In April of this year, former Italian Prime Minister and current President of the Jacques Delors Institute, Enrico Letta released his much awaited report “Much more than a Market”. It was the result of nearly a year’s work – involving over 400 meetings with stakeholders across Europe – and received a lot of media coverage and attention from anyone who works in EU public affairs and policymaking.

Across its 144 pages, the report highlights how the now 30 year old Single Market is incomplete, why and what can be done to overcome the remaining obstacles and deepen what is already the world’s biggest single market. Since its release, he continues to travel and promote the ideas proposed in the report. We were fortunate enough to secure a slot with him. Over the course of our conversation, we talk about how he approached the report, the reaction it received, the current context and the road ahead as a new 5 year EU institutional mandate beckons later this year.

 

Leonhard Birnbaum grew up in the industrial town of Ludwigshafen, Germany surrounded by industry. Later, after studying chemical engineering at university, he started his career in consulting, gradually gravitating towards the energy sector, first at RWE, then at E.ON. As the CEO of E.ON Group since 2021, he is leading one of Europe’s largest operators of energy networks and infrastructure, providing services to around 47 million customers.

In this episode, we discuss his early life, how his career path progressed from consulting to leading. We talk about the different stages of Europe’s energy transition to a ‘beautiful future’, discussing what’s on track and where more needs to happen.

In the first episode of Season 3, we talk with Benoit Potier, Chairman of Air Liquide about his early life and how his career path progressed all the way to the role of Chairman & CEO (2006 to 2022).  We also discuss the challenge and opportunity of energy transition and which way he sees hydrogen featuring in the energy mix, as well as hearing his thoughts on the state of the EU and his tips on how to keep challenging yourself.

Leif Johansson initially wanted to be a rock guitarist. That ambition morphed into a desire to become a professor of physics. But somewhere along the way, he was drawn into business and found an endless avenue for his curiosity.

He excelled at business too, taking on his first leadership role at Husqvarna Motorcycles, at the age of 27. Over the decades that followed he led companies making furniture (FACIT), household appliances (Electrolux), buses, construction vehicles & trucks (Volvo), phones (Ericsson) and pharma (AstraZeneca). Along the way, he even made time to be the Chair of ERT from 2009 to 2014. With such a formidable track record, it’s no wonder he acquired a reputation as the polymath of Swedish enterprise.

Over the course of a wide-ranging conversation, we discuss his early life, how he embarked on his career and some of the most difficult decisions he had to make. He also shares his thoughts on entrepreneurship, the challenges and joys of switching sectors, the most effective ways to introduce change in companies and the unavoidable test of work-life balance.

As ERT prepares to launch a new publication about innovation, we thought it could be interesting to do an episode where we discuss that very subject. So, we brought together a leader of one of Europe’s most significant industrial companies – Dr Martin Brudermüller, CEO of BASF SE (and Chair of ERT’s Committee on Competitiveness & Innovation) – and a top drawer academic and deep tech investment expert – Dr Lars Frolund of M.I.T. and the European Innovation Council.  Over the course of this episode, we discuss why innovation matters, how Europe is faring in the global innovation race and try to find out how different the views of business and academia are on this important topic.  We also try to work out what can be done to help innovation in Europe deliver more.

We talk with Hilde Aasheim Merete, the President and CEO of Norsk Hydro, the Norwegian aluminium and energy company, with operations worldwide.

She talks about how her first summer job in a bakery put her on the path to working in business, the career moves that followed – at some inopportune moments – and the opportunities and challenges she has faced on her way to the top of Norsk Hydro and indeed, in that role.

What it’s like to be the person tasked with leading the transformation of the oldest, most recognised car company in the world?

In this episode, we talk with Ola Källenius about the path of his career at Mercedes-Benz Group, culminating in his appointment to the top job in 2019 – the first non-German national to lead the company. Over the course of our conversation, he talks openly about his early life in Sweden, some of various roles he took during his rise to the top, those early months when he first became CEO and the extraordinary systemic shift happening in the automotive industry.

In the latest episode of our podcast, we talk with Sir Jonathan Symonds, the Chairman of GSK. A maven of the bridge between life sciences and finance, he spoke with us about his upbringing in the UK, his first career track in accountancy & consulting, the cultural lessons he learned working on a mergers such as the one that brought Astra and Zeneca together and the challenges & joys of changing career direction numerous times.

We kick off Season 2 with Jean-Paul Agon, long-standing Member of ERT and French business leader synonymous with one of France’s best known worldwide consumer brands: L’Oréal. We talk about beginnings, perceptions of beauty, crises, corporate strategy, the challenge of succeeding a legend and much more.

Belgium’s foremost industrialist tells us about his upbringing and early interest in business, media and environmental issues. As the chairman of businesses in a range of different sectors, we also hear about the strategic decisions that informed Union Miniere’s transformation into Umicore, the expansion of Mediahuis into a significant player in the European news media sector and his experience overseeing the board of the Dutch multinational Royal DSM. He also shares his views on the European project and his golden rule for managing his time.

The Chairman of Sonae Group tells us about growing up in Portugal and England and the various stages of his ascent to the top of the Portuguese conglomerate.

We talk about what drives his belief in people and why reskilling and lifelong learning matter so much to him, in the context of his role of Chair of ERT’s Committee on Jobs, Skills & Impact. He also explains how he researches new interests every few years, his fascination with biodiversity and reveals what he is planning to learn next.

One of Italy’s best known business leaders talks with us about his teenage passion for basketball, his early start in banking, his time in consulting and more recent move into aviation and security, as the CEO of the Italian company, Leonardo.

We also discuss the pressure on aviation in a time of green transition and nascent post-COVID recovery; the promising opportunities presented by the era of big data; his view on intensifying security threats and why leaders need people with soft skills.

The CEO of WoltersKluwer talks about her childhood in rural Connecticut, her path from consulting into the world of publishing and the strategy she put in place at the 185 year old company to transform it into the leading information services company it is today.

We were fortunate enough to talk with Stefan Oschmann on his very last day as Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of the global biopharma company Merck Group, before he moved to the new role of Chair of the Board & Independent Director at UCB.

In wide-ranging conversation, he talks about what attracted him to work in science, why the public and private sectors need to build more trust and the opportunities that linked open data presents for solving some of societies biggest problems. He also talks about his work on global health problems with Bill Gates, the value of curiosity and much more.

The CEO of SmurfitKappa Group talks about his interest in business from an early age and what it was like growing up in a family synonymous with enterprise. He shares his insights on leadership during challenging times, what innovation looks like in the packaging business and why inflation is the next disruption.

The President & CEO of Solvay talks about her humble upbringing in Casablanca, her professional start in industry, some of the roles she took on earlier in her career and what she learned about overcoming barriers. She also tells us about her approach to transforming the 158 year old Belgian industrial company, Solvay and shares her thoughts on how inclusion & diversity can gain more scale.

In a very open conversation, the Chair of ERT and Chairman of AB Volvo talks about his peripatetic upbringing in Sweden and shares lessons he learned from his experiences at the helm of companies in many industrial sectors, including Assa Abloy, Ericsson, BP and his current roles.