Simon Minder

Mar 13, 2024 | imd.org | Peter Vogel |Marleen Dieleman |Simon Minder

The longest corporate takeover battle in the history of Switzerland pitted Sika, a domestic chemical manufacturer, against Saint-Gobain, a French conglomerate. The seed of this dispute wasn’t a clash between competitors, but rather the loss of trust between the business’s family owners and its non-family leaders. Sika was a very successful family-controlled firm from 1910 until the 1990s, when the Burkard family gave up the reins of the company and stepped back from operational leadership.

Feb 19, 2024 | imd.org | Marleen Dieleman |Tania Lennon |Peter Vogel |Simon Minder

“Who the hell are YTL?”This was the headline in Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper after Malaysian infrastructure conglomerate YTL successfully won a bidding war to take control of Wessex Water for £1.2bn ($1.47bn) in 2002. The headline – and the unfounded allegations of bribery in the bidding process – underscore how firms perceived as outsiders face significant stigma when trying to gain a foothold internationally.

Jan 19, 2024 | imd.org | Amit M. Joshi |Sarah Toms |Heather Cairns-Lee |Simon Minder

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” While the origins of this proverb are not crystal clear, its wisdom resonates, especially in the realm of leadership. In a world where the pursuit of excellence often focuses on individual talent, leaders must foster a culture of top teams – the ‘we’ instead of the ‘I’. That’s because any system will only be as strong as its weakest link. Ultimately, top teams eat top talent for breakfast.