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INTRODUCTION
Firmenich is a Swiss, family-owned company, founded in Geneva in 1895. The company is one of the top five leaders of the world's fragrance & flavor Industry, which represents a global potential of around US$11 billion. As a private company, Firmenich does not publish its annual report. The turnover of the group reached close to 1.7 billion Swiss Francs in 2000.
INTERVIEW
Dr. Katrina Burrus (KB): What do you look for in a manager at Firmenich?
Pierre-Yves Firmenich: A manager or leader at Firmenich is someone who really must show entrepreneurship and initiative in his job. We expect people to be independent and accountable. The basic principle is to give people as much responsibility and freedom in their job as is possible. Once objectives, strategies, and the basic operating principles have been determined and understood, we leave people free within their area of activity. Whether they fail or succeed is up to them.
KB: How do you evaluate your leaders?
Pierre-Yves Firmenich: We rate our people according to interviews with them and their peers while using all the human resource tools available to assess people's performance. We tell them regularly where they stand in our minds and what perspectives they have.
KB: What do you expect from a middle manager at Firmenich?
Pierre-Yves Firmenich: We are a company with a strong culture. Our first expectation is that our middle managers adapt to our culture: sometimes it is done without any problems, and sometimes it is more difficult. The stronger a culture you have, the tougher it is for people to adjust to it.
KB: How would you describe the culture of Firmenich?
Pierre-Yves Firmenich: We have the culture of a long-standing, stable, private company. We have a long history, so our culture is a mixture of conservatism, on one hand, and of change, on the other hand. Change is not something that should be seen as a difficulty, but as an opportunity. Usually, young people understand that better than the people who have been in the company a long time. It is often this aspect of resistance to change that we have to address.
KB: You mentioned that Firmenich, a private business, has a culture that is not only stable, focused on the long-term,...