By Sabit Tapan, Partner, Global Key Account Development at Pedersen & Partners and Emin Birsel, Senior Executive and Board Member - International Markets:

Sabit: Hello, Emin. We've discussed international market expansion from various angles. Once a company operates in a host country, it encounters new realities, both positive and negative. Based on your experience, how should companies learn from negative outcomes in the international markets?

Emin: Hello, Sabit. Stepping into an international expansion project, companies may be confronted with a few unexpected developments. The first possible situation, is deviating from original plans due to the new or unexpected market realities. The second is facing issues that the company and the organization are and were not exposed in their domestic markets. Many companies have a plan or investment thesis. Hence, plans and thesis immediately start getting tested.

Among various issues, investment project cycles may be longer. Customer purchasing cycles may take longer. For example, I have seen companies who step into European or American markets to realise later that there are strict listing windows for new products.

If you have missed that listing window for your product, the next time you could place your product on the shelf can only be the next year. Many times, companies find out that the synergies that they thought were going to be there between parent, subsidiary and other group companies are not as large, or will take a longer time to realize and or material investments. You can also find yourself facing difficult organisational challenges; the new organisation or the new stakeholders may not be as welcoming as you wish they were.

Obviously, you must evaluate the reasons why the expansion is not going well and make the necessary changes. It's not a shame to adapt your strategy. You may find yourself needing to localise your approach. This may include customising your products, services, marketing campaigns, customer support or management approach, indifferent ways that were not imagined earlier. A good example is Procter & Gamble’s experience in Japan. After struggling for many years and it is only when they have found their exact market success recipe that they thrived. So even for the most experienced companies and their brands, it may take a while to prosper.

You must build relationships and invest in talent while seeking also external expert advice.

You cannot place yourself in a vacuum. You must build alliances with your stakeholders to understand exactly what's happening. Also, you must be flexible and patient and learn from your mistakes. If this is particularly the first international expansion, there are a lot of learnings that can be taken from here and adapted to future projects.

Sabit: Very interesting that you have mentioned that companies should not be ashamed of re-considering their original plans. Do companies often prioritize maintaining their original strategy over restructuring their approach or redefining their strategy, viewing it as a matter of business principle or pride?

Emin: I would say that this is mostly an emotional topic. There is a lot of vested interest. The board, the CEO, the management, everybody wants this project to succeed. And there is actually wishful thinking many times where the companies may be getting blindsided and the strategy is actually a choice of products, a marketing campaign, or recruitment of some key people. By setting aside emotional considerations and leveraging strategic insights from stakeholders, the company can effectively address such circumstances and overcome them.

Sabit: Do you see companies planning such failures in their scenarios or are these faced as unexpected? How do you see companies absorbing unexpected developments into their plans?

Emin: I have rarely seen companies preparing themselves robustly for such eventuality. Everyone is vested in success. Usually, the board or the management chooses one course of action, follows it and want to give it its proper time. Early in my career, I have seen some companies that made sure that they understand the worst possible outcomes, assign a probability to it, make it part of their investment plan and move forward.

I have seen this practice in non-profit space as well. Sometimes the negative outcome can be so overwhelming that nobody wants to think or talk about it. However, I have rarely seen organisations that robustly discuss, dig deeper or formalise these scenarios.

Sabit: The caveat is to assign the right probability to the negative outcome so that you can plan accordingly. You've mentioned that the other bucket is about issues companies may not have faced in their domain in their domestic markets, but these becoming very critical or sensitive in the host markets. Inherently, some of the natural points are diversity, and being considered as a direct foreign investment. These are issues on diversity and inclusion. What are the critical points to think about these items?

Emin: Diversity is potentially a huge asset to leverage for international companies. A proactive and positive approach needs to be taken to make sure that the company can benefit from it. To start with diversity must be recognized, respected and managed proactively and carefully. Understanding and navigating cultural settings and differences require a high level of cultural sensitivity, but also adapting to and really understanding the local work culture, hierarchy, even the decision-making processes.

The leaders and leadership teams must set good examples of how diversity should be managed, but the companies must also realize that even with the best of intentions, there may be issues. Unconscious biases are just a simple and obvious example. There may be cultural integration difficulties and difficulty in promoting inclusivity. Addressing those proactively is going to make the company stronger than where it started. Think about diversity and inclusion together and foster a culture of inclusion where all the employees feel that they can contribute to the outcome.

It starts with senior leaders required to demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion. With their behaviours, their words and their decisions, it is important to involve employees from diverse backgrounds in the decision-making process. Obviously, training and education programs towards that topic are fairly important.

Sabit: When you've mentioned diversity and inclusion being natural issues in international expansion, my question would be, are these to be tolerated or to be sought after, to add value to the original company? These are two completely different perspectives. One can be a cost of doing international business. The other is the benefit of doing international business.

Emin: Diversity and inclusion are important traits of international companies that need to be celebrated. A richness that gives them a competitive advantage. I think it's well documented in the management literature and research about how diversity can positively impact the performance of the companies. It is very important to make sure that during the talent acquisition, even the language of that talent acquisition shows how the company values and celebrates diversity and looks at it as something sought after.

In addition to having good intentions, it’s crucial that companies adopt an analytical approach. Organizations should gather and scrutinise data related to recruitment, retention, and promotion, which includes demographics and hiring trends. Essentially, companies need to set aside subjective perspectives and objectively assess the diversity within their organisation through quantifiable metrics.

Sabit: Exactly. Getting into talent acquisition issues related to the international markets, the general tendency is to seek local leadership in the host country.

Companies always try to find a way to find an association, a common ground instead of fully accepting that it is fully diverse.

Indeed, while industry similarity may be a factor, companies often look beyond quantitative data when seeking talent. They value qualitative attributes that contribute to diversity and inclusion. These attributes, which may include cultural fit, leadership potential, or unique skills, can greatly enhance the richness and effectiveness of a team. This holistic approach to talent acquisition is key to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. When it relates to talent acquisition, what are the success factors? What companies should do to add value to their process?

Emin: I think Pedersen & Partners is the expert on this one. The search for affinity often results in unconscious bias. There are tools available in the market that companies utilise for performance-based recruitment and talent acquisition. Furthermore, some companies are adopting practices to redact CVs to ensure gender neutrality or to minimise the prominence of demographics, age, or geographic location. This approach helps to mitigate bias and promotes a more diverse and inclusive hiring process. Assisting managers in selecting candidates with the highest performance expectations is indeed a challenging task. However, it’s essential for companies to focus on indicative data. By analysing the data, companies can gain valuable insights into their performance and make informed decisions. This data-driven approach can significantly improve the effectiveness of their recruitment and talent management strategies.

Sabit: Our experience shows that companies are increasingly setting specific targets within their talent acquisition processes to ensure outcomes align with their objectives. These targets often encompass various aspects of diversity, including gender. This proactive approach to diversity and inclusion is a marked shift from practices observed 20 years ago, reflecting the evolving priorities in today’s corporate landscape.

Emin: Absolutely. Inclusion is a critical aspect of the talent acquisition and recruitment process. After making significant efforts to attract a diverse range of talent, it’s important to avoid creating isolated groups or subcultures within the organisation. Instead, companies should strive to foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and can contribute to their fullest potential. This approach not only benefits the individuals but also enhances the overall performance of the organisation.

Sabit: In our previous discussions, we’ve emphasised the importance of stakeholders. When we refer to stakeholders, we’re considering all parties involved in a broad sense. So, what are the key areas where stakeholders should be actively involved to ensure success and add value?

Emin: As a company expands internationally, it encounters a new environment with both internal and external stakeholders. Many companies are often surprised by the number of external stakeholders and struggle to understand why so many others are concerned about their entry into the market or acquisition. These new stakeholders can include advisory boards, supervisory boards, works councils, unions, and local authorities.

In this context, the best solution is to communicate with these stakeholders transparently and strive to understand their perspectives and how they are linked to the company’s success. As long as companies can align their strategies with their stakeholders, they can reap tremendous benefits. Stakeholders often bring new ideas and concerns to the table, sometimes highlighting issues that even local managers may not have considered.

The second group of stakeholders, which is perhaps the most obvious, are the internal stakeholders - your local organisation.

I’ve seen many times in my career the danger of creating an ‘us and them’ culture. This breeds a very negative situation. Companies may not be able to avoid this at the outset, but they must address it quickly and in an organised manner. The solution to this is clear communication, particularly of the strategic objectives, vision, and values of the international parent company. This ensures that everyone understands the overarching goals and helps the local organisation understand their strategic role and how their strategies and KPIs align with the company’s strategic objectives.

Creating an environment where there’s mutual understanding and communication is crucial. This should be followed by empowering managers and teams in international units to make autonomous decisions.

Sabit: The key concept here is the collective mission between the home and host country organisations, creating a joint effort for success. These are crucial points that can be overlooked, even by home country organisations. They may think they’re not involved in the operations of the host country, but in reality, there’s an integrated, vested interest for the home country as well.

Emin: In the language of a home country, host country, or even when you say parent company or subsidiary, there’s a hierarchy and a ranking of things. Trying to avoid that language as much as possible and promoting the concept of ‘one company’ is a significant step and effort.

Sabit: Precisely. When you mentioned responding to the needs of the times, today’s most important topic is ESG. That’s what we see across the board. Is ESG a concern for companies embarking on international expansion? Or is it a concern for other, larger companies?

Emin: That’s a good point. ESG is already an important issue to address for many companies in their domestic markets. But once you step into international markets, the sensitivities increase.

Today, international companies are under greater scrutiny to adhere to best practices in environmental issues and sustainability. Customers and consumers are curious about what you’re doing, not only in your local market, but also in other markets, and what your global policies are.

I’d actually like to view this from a positive perspective of opportunities. I find that embracing sustainability as a policy can drive innovation and differentiation. It can lead to the development of new products, business models, and services that evolve with consumer, industry and regulatory requirements. I’ve seen many times how sustainable practices lead to cost savings across the supply chain. Reducing water and energy consumption and waste are good practices for any company, as well as for environmental concerns.

Innovative sustainable or environmental products can certainly open up access to new markets. But I also want to mention stakeholders - customers, suppliers, investors - who require and want related parties who are concerned and responsible. Local communities want this; the new generation of employees wants to work with companies that care about the environment, about the world.

I’ve seen many interviews with new-generation employees who really want to understand how the company acts on environmental issues and sustainability, and what the company’s position is. They want to associate themselves with companies that have a positive footprint.

However, this is not without challenges. Anything that can be considered a lag or lacking in a given market may be reflected on the corporation as a whole. And companies are faced with varying environmental regulations in different countries, which bring yet another layer of complexity.

Sabit: Thank you, Emin. I guess we had an opportunity to discuss details at length for all aspects of expansion to international markets. Look forward to discussing additional topics in the future.

By Sabit Tapan, Partner, Global Key Account Development at Pedersen & Partners and Emin Birsel, Senior Executive and Board Member - International Markets.

Sabit: Hello, Emin. In the previous 3 editions we’ve covered several topics. But when assessing current challenges, it’s clear that the supply chain, proven to be a vulnerable area, has emerged as a critical determinant of success. What are the main issues facing multi-country supply chain operations?

Emin: Even if a company operates in just one country, supply chain resilience has become a significant issue. It’s particularly important for international companies as they start to rely on increasingly complex global supply chains that span multiple countries and regions. The interconnected nature of these supply chains means that a disruption in one part of the world can easily impact another. We’ve seen this with the ship that blocked the Suez Canal some time ago and how it impacted global traffic in unexpected ways. We’ve also seen how COVID-19 has so suddenly affected the world and the supply chains. International companies are increasingly exposed to uncertainties such as geopolitical instability, natural disasters, trade disputes, and regulatory changes.

Creating a resilient supply chain is crucial to ensure business continuity and operational stability. This is something that companies are paying a lot more attention to these days. Then, questions arise about whether we should have multiple production locations, single production locations, etc. This issue is very real, and once a company steps into the international arena, it presents both great opportunities and risks.

Sabit: When you said that companies are paying more attention to the supply chain issue, I would say companies are investing much more money in qualified talent to manage their supply chains compared to what they have done in the past.

In recent years, supply chain management has become our number one function to fill across the world to help companies compete for talent, which can secure the supply chain. At the end of the day, you don’t have an AI to provide you with assurance. It’s the leadership in supply chain management that helps you with that.

Emin: I think you’re spot on. I’ve seen supply chain procurement and also energy sectors looking for some of the most competitive talents in the industry.

By nature, these areas are perhaps now leading the internationalisation of companies because you have to understand the international markets to understand your domestic market. And still, as you mentioned, there is no AI tool that would spit out the relationships, crisis management, etc. So, those areas, particularly international supply chain procurement, have seen a huge demand for talent globally.

Sabit: As you’ve mentioned multiple production sites, how should companies optimise the benefits of having multiple production sites?

Emin: Of course, a domestic company can have multiple production sites within a given country as well, and the benefits of that are well known. However, with the increasing risks and uncertainties of the world, and the need for business continuity, as well as the need for customers and consumers requiring faster deliveries and faster customisation, it’s a necessity to be closer and closer to the customers. This is not only done through your warehouses, but also being able to produce flexibly and continuously in a variety of markets and being able to produce at the same quality. I have seen that it is not only a capacity issue anymore, but it’s an issue of, just like we spoke about, a supply chain security and business continuity issue to have multiple production sites that can back each other up if necessary. However, that is also again an issue or an area to be very carefully managed without creating excess capacity and excess cost for the companies.

Sabit: Originally, the issue of supply chain and multiple production sites was primarily a logistics concern. However, in recent years, with the geopolitical situation, we’re seeing trade barriers create a pressing need for multiple sites.

So, it’s not necessarily about the supply chain. It’s about the requirement to be able to remain in those markets or serve those markets due to the trade barriers. Is this temporary? Have you seen such an increase in trade barriers during your career before?

Emin: The world trade has opened up tremendously and has become a very complex global market. Geopolitical developments, as well as natural developments like COVID, have taught us that there are limits to expansion and the optimistic notion that we can be in one global market and still secure our business continuity. Trade barriers are rising. But I also want to mention that it’s not only related to goods. It’s also related to services, and those services are sometimes related to developments in the regulatory environments, take GDPR in Europe for example. So, that requirement is shaping the location of data, the possession of data, the storage of data, and related services in certain geographies. So, there’s actually a whole plethora of factors that make supply chains for goods and services more challenging. But I do think that this may continue for a bit more, but where it ends, it’s difficult to predict.

Sabit: Given your sensitivity to these nuances, there are clear decisions to be made. For instance, ways to organise in a centralised or decentralised manner for decision-making, alignment, and motivation of success in international organisations. Do you have suggestions on which ones would work when companies start this journey?

Emin: I believe you’re touching on exactly the right point now, especially since we’ve discussed decision-making and merging of cultures. This is indeed a very challenging, and interesting topic. It’s also a source of strength for many companies.

Centralised decision-making and decentralisation are obviously two contrasting approaches to organisational management. I can’t think of an organisation where every decision is made either centrally or all decisions are made at the subsidiary level.

Successful international businesses often adopt a hybrid approach where certain strategic decisions, such as corporate strategy, brand positioning, product norms, etc., are centralised, while operational decisions and decisions requiring local expertise and responsiveness are decentralised. Striking the right balance is really an art and depends on the stage and maturity of both companies, but also the challenges that your organisation faces.

Clearly, centralised decision-making may lead to delays in addressing local markets, and many times you hear organisations complain or suffer from this. The rigidity in decision-making, usually at the central level, can hinder the organisation’s ability to respond quickly and also lead to employee dissatisfaction.

It’s very important for success that in centralised decision-making, the centre understands the markets well and the organisations that it operates.

On the other hand, while decentralisation has its positives, it can result in a lack of coordination among different business units and may lead to variations in processes and policies. The subsidiaries must understand and see that the companies must operate optimally.

Sabit: The centralised versus decentralised decision-making process isn’t only an issue for companies embarking on international expansion. Even the most active international companies go through cycles, perhaps every 5 to 7 or 10 years, oscillating between centralised and decentralised models. So, as you mentioned, it’s not necessarily a science but more of a hybrid art. There are times when it needs to shift from centralised to decentralised and vice versa.

Emin: I completely agree. This isn’t set in stone and could be even be considered swinging like a pendulum for some industries and companies.

Companies must respond to the demands of the times and be flexible to move in each direction.

Sabit: What are the final words to share for ensuring growth and success in international markets?

Emin: After our three interviews, I think I would like to emphasise a number of things that we didn’t cover in them. Continuous innovation is something that is very important for every company, especially for international ones. Fostering a culture of innovation, adapting quickly to the changing market dynamics and updating products and services regularly is critical. And maybe lastly, there’s a necessity to invest in technology, embracing technology to streamline operations, but also to understand consumers, as customers are even more critical for international companies.

Sabit: Wonderful. Maybe these would be food for thought for future sessions, Emin.

Emin: Agree and thank you too, Sabit.

Almost three months after Portugal went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pedersen & Partners carried out a survey of Human Resources Directors about how their companies have managed during the crisis: the challenges, the critical areas, and the skills needed to maintain day-to-day business in an unprecedented situation.

The HR professionals we talked to agreed that the most demanding challenges in the COVID-19 crisis are: communication and providing information to workers (30%), managing personal and family situations (23%), and learning and fostering new teleworking skills (20%).

In view of these difficulties, it is understandable that 43% of the surveyed directors chose Human Resources as the department that has made the most difference or been the most instrumental in keeping organisations operating despite a large proportion of employees working remotely. Operations was the star department for 24% of companies surveyed, and communication was key for 14%.

On the other hand, within a context in which institutional weaknesses are ruthlessly exposed, the surveyed managers ranked digital teleworking skills together with empathy and social awareness as the most necessary skills for management, ahead of technical competence. This answer makes us speculate about whether these capabilities are in fact equally important in other contexts.

With some employees working remotely while others come into the workplace under strict new safety regulations, the leaders of Portuguese companies have been put to the test every day. Our respondents agreed that the most important skills for managers during this crisis are good communication with their teams (43%) and strong resilience (33%). Creativity and innovation (14%) and empowerment (10%) complete the leadership skill set.

The World Economic Forum includes some of these proficiencies in the list of key skills to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution in 2020, together with critical thinking, service orientation, and cognitive flexibility[1]; all deeply important capabilities in the context of new technologies and new consumer behaviour.

Many of our clients already demand these capabilities in potential candidates for leadership positions, but the truth is that these criteria are not always the ones used to define the profile, with technical skills and experience often prevailing. This new reality has shown some companies that it is no longer possible to postpone certain change decisions, and that they should not hesitate to demand and incorporate certain competencies in their management teams. For this reason, some of our clients have chosen to evaluate their leadership teams, and determine what skills they will need to develop in their leaders in the medium term.

Where do we go from here? Areas to be strengthened

Communication, IT and Human Resources appear as the top three areas in need of qualitative reinforcement (new skills) and/or quantitative reinforcement (more resources).

These areas are closely aligned with the areas that our clients worldwide have decided to strengthen.  During this period, we have seen executives in these areas and additionally Sales & Marketing, Operations, and Finance, being recruited in the countries where Pedersen & Partners operates.

The sectors that have been recruiting most during the pandemic are firstly, food and packaging; secondly, health and life sciences (mainly hospitals, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies); and thirdly, consumer goods and retail.

With regard to the profiles searched, some of our clients are searching for communication executives in a context where providing information to workers is essential to guarantee both the company’s operations and the employees’ well-being. Here, technology also plays an important role, as companies offer multiple information channels to keep employees continuously informed. At the same time, external communication becomes even more strategic, in order to align the company more closely with customers and the community. The purpose of such corporate communication is to generate trust; with employees in one case, and with customers in the other.

Digital profiles continue to be in high demand as well. If companies suspected a few months ago that they needed to bet on digital, this need has now become pressing and self-evident. There are many companies that will have to rethink the way they reach their customers in the new normal. Many companies lack digital capabilities in their business areas, and their only profiles with digital experience are in IT. Analytics and Data Science skills are also sought after, as more and more companies use advanced analysis to combine new data sources with their own insights, allowing them to make better decisions more quickly while strengthening their ties with customers.

It is important to note that these profiles are increasingly in demand in a market with little supply, which makes employer branding strategic during the recruitment process. Companies must compete for these professionals, by looking for ways to be attractive to prospective candidates. At the same time, the fact that teleworking is here to stay will make certain profiles feasible across borders. While this increasingly globalised market for certain positions contributes to expanding the global talent pool, it reduces national talent pools, and Pedersen & Partners have already needed to import talent in this area. In those cases we have found that professionals give more weight to the corporate culture that they perceive through the recruitment process, and less weight to the company’s size and prestige in its national market.

During this period, our clients have also been looking for Human Resources managers. As we observed in the study, Human Resources is a department that has made a great difference in this crisis. The challenges are many and complex: managing people remotely and attending to different personal situations, ensuring the safety of the entire workforce, keeping people close in the context of social distancing, motivating remote teams and maintaining esprit de corps, ensuring productivity, defining new rules and new ways of working with digital tools, and in most cases, HR managers have had to do all of this while working from home themselves. It is understandable that in the face of these challenges, several companies have felt the need to reinforce their HR function by hiring new professionals.

Teleworking: the tip of the iceberg

When we asked our survey subjects if they intend to maintain teleworking in all the roles where it is possible once the coronavirus situation is over, we did not expect such an unequivocal answer. More than 90% of the companies that we consulted stated that they do intend to continue this practice in the future. These responses are in line with a recent study by Gartner[2], which indicates that 74% of 317 CFOs and Finance leaders surveyed plan to permanently move to more remote work.

Of course, this will vary greatly depending on the sector of activity. In sectors such as IT, remote working is more viable in principle, and in fact, some companies in this sector have 100% of their staff working remotely (e.g. Automattic, the owner of Wordpress.[3]) However, if we have learned anything during these months, we have learned that this practice can be adopted in many other sectors.

In any case, it seems that the momentum of COVID-19 has pushed most companies to see how far they can go with teleworking; even companies with cultures that have been less inclined to this practice are now talking about intermediate solutions and hybrid models. The first step has already been taken, and we have only seen the tip of the iceberg. The shift to teleworking and remote work implies a series of changes throughout the organisation: changes in mentality, tools, and work habits that we will have to gradually integrate into our companies.

In this process, Human Resources professionals will once again take centre stage.

Thank you all for your cooperation!

 

 

January 15, 2020 – Prague, Czech Republic – Pedersen & Partners, a leading international Executive Search firm with 54 wholly owned offices in 50 countries, has appointed Gabriela Trojáková as a Principal within its Prague team.

Gabriela Trojáková brings over 20 years of experience in Executive Search, human capital strategy design and execution, coaching and career mentoring. Her track record includes over a decade with Philip Morris International in various HR management positions, and another five years with Vodafone Czech Republic as an HR Business Partner. At Vodafone, Ms. Trojáková oversaw the implementation of a company-wide transformational people agenda, focusing on A-to-Z employee lifecycle management, FTEs planning, people development, attrition, retention, engagement, and wellbeing.

“We are pleased to welcome Gabriela to the team. By leveraging her background of corporate talent strategy design and execution, she brings unique insights to the candidate selection process, together with values alignment, consolidated management skills and a recognised brand and image on the Czech market. With Gabriela’s addition to our global team, we will continue to drive business development and cross-border search execution,” stated Petra Grabmayer, Partner and the Country Manager for Czech Republic at Pedersen & Partners.

“My career has been devoted to helping leaders maximise their potential and finding the best environment for their specific abilities and visions. Pedersen & Partners is in high demand for comprehensive leadership consultancy services in this region and abroad, as our clients mandate us to find, assess, and develop the best leadership available in order to tackle new competitive challenges and implement innovative business models and solutions. I look forward to partnering with my colleagues to enhance our capabilities,” added Gabriela Trojáková, Principal at Pedersen & Partners.

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

September 27, 2019 – Amsterdam, the Netherlands – Pedersen & Partners’ Amsterdam team and Law Firm Lexence welcomed Dutch and international CEOs, decision makers, and business & HR executives responsible for diversity, transformation, and strategy to an event designed to discuss, debate, and highlight inter-cultural awareness required to build relationships with customers, employees, and external stakeholders across the world. Participants included executives from the e-commerce, Professional Advisory, FMCG, Agriculture, Engineering software & solutions, Insurance, Nutrition and Biosciences, Alternative & Traditional Energy, Financial Services, Logistics, Healthcare, and FinTech industries.

Partner Gautier Vasseur, a multicultural Executive Search professional who has completed hundreds of cross-border leadership assignments across CEE, Eurasia and Asia Pacific, led the discussions on why, where, and how to harness the opportunities arising out of cultural diversity in order to secure its long-term potential. Very often, the culture of an organisation, more than its business strategy, determines how the business grows and transforms. Mr. Vasseur stressed the return of Amsterdam as the centre of global trade flows as a result of the Chinese New Silk Belt Initiative and the connection to 4,4 billion people across Eurasia and Africa, where businesses will find the biggest opportunities for growth in the next decade. This will force global corporations to align their talent management strategies, traditionally based on individual performance, with Eastern values for collective achievements.

Mr. Vasseur also provided a comprehensive overview of the best practices and personal observations on implementing adequate succession plans in companies aimed at infusing their corporate culture and integrating leaders of different business traditions as means of better preparedness for the future.

Ferry van Schoonhoven is one of the founders of Lexence, he advises and litigates in matters regarding leasing, redevelopments, renovations, and sell-and-lease-back constructions. His clients are Dutch as well as international companies. Ferry has an extensive network in the Japanese business community in the greater Amsterdam area. He is the chairman of the Japan Desk of the Amstelland Hospital and member of the board of the Japan Festival Foundation. Drawing upon his long-time personal experience with the Japanese culture, he highlighted to the audience that when doing business in Japan, the first and foremost “nemawashi” is needed. Meaning that within the possible future business relationship the groundwork has to be laid first before action can and will be undertaken.

Annejet Balm litigates and advises in all major areas of employment law, including individual and collective dismissal law, reorganisations, employee participation, and transfer of enterprises. She is specialised in disability regulations, placement, and secondment constructions, as well as privacy and diversity in the workplace. Within the Meritas International Alliance of Independent Law Firms, Annejet is the co-chair of the Employment & Benefits group and a frequent guest speaker at international meetings. During her presentation, she briefly addressed the upcoming labour law changes as per January 1, 2020 and highlighted some case studies analysing specific examples of diverging cultural approaches in legal proceedings.

If you would like to conduct an interview with a representative of Pedersen & Partners, or have other media-related requests, please contact: Diana Danu, Marketing and Communications Manager at: diana.danu@pedersenandpartners.com

Professional Services Practice Group

Pedersen & Partners is committed to excellence in our own Executive Search consulting and advisory services, therefore we pride ourselves on being experts in executive placements for other Professional Advisory Services and we have a dedicated practice group of Executive Search consultants to advise on executive recruitment of top talent in these fields.