A Global C-Suite Study...1 Successful mid -caps take an ambitious, long term view. 2 79% were studying the successes (and failures) of other companies: 3 If many mid -caps already

Welcome to the

Flight Deck

A Global C-Suite Study The Human Dimension of

Globalizing Mid-Caps - as Seen by their Leaders

Full Report

Welcome to the Flight Deck »

Introduction

This study is a deep exploration of the world of

globalizing mid-caps. It draws upon 83 interviews

conducted exclusively face-to-face with C-suite

leaders from every continent. Lasting up to two

hours, the interviews were conducted by Amrop

Partners over the Summer and Fall of 2013, using

a structured framework designed by researchers

at IMD, the top-ranked global business school

based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Our focus: the human element:

− Talent Management at Top Levels

− Culture and its Implications for Performance

− Board Governance

This is your personal invitation to enter the Flight

Deck of today’s globalizing mid-caps - a place

beyond public declarations or annual reports - to

hear what C-suite leaders are confidentially, and

often spontaneously, revealing - in their own

words.

Welcome On Board.


On behalf of IMD

Foreword Maury Peiperl

Professor of Leadership and

Strategic Change,

IMD

@MauryPeiperl


On behalf of the Amrop Partnership

Foreword Ulrich Dade

Chairman of the

Executive Board,

The Amrop Partnership


Welcome to the Flight Deck: Headlines

1 Successful mid-caps take an ambitious, long-term view.

2 79% were studying the successes (and failures) of other companies:

3 If many mid-caps already have a successful international business, only 9% felt truly ready

for globalization.

4 Managerial and cultural capacity for globalization are top-ranking, critical issues.

5 Three main factors are positioning successful mid-caps to win the war for customers and

talent.

6 Successful mid-caps strike a compelling balance between local autonomy and corporate

influence.

7 Globalizing mid-caps have powerful employer branding to attract leadership talent:

8 Many mid-caps are ideally positioned to be innovation and entrepreneurship champions.

9 Mid-cap Boards are tailoring themselves for globalization.


Contents

View From 30.000 Feet

1 Introducing the High-flying Mid-Caps 9

2 Global Trade Winds

18

3 Key On-Board Conditions for a Successful Flight

27

4 Piloting Skills: Agility and Consistency

57

Closer to the Terrain

5 The Flight to Leadership

63

6 Becoming the Carrier of the Future: A Culture of Innovation

69

7 The Flight Controllers: Board Governance

88

8 What’s Next? 115

9 Appendix

126


Introducing the High-Flying Mid-Caps

Capturing the notion of a ‘globalizing mid-cap’ 1


Part One

View From 30,000 Feet

“From the very beginning we were

open to listening. We started this

company ‘from scratch’ with no

know-how, with only financial

shareholders. Our big competitors

ignored us then – for which we can

only be grateful now.” - CEO, Central Europe


1

Introducing the High-Flying

Mid-Caps

We find out the personal reflections behind

carefully crafted (and often undistinctive) press

interviews, annual reports, online declarations

of mission or vision.

We discover a winner mentality, with stretch

targets, globalization high on the agenda,

determination and a sense of no limits.

We found that 79% were studying the

successes of other companies. 21% had no role

model, some because they felt unique.


Introducing the High-

Flying Mid-Caps

As an introduction to our discussion, we

wanted to understand the personal

perspectives of our C-suite participants

regarding their organizational purpose. What

lies behind carefully crafted press interviews,

annual reports, or online declarations of

mission or vision?

Real Ambitions

“We are striving to

change the rules of the

game in our sector,

doing new things, in a

different way,

innovating, being

ground-breakers. We

have to do things that

have never been done

before.” - CEO, NSW Europe

1


“Our 2020 vision is

ambitious and we are

convinced that we can

achieve it. There are two

huge players but we do

not feel small, we are

winning step by step and

will continue to do so.” - Director, South America


Admired Organizations

79% were studying the success (or failures) of one or

more companies

Mid-caps were primarily seeking lessons related to

growth and globalization

“Schlumberger switched

from a centrally-led to a

regionally-led

organization. With this

approach they have

been able to enter into

local oil companies (e.g.

Saudi Arabia is not run

out of the New York

office). Finally

[Schlumberger] have the

guts to experiment with

new business models.” - CEO, Northern Europe


“In former times, GEA

was a role model, and is

still in some areas,

especially concerning the

integration of acquired

companies.” - Board Member, Northern Europe


55% were examining global market leaders

further along the globalization journey

16% are examining regional champions or peers for lessons closer to home

“Over the last 9 months

we have been increasingly

spending time in Silicon

Valley and other hotspots.

We are trying to bridge the

gap between a large

company and the desire to

function like a start up.” - CEO, Asia


21% did not name a role model

“We’re unique in that

we grew out of a utility

mindset where the

culture is home-grown,

hard working, straight up

and honest, trying to

figure it out.” - Global Head of HR, North America


1

Introducing the

high-flying

mid-caps

Summary


1

Introducing the

high-flying

mid-caps

Leading

Questions

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2

Global Trade Winds

We discovered that only 9% of globalizing mid-

caps felt ready for globalization and that some

had fears of exposure in moving beyond

regional leadership to global competitiveness.

We learned about concerns regarding

managerial capacity, and cultural readiness for

globalization.


Global Trade Winds We asked our participants to what

extent they felt ready for

globalization. If many already had a

successful international business, only

9% considered themselves truly

ready. What were their hopes and

fears?

Some Mid-Caps Have

Fears of Exposure

2 “The biggest hope is that

globalization will give

you an opportunity to

grow much faster and

bigger. The biggest

worry - we were

shielded without

globalization. With this

you are exposed to a

much bigger canvas.”

- Vice Chairman, Asia


Blips on the Radar – Critical Issues

1 – Managerial Capacity for Globalization is Insufficient

“Another fear is a

human resources risk. In

the context of rapid

growth we need to not

only retain but attract

new specialists and we

are the hunting ground.” - CEO, Central Europe


“The negative part is

that, if we lose our

strong position in our

home region, then we

will also lose the war of

attracting top talent and

be on a downward

slope. We need to keep

and expand these

positions.” - CEO, Nordics


2 - Anxieties Surround Change Readiness

“The biggest fear is that

you might not be able to

do it and achieve it in

the given timeframe. The

other is always of the

unknown something that

is lurking round the

corner, and there are a

lot of inherent risks in

the global business

where it grows rapidly,

uncontrollably.” - CEO, Asia


“If you are constantly

thinking of

crashing, you will.” - CEO, Asia


2

Global Trade Winds

Summary


2

Global Trade Winds

Leading

Questions

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3

Key On-Board Conditions for a

Successful Flight

Across the dimensions explored by our study,

three key characteristics emerge – freedom,

connectivity and C-suite Stewardship. Moreover,

these factors are by no means limited to the

smaller-sized companies.


Key On-Board Conditions for a Successful FlightThree main factors appear to be positioning successful mid-caps to win the war for

customers and talent: freedom, connectivity and C-suite stewardship.

1

3


Freedom

Boards are Free – and Give (or Reconfirm) Freedom to

Managers and their Operating Teams

“The supervision by

Supervisory Board

Members should stay

that way, because the

heart and the passion

needs to be within the

company. If the passion

is with the President of

the Supervisory Board

then he should run the

company.” - CEO, Northern Europe

3.1


“There is a Board

Chairman who believes

in me and my decisions.

He has earned my

appreciation and I have

earned his trust, where

at the end we both have

the company’s wellbeing

as a priority.” - CEO, Central America


“The owners have made

a conscious and unforced

decision to step back

from the operative daily

business and have given

room and power to the

Managing Director level.” - Chairman, Northern Europe


Talent is Free, to Act, Fail and Evolve

“We cascade

responsibility down into

the organization - we

can act and react fast. It

also means we can get

80% of the work done

without having to go

through endless decision

trees. We prefer to make

a mistake every now

and then rather than

nothing happening. - CEO, Northern Europe


“We say YOU are the

manager and you have

to take over innovative

systems. I am ready not

to penalize the ones

who try, and to

encourage the ones who

test new models.” - CEO, Central Europe


“This sense of

empowerment, space,

freedom, achieving

something inspires

people to think

innovatively at their own

workplace. We make

people think as if they

are entrepreneurs.” - CEO, Asia



3.1

Freedom

Summary


3.1

Freedom

Leading

Questions

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Connectivity

Boards are Connected to Internal Information,

External Views and Growth

“Board Meetings are

open to all executives

of the company, who

participate in

discussions related to

their area of

responsibility.” - CEO, Southern Europe

3.2


“We moved from a strategy

of survival, to execution, to

growth, and then strategic

growth. I have personally

seen all four transitions.” - Managing Director, Asia


“Being private equity

owned does not help all

the time, but they

brought great Board

Members. They guided

the development of

the Board.” - President, Asia


Talent is connected to new ideas and perspectives

“In the last three to five

years, we have pursued

our global aspirations.

The ability to assimilate

world-class learning was

key, from consultants,

from people who have

built other good

international airports,

who have forayed into

power generation

internationally, or coal

mines. It’s a whole

process of learning and

[we need to] be humble

about it - and enact.” - Chairman, Asia


“We do not look at

running our company

with best practices. Best

practices are common

practices and that may

not be what we need.” - HR Vice President, North America


“The management team

sits together every day.

This is been the system

for last 12 years since I

came in. There we

discuss all issues across

the table” - Managing Director, Asia


“There is less growth [in

Europe] but for us it is a

school, this is where we

send people to learn the

most mature market

business techniques.” - General Manager, Northern Europe


“We moved the best

cross-functional talent

and put them in different

locations. Within nine

months they came up

with an ERP package,

implemented with a big

bang approach and it

went so smoothly that

we got awards

from SAP.” - Chairman, Asia



“It’s not about creating

think tanks and bringing

people together and

saying: ‘Oh, I need

something from you.’

That’s I think the wrong

word. You must go down

to the shop floor and be

as open as possible and

tell people: ‘Listen, if you

have a new idea we can

discuss it.’” - CEO, Northern Europe


“Our engineers have to

be close with major

customers and have to

develop a sense of what

customers really

appreciate. Our

customers drive our

innovations.” - Chairman, Northern Europe


3.2

Connectivity

Summary


3.2

Connectivity

Leading

Questions

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C-Suite Stewardship

Many Mid-cap CEOs and Chairs Have a Distinctly

‘Hands-on’ Style

“One of my main

activities is meeting

customers, because the

customers grow the

business. I need to

know the pulse of the

market. I need to know

what’s going on.” - CEO, Asia Pacific

3.3


“When I visit factories, I

ask them: ”what

innovation have you

done that makes you

proud?” When you ask a

question like that, I think

people understand the

importance of innovation

and many times they

have presentations on

the shop floors to show

me what they have

done. I ask supply chain

people, I ask everybody:

“What innovation have

you done? What have

you done differently?”” - CEO, Asia


“I look to sell ideas and

create passion through

direct communication,

always face to face. This

is what I learned in the

process from the

beginning, working with

my father.” - Vice President, South America


“As our Chairman is known

to take so much interest in

HR, he personally

supervises all these

processes.” - Managing Director, Northern Europe


“We could define it as

paternalism: a long-term

relationship, looking after

our people. In addition,

the long delegation and

empowerment, this

together creates

maximal loyalty. We

never fire anybody.” - Chairman, Southern Europe


3.3

C-suite

Stewardship

Summary


3.3

C-suite

Stewardship

Leading

Questions

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4

Piloting Skills –

Agility and Consistency

Of all the tensions facing mid-cap leaders, the

tension between agility and consistency is the

most frequently encountered. In this chapter we

discover how mid-caps are finding a compelling

balance between local autonomy and corporate

influence. To reconcile agility and consistency,

many are centralizing processes (e.g. HR, ICT)

and decentralizing decisions – particularly in

market-facing areas.


Piloting Skills –

Agility and Consistency Global operations and production are a prime concern for mid-cap

leaders. We will now examine the meeting point between culture

and operations – the tension between agility and consistency. How

are mid-caps organizing themselves to be coherent and predictable,

without compromising responsiveness on the ground?

4


“We have centralized

policy making, CSR, HSE,

and we have built

resources to have the

same standards all

around the world…We

encourage local

empowerment and give

decisionmaking power to

each subsidiary.” - CEO, Nordics



4

Piloting Skills:

Agility and

Consistency

Leading

Questions

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Part Two A closer look at the terrain

5

The Flight to

Leadership

6

Becoming the

Carrier of the

Future: a Culture

of Innovation

7

The Flight

Controllers:

Board Governance


We discover that the tension between agility and consistency is the

5

The Flight to Leadership

Bright talent would be well advised to make

globalizing mid-caps a primary career choice.

We have seen that they can expect

opportunities that take them out of their

comfort zone, give them the freedom to swim,

and catch the keen eye of top management.

In this chapter, we will discover that they are

likely to be the primary talent pool for

leadership succession. As they rise in technical

or managerial excellence, they may face strong

external challengers.

Until then, top talent can enjoy a

diverse environment, enriched by

probable transfer, as we have

seen, between functions,

divisions and geographies.

Financial incentives will be

competitive, but culture will be

an equally strong motivator, as

will top-class formal learning

programs.


The Flight to Leadership In Part One we saw ways in which current mid-cap

leaders are assuring close stewardship of customers

and innovation and engaging in the live and interactive

communication of mission. We witnessed their keen interest in

talent. We experienced, too, ways of talent surfacing and

development through cultural features - freedom and connectivity.

Beyond standard HR strategy and practice, how are globalizing mid-caps

assuring the next generation of leaders?

Go Inside. Internal Talent Knows the Company and

Wants to Get Ahead

5


“Growth and

globalization provide

opportunities to surface

talent automatically.

There are fair methods to

reconfirm that this

person is a talent. High

potentials easily surface.

There are some just

below them who need

to be egged on. Get

them out of the shadow.

But the ones in deep

shadow? No no.” - CEO, Asia


Go Outside for Technical or Sector-

specific Know-how, and, Where

Necessary, Senior Positions

“It’s quite rare but in the

technical functions of the

research centres, for

project management, we

look for experienced

people, who have

worked for Vinci, Véolia,

or in very technical

professions. The Tax

Director had been a Tax

Director elsewhere but

otherwise we keep a lot

of our young and bright

recruits.” - General Manager,

Northern Europe


Attractive Options, a Distinctive

Employer Brand

“We have attractive

brands, a good

reputation and we give

people responsibilities

quite early in their

careers. We try to give

young and talented

people the chance and

give them

opportunities.” - CEO, Nordics


Diversity Blends Skills and Culture,

and is Evolving

“Fortunately more and

more women are going

for technical studies,

although our country is

still lagging behind

Southern countries, such

as Brazil.” - CEO, Northern Europe


“At the end of 2012,

approximately 30% of

the Directors reporting to

the Board were females,

while the percentage of

women in a middle

management position

was 35%.” - CEO, Central Europe


“This thing about

leadership to be unified,

to do the same things,

frightens me a little bit.” - CEO, Northern Europe


“We would not like to

keep a 90%-capability

person just because of

gender diversity. We

have close to 15-20%

female employees, but

that is also not because

an employee is a

woman, it is just that she

was the most suitable

for that role. We have

now started to think

about affirmative actions,

but until now it was

mainly capability-driven.” - Managing Director, Asia


Growth and Globalization – and

Internal Talent Sourcing – are Raising

the Bar on Formal Education and

Training

“For executive

development we have a

number of programs,

including collaboration

with [__] University. We

offer courses four to six

times per year and this is

the highest education

we deliver. “ - CEO, Nordics


Money and Growth Carry Motivational Weight


“The combination of

motivation system and

corporate culture, ‘being

a member of the

winning team’ leads to a

high retention rate – we

are not losing our

key people.” - CEO, Nordics


What Mid-Caps Still Have to Learn About

Leadership Talent Management

“If you tell somebody

within the 28-35 age

range “you are a top

talent,” some of them

can’t deal with it,

because they think they

are so important. They

then suffer from burnout

syndrome because they

get too excited and think

they must immediately

be the CEO.” - CEO, Nordics


“In the beginning there

was resistance from the

marketing guys so we

had better make sure we

put the top notch people

in there and prove it, so

that we could say that

you don’t need to be a

marketing guy to be a

front liner, a finance guy

can do that.” - Chairman, Asia Pacific


5

The Flight to

Leadership

Summary


5

The Flight to

Leadership

Leading

Questions

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4

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6

Becoming the Carrier of

Choice: a Culture of

Innovation

Mid-caps are ideally positioned to be innovation

and entrepreneurship champions.

In this chapter, we discover that the innovation

spectrum is wide, moving from product, to

process, involving employees beyond the ‘usual

suspects’ or dedicated divisions, to the most

operational levels

The freedom to experiment and

fail as we have seen is a cultural

feature, with top managers

taking a personal interest in

employee initiatives. In this

chapter we examine underlying

systems and motivational

mechanisms.

While creativity is flourishing,

resources may be lower than

those of larger rivals. We will see

how mid-caps prioritize new

ideas.

We also ask, could mid-caps risk

losing innovative vitality with

growth and globalization?


Culture - the Story So Far

Connectivity

Freedom

C-suite stewardship

6


Innovation and Entrepreneurship Are

Closely Associated Concepts for Several

Mid-Cap Leaders

Innovation is More Than an Attitude –

it is an Imperative

“The resources obtained

by going public allowed

us to invest in

innovation and to

strategically develop

from a manufacturer into

a retail chain.” - CEO, South America


“Every year we target

around three hundred

new SMEs - new

entrepreneurs or new

members that need help

to grow… We help them

to do micro-financing to

support themselves. The

impact is not only

improvement on the

wealth of the people but

also, surprisingly, we

could unite the migrants

from Java with the local

people.” - President, Asia Pacific


“We have installed a

yearly engineering

meeting where our top

300 managers are

invited to listen to our

top engineers and get

educated on the best

innovations. The best

will be awarded with an

extra R&D budget of

€700,000, the second

with €500,000 and the

third with €300,000.” - CEO, Northern Europe

Extrinsic Motivation backs

Intrinsic Motivation

3


Focus is Essential in Challenging

Environments – and Mid-Caps are

Finding Ways

“It has been working the

pool of talent with a mix

of madness, conviction,

survival instinct, and

commitment to the

project.” - CEO, Asia


Some Mid-Caps Are Experiencing

‘Growing Pains’ “The promoter and

children are very

entrepreneurial. Below

that at operating level

CEO's [and] business

leaders, we fall short.” - CEO, Asia


“It is more and more

difficult to be an

entrepreneur. Of course

we can use the word

‘entrepreneur’ but with

two controls a day, it is

impossible. It becomes a

fight when you are

bigger. We are listed, we

have a lot of internal

control. Entrepreneurship

is not so natural any

more.” - CEO, Northern Europe

Mid-caps Risk Losing Innovative Vitality

as they Grow and Globalize


“We created an

innovation committee,

chaired by a specialist

brought in from the USA,

whose job was to

broaden our view on

innovation. An example

of this is the creation of

a Strategic Planning and

New Businesses area,

with its own Director. - CEO, South America


Finally, Innovation is Not a

Universal Imperative

“In this industry it’s a bit

difficult to be classical

entrepreneur in really

making revolutions. I

would more call it

innovation driven. So it is

in our DNA to be

innovation driven.” - CEO, Northern Europe


6

Becoming the

Carrier of the

Future:

a Culture of

Innovation

Summary

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6

Becoming the

Carrier of the

Future: a Culture of

Innovation

Leading

Questions

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7

The Flight Controllers:

Board Governance

So far we have seen that share- and

stakeholders are giving freedom to mid-cap

Boards to function independently. CEO’s are

trusted by Boards to perform. Operations in turn

are given room for maneuver. Boards are

structurally connected to internal information, to

external views and to growth and globalization.

In this chapter, we see how the Board agenda is

topped by an interplay between performance

and finance, investments and talent.

We will learn the value placed

upon the constructive

confrontation of independent

Board Members, how Boards are

seeking greater diversity to

reflect globalization, and the

challenge for Boards to be

representative, yet lean.


Board Governance – the Story So Far

Freedom

−

−

−

Connectivity

7


Boards are Performing a Balancing Act

CEO’s and senior managers may be free, but they are

Still Supported by Boards

“It is related to your

personal development.

In the first year you are

still pretty innocent and

open about everything

that needs to happen,

but once you have had a

number of meetings

with the Supervisory

Board, the Shareholders,

Founders, and so on, you

get ‘shaped’. And

secondly I am aware of

my impact on the

organization and more at

ease with that.” - CEO, Northern Europe


Trust in Senior Executives is Balanced With Risk

Management. The CFO is Crucial.

“Our Executive Board and

especially the CFO over

the last ten years have

built a robust

governance/control

structure. We are praised

for our risk register, how

we separate

authorization and the

underlying systems. With

regard to global and local

we believe strongly in a

culture of autonomous

local/business decision-

making balanced with

solid risk management

from a governance

perspective.”

- CEO, Northern Europe


Strategizing and Management are Distinct,

Yet Connected

“The Board has moved to

a more strategic role and

is no longer so close to

operations and

operational reviews,

which I think is good. My

role is then more to

facilitate the strategic

discussion with

the Board.”

- CEO, Nordics


Strategic Bifocals

“The CEO's role is to

monitor quarter-on-

quarter performance. The

Board’s is more long

term. It's the strategic

direction, a decade down

the line, rather than

short term goals.”

- Vice Chairman, Asia


Agenda Items – 4 Clear Priorities Emerge

Composition is Shifting in Line

With the Organization Diversity – Prioritizing Specialisms, Industries and Nationalities

“Over the last three

years the Board has

become more diverse in

terms of background and

agenda.”

- Board Member, Northern Europe


Globalization is Creating Shifts In Composition.

“Each one of them had

to bring a competence at

the Board level which

would be suitable and

relevant for the Board

management, not only

the SMEs. Because five

of those will not add any

value compared what

one would have added -

if it was the right guy.”

- HR President, Asia


Growth - and More Complex Processes –

Are Forcing Change

Board Composition Must Reflect Organizational

Composition – yet Remain Lean and Athletic.

“My successor had to

change the Board.

Because of the diversity

of strategies and the

split of central functions,

we did not have the

people to manage this.

And now it works.”



“I did a lot in engaging

and leveraging the

Board. Board meetings

lasted a day and half –

six to eight meetings -

and a lot of additional

calls.”

- President, Asia


Independent Members – More Than Box-Ticking

“The current composition

with a small EC is indeed

more effective. I always

use the rule of thumb of

eight direct reports as

the limit for having

constructive thought

exchange, interaction

and commitment,”



Composition is Only the Start -

Consensus, Synergies and Alignment

Must Follow

Achieving Unity and Collaboration

“Sometimes people who

are inside might have

reasons for not

confronting issues head-

on, but I have also seen

Independent Directors

not taking sufficient

interest. That way you

will let things go the

way they are presented -

and it just becomes a

ritual you are going

through.”

- Managing Director, Asia


From Diversity, to Complementarity

“[The Board has] the

right mix of the

organization’s gene -

one optimist, one

pessimist, one to be

cautious and one who

controls the numbers.”



“The Board takes it very

seriously that their toes

are equally held to the

fire as Management’s,

which is why we’re

getting more questions

about process, risk,

governance etc.; they

have to demonstrate

that they are

independent from

management.”

- HR, North America


“These independent

members guided the

development of the

Board; setting up a

compensation

committee and how to

run it. How to build

compensation reviews,

model compensation for

leaders. Governance

[also]- setting up audit

committee, risk

evaluation…”

- President, Asia


Some Mid-Cap Boards Must Resolve

Lingering Problems

“According to the way

the Board has been

growing, there are Board

Members that are more

patrimonial.”

- CEO, South America


Board Succession –

Many Routes to Everest

Board Succession is Rising as a Board Agenda Item

Some Boards Seek a Younger Demographic

We generally say that

each successful manager

should have at least two

to three nominated

successors. Maybe it’s

not there as of now but

the spirit is to have that.

- CEO, Asia


Mid-caps May Well Go Inside First For Board

Succession – (But Not Exclusively)

Several Internal Board Successors are Already Orbiting the CEO or Chairman

“It is not unusual to

promote and observe

potential candidates for

the Board over a period

of ten years.”

- Board Member, Northern Europe


“Since I couldn’t

overstaff, I employed

extremely agile and

relatively young people, I

call them my Swiss

Knives. They’re people

that I can assign to

anything. The more

complicated the

problem, the more they

enjoy themselves. I give

them a web and they

untangle themselves”

- General Manager, Northern Europe


When an Internal Focus is Not Enough

A Few Mid-Caps Are Facing Challenges in Board Succession

“We’ve been able to

bring in leaders who are

entrepreneurial risk

takers – 25 of our 150

top managers are new.”

- Global HR Head, North America


“Our presence in the

international market is

helping us in training

individuals for profit centre

roles now. We have

Bangladesh, South Africa,

Dubai with P&L roles. Our

structure allows many P&L

roles. It helps train CEOs.”

- Chairman, Asia


7

The Flight Controllers –

Board Governance

Summary


7

The Flight

Controllers:

Board

Governance

Leading

Questions

?

4

4

?

4

4

?

4

4

?

4

4


What’s Next? Towards a Leadership profile and strategies for globalizing

mid-caps: the Amrop view.

Who are the mid-caps? 4 distinctive features emerge as key traits.

Interestingly, these are ‘geographically agnostic.’

Could globalizing mid-caps inhabit a ‘vitality zone’?

Preety Kumar Member of the

Executive Board,

The Amrop Partnership

8


Implications and recommendations

What pitfalls could these positive mid-cap characteristics contain? What counter-strategies

are successful mid-caps finding? What leadership profiling and related initiatives do we

recommend?

1 - Successful mid-caps take an ambitious, long-term view.

An ambitious, long-term view

Strength Pitfall

Risk

What’s Next: Inspiring and visionary ambitions matched by managerial and cultural capacity.


Organization design

must allow for

upscaling whilst

preserving the vital

DNA of

entrepreneurship

and connectivity.


Preparing Boards for

globalization must

embrace not only

current realities and

resources, but

ambitions. A context

driven evaluation is

an essential first

step. Yet the results

may confront

embedded

perceptions, lead to

tough decisions

regarding existing

members and a

need to build

consensus.


2 - Freedom is a further feature of successful mid-caps.

Freedom

Strength Pitfall

Risk

What’s Next: it’s all about balance. Freedom balanced by self-governance, management

infrastructure, clarity and connectivity.


Connectivity – a distinctive feature of mid-caps – balances

freedom

Leveraging the value

of independent

Directors must

transcend ‘box

ticking’ and

regulatory

compliance.

Furthermore, should

your independent

Directors have a seat

on the Boards of

other organizations,

do check their

commitment to

yours.


More than

competent

practitioners in their

domain, talent in

globalizing mid-caps

must be skilled and

‘ego-free’ teachers

and coaches.


3 - C-Suite Stewardship is a feature of successful mid-caps.

C-Suite Stewardship

Strength Pitfall

Risk

What’s Next: Preserving the ‘owner attitude’ in an expanding and virtualizing world.


4 - Many mid-caps are positioned to be innovation and entrepreneurship champions.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Strength Pitfall

Risk

What’s Next: Preserving the innovative spirit whilst engineering focus and relevance.



5 In summary



Appendix


Methodology

Sampling

Interviewing process

Analysis


Demographics



Acknowledgements Interviewees from the following organizations have given formal permission for their organizations’

names to be published in the report. We sincerely thank them, and all interviewees whose

organization names have been withheld to respect confidentiality, for their invaluable contribution to

our study.


About the Authors

About IMD

About Amrop

Contact IMD Contact Amrop Secretariat

We thank Panteia B.V.


Amrop Offices

ARGENTINA

GERMANY

AUSTRIA

BELGIUM

BRAZIL

GREECE

CANADA

HUNGARY

INDIA

CHILE

INDONESIA

CHINA

IRELAND

COLOMBIA

ITALY

JAPAN

COSTA RICA

KOREA SOUTH

CZECH REPUBLIC

LATVIA

DENMARK

LITHUANIA

ECUADOR

MEXICO

ESTONIA

MOROCCO

FINLAND

NETHERLANDS

FRANCE


NORWAY

UKRAINE

PANAMA

UNITED STATES

PERU

PHILIPPINES

POLAND

VENEZUELA

PORTUGAL

ROMANIA

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

SAUDI ARABIA

SERBIA

SINGAPORE

SLOVAKIA

SLOVENIA

SOUTH AFRICA

SPAIN

SWEDEN

SWITZERLAND

THAILAND

TURKEY


Documents

A Global C-Suite Study...1 Successful mid -caps take an ambitious, long term view. 2 79% were studying the successes (and failures) of other companies: 3 If many mid -caps already