortunate to work with people who were willing to teach me, trust me and grow alongside me. Those relationships have helped me better understand what people are really dealing with day to day, and they have shaped how I approach my work. Many of those connections have lasted for decades, and that means more to me than any single accomplishment.
TLT: What is the No. 1 piece of advice you would give to a person who might be interested in starting a career in the lubricants industry?
Perry: Stay curious and be willing to listen more than you talk. The lubricants industry is technical, but it is also very people-driven, and you do not need to know everything on day one. Take the time to understand how equipment really operates, ask questions about why and how things can fail and learn from the experience of those around you and before you. Commit to continuous education, whether through formal training, certifications or simply learning from the field, and never stop building your knowledge. If you focus on helping, building relationships and understanding both the data and the people behind it, you will build a career and trust that lasts.
TLT: Throughout the different segments within your career, which one has been the most interesting, challenging and/or rewarding?
Perry: The most interesting and challenging part of my career has been working with people. The technical side of running tests, interpreting results and understanding what the data is really telling you takes time and confidence to develop. Helping people, whether staff or clients, get comfortable with that process has been one of the hardest and most rewarding parts of my work. There is a real sense of accomplishment when someone understands the data well enough to take action, adjust a practice or prevent a failure before it happens. Seeing that shift, where the data turns into understanding and confidence, has made this part of my career especially meaningful.
TLT: What are some of the most technical lubrication-based concepts or topics that you have encountered throughout your career?
Perry: Some of the most technical concepts I have worked with have come through failure analysis, which often feels a lot like being a detective. You are piecing together clues such as lubricant selection, operating conditions, contamination, wear patterns and sometimes human decisions where you get to understand what really happened. Rarely is there a single answer and learning how to slow down and look at the whole picture has been a big part of that learning process.
One experience that really stands out involved scanning electron microscopy (SEM). At the time, commercial SEM was still very new for lubrication and bearing failure work. I was asked to put together a presentation for a conference, despite knowing very little about SEM at the start. I had to crash-course not only what the SEM could do, but how it could be practically applied to bearing failure analysis, and this is before artificial intelligence (AI) existed, so a lot of actual reading and researching had to take place!
That meant learning how to identify and explain failure modes such as abrasive wear, adhesive wear, fatigue spalling, surface distress, corrosion, electrical discharge damage and contamination-related failures. I had to translate this new knowledge into something useful and help people understand why a bearing failed and what could be done to prevent it from happening again.
TLT: What is the one thing you wish you would have learned earlier in your career?
Perry: I wish I had learned earlier to have more confidence in myself and not be so hard on myself. In a technical field like this, it is easy to focus on what you do not know instead of recognizing how much you have already learned. Looking back, I see that some of my toughest moments were also the times I was growing the most. Learning to trust my experience, give myself grace and recognize progress along the way would have made the journey a little easier and even more enjoyable.
You can reach Linda Perry at linda@emphareli.com or linda.perry@theviswagroup.com.