The art of success
French companieswith outstanding achievements in growth, Europeanness and cross-border M&A were awarded a Best of European Business Award at one of the continent's most treasured museums: the Louvre in Paris. I.M. Pei's iconic pyramids in front of the Louvre welcomed the 800 invited guests as they arrived for the second annual Best of European Business Awards in France. The event was part of a competition series, sponsored by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in ten of Europe's strongest economies. Previous awards have already been held in Spain, Italy and Germany, among others. Based on publicly available data and analysis prepared by the consultancy, a jury of top level business experts, including Henri Proglio, Chairman of the Veolia Environment Board of Directors and Prof. Bernard Ramanantsoa, Professor of Strategy and Business Policy, Hautes Etudes Commerciales, among others, selected the winners in three categories: "Growth," "Europeanness" and "Cross-border M&A." Vallourec, manufacturer of hot-rolled, seamless steel tubing was presented with the overall Grand Prix of the competition, for its outstanding achievement across all categories. The jury praised Vallourec's strong commitment to Europe (a third of its turnover is made in European countries other than France), its sustainable and continuous growth over the years (CAGR 2002-2005:17.5%) and its recent successful takeover of US competitor, OMSCO. Winners in other categories included car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroën, who took home the large enterprise award in the "Europeanness" category, and Pernod Ricard, the wine and spirits group. | ||
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In his introductory statement, Jacques Delors, former EU Commission President and to many the "father of the internal market" paid tribute to the important role that business plays in pushing European integration further. Vincent Mercier, Member of the Executive Committee of Roland Berger, then outlined three main ideas: "Only a strong Europe can tackle the major challenges that we will have to face, among them the rise of China and global warming. Business and not politics has become the main engine of European integration. Europe's CEOs have high expectations for Europe, but these differ from country to country." To prove his observations, Mercier shared insights from a recent exclusive survey among Europe's leading CEOs with the audience. Particularly surprising: the differences in opinion between French and German business leaders when it comes to the role of Europe: 78% of French CEOs want "more Europe and a stronger role for Europe", while in Germany 54% want the opposite. French and German CEOs also have different answers for "the biggest benefits of EU enlargement". While Germans emphasize the expansion of Europe's market, the French consider the euro as being the most important benefit. A panel discussion featuring Jean-Paul Villot, General Director of Néopost and Baudoin Prot, General Director of BNP Paribas, gave executives a chance to weigh in on the importance of cross-border mergers in Europe and how best to steer multicultural companies. Aside from the often heated discussions on the future of pan-European business, attendants were given a special opportunity to experience one of the world's leading museums. Guests were treated to a private tour of the current exhibition of British artist and printmaker William Hogarth's most famous works. A pan-European awards ceremony, to recognize the "best of ten" will be held in March of 2007 to coincide with the EU Spring Summit, which traditionally addressed the questions of Europe's economic development. | ||
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And the winners are..
Growth The Norbert Dentressangle Group, provider of logistics and a full-range of transport services, won the large enterprise award in the growth category. Despite strong competition on the international market, the company showed continuous and sustainable growth over the years. Its turnover amounted to 11.3% in the transport sector alone in 2005. Somfy International, the winner of the SME prize in this category, provides comfort and convenience with its remote control devices for garage doors, rolling shutters and awnings. Over the period between 2002 and 2005 the company was able to enhance its global presence with strong growth, in large part due to its innovative approach to its products. Europeanness One of Europe's traditional automotive manufacturers took home the large enterprise award in this category. PSA Peugeot Citroën is Europe's second largest car manufacturer with a market share of 14%. Members of the jury were impressed by the group's strong 10% market share in more than ten European countries. Europe leader in special steel distribution, the International Metal Service S.A. (IMG) was crowned the winner in the SME section of this category. Three-quarters of the company's business is in Europe. The jury also praised IMG's recent expansion to Central and Eastern Europe, where it realized 10% of its turnover in 2005. Cross-border M&A Winner in the large enterprise segment in this category was wine and spirit manufacturer, Pernod Ricard. Its acquisition of UK competitor, Allied Domecq, consolidated the company's status as the second largest global liquor company. For the second year in a row, Dassault Systèmes, was honored with a Best of European Business award. Founded in 1981, the company is the world leader in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software solutions. It also specializes in 3-D construction software. In its decision, the jury underlined Dassault's successful takeover of Abaqus, a manufacturer of software for routine and sophisticated linear and nonlinear engineering problems and simulation software. With this acquisition, the jury stressed, Dassault would be able to set the global standard for this type of specialized software. Grand Prix Vallourec, manufacturer of hot-rolled, seamless steel tubing was awarded the evening's Grand Prix. The jury was impressed with its strong performance across the board, with strong growth figures (CAGR 2002-2005:17,5%), a successful takeover of US American competitor OMSCO and its pan-European revenue increase: it brings in a third of its turnover from EU countries other than France. If you have questions or comments regarding this, or any other story, please do not hesitate to contact us:  |
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