21st Century Industrialists

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.

In this interview, we delve into 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.

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Show Notes
21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. This interview was recorded by Cristian at Sala Registraioni Milano and edited by Jordan Hudson. Production by Kaat Tavernier at Uitsgesproken. Music by Tom Soetaert. Tile design by Jack Hudson. 

For more information on ERT's work on the Single Market, go to 
https://ert.eu/Single-Market/

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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 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. 

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Episode 16 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Interview recorded by Stef Lennaert.  Production by Janne Jooris and Kaat Tavernier at Uitgesproken. Special thanks to Eurelectric for allowing us to use their in-house studio for this interview.

For more on ERT's insights on energy-intensive industries and on energy infrastructure (in partnership with Boston Consulting Group),  visit: https://ert.eu/documents/energy2024/

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During his engineering studies at Ecole Centrale Paris, Benoît Potier was active in the theatre group, enjoying it to such an extent that he even considered becoming a professional actor. Ultimately however, his decision to forge a career in industry instead proved to be the right one, as he has spent his entire career at Europe's leading industrial gases company: Air Liquide. 

In the first episode of Season 3, we discuss his early life, how his career path progressed all the way to the role of Chairman & CEO (2006 to 2022), we talk about energy transition and how he sees hydrogen demand developing, as well as hearing his thoughts on the state of the EU and his tips on how to keep challenging yourself.

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Episode 15 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Interview recorded by Guillaume Girault.  Production by Janne Jooris and Kaat Tavernier at Uitgesproken.

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Leif Johansson initially wanted to be a rock guitarist. That ambition morphed into wanting 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 turned out to be quite good 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.

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. 

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Episode 14 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Interview recorded by Jakob Herrmann.  Production by Shalini van den Langenbergh at Uitgesproken. Editing & mixing by Jordan Hudson at House of Media. Special thanks to Wouter Van Driessche. 

© ERT

 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 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.

Episode 13 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Interview recorded in Ludwigshafen by Matthias Stroh.  Production by  Shalini  van den Langenbergh at Uitgesproken. Editing & mixing by Jordan Hudson at House of Media. Special thanks to Wouter Van Driessche. 

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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.

Episode 12 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Interview recorded in Brussels by Ian Clement.  Production by Janne Joris,  Shalini  van den Langenbergh at Uitgesproken and Stijn Vandeputte  at House of Media. Editing & mixing by Xavier De Clercq & Jordan Hudson at House of Media. Special thanks to Wouter Van Driessche. 

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In this episode, we talk with someone is leading the transformation of one of the most recognised car companies in the world: Ola Källenius, the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group. He has spent his entire career working in various depts of the legendary car company, culminating in his appointment to the top role 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, his rise through Mercedes-Benz, those early months when he first became CEO and the extraordinary systemic change that the automotive industry is undergoing. 

Episode 11 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Interview recorded in Stuttgart by Sebastian Specht.  Production by Janne Joris,  Shalini  van den Langenbergh at Uitgesproken and Stijn Vandeputte  at House of Media. Editing & mixing by Xavier De Clercq & Jordan Hudson at House of Media. Special thanks to Wouter Van Driessche. 

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In this latest episode,  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 mergers such as the one that brought Astra and Zeneca together and the challenges & joys of changing career direction numerous times. It's an episode rich in inspiration and wisdom - enjoy!

Episode 10 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Sounds Recording by David Crane. Audio Production by Janne Joris,  Shalini van den Langenbergh at Uitgesproken and Stijn Vandeputte at House of Media. Editing and mixing by Stef Lenaerts at House of Media. Special thanks to Wouter van Driessche.

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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 and the challenge of succeeding a legend. 

Episode 9 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production by Tessa Torrekens at Uitgesproken and Stijn Vandeputte.  Audio Recording by Samar Grewal.  Editing & mixing by Benjamin Hertoghs at House of Media.  Music by Tom Soetaert.  Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche at Uitsgesproken.

© ERT

Belgian industrialist Thomas Leysen 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.

Episode 8 – Show Notes

21st Century Industrialists is produced by ERT and presented by Robert O'Meara. Audio Production by Laure Balcaen and Tessa  Torrekens at Uitgesproken. Mixing & Editing by Benjamin Hertoghs at House of Media.  Music by Tom Soetaert. Special Thanks to Wouter Van Driessche at Uitsgesproken.

© ERT