Merger
750 million-dollar food manufacturing company

OVERVIEW
One of the biggest investment banking firms in the United States purchased two food-manufacturing companies, both market leaders in their primary product lines.

CHALLENGE
The two legacy companies had enjoyed the relative protection of being moderate size divisions of multi-billion dollar enterprises. Now they were challenged as a stand-alone mid-size global company. The new company had to deal with two very different cultural legacies, new competitive threats, a global recession and fiscal constraints. Furthermore, one year after the creation of the company, the CEO was replaced and the synergies expected from the combined companies had yet to be realized.

ACTIONS
CWG was engaged by the newly hired CEO to create a blueprint for implementing the new strategy and product-line structure. This included a plan for leveraging the strengths of the combined cultures in order to capitalize on market opportunities. The new leadership team required development and alignment to produce strong direction. The plan included: conducting an organizational analysis and culture survey to provide a common understanding of the challenges, and galvanizing leadership into focused actions.

RESULTS
To develop global business alignment, a large group event with the top 100 leaders from around the world accelerated the move toward a unified vision, strategy and values upon which decisions and actions would emanate. Executive stewardship, including accountability and results, dramatically improved. Business directors now have the charter and market focus to capitalize on product development synergies. Business results, even in a recession, have been markedly improved.

Case Study 7