21st Century Industrialists
A series of one-to-one interviews with leaders of some of Europe’s best known industrial and technology companies. We ask these CEOs and Chairs about their early lives, careers, experiences and leadership lessons. We talk about the challenges of the sectors they are working in, the opportunities they see on the horizon and gauge their views on some of the burning topics of our time.
Episodes
18 episodes
BONUS EPISODE with "Mr Single Market": Enrico Letta
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 ...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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29:13
Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of E.ON on advancing Europe's energy transition
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, fi...
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Season 3
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Episode 16
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36:07
Benoît Potier, Chairman of Air Liquide
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 in...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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41:08
Leif Johansson, the polymath of Swedish enterprise
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 ...
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Season 2
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Episode 14
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48:54
Dr Martin Brudermüller & Dr Lars Frolund on Innovation made in Europe
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 companie...
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Season 2
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Episode 13
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47:48
Hilde Merete Aasheim, President & CEO of Norsk Hydro
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 ...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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42:05
Ola Källenius, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group
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 legendar...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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37:10
Jonathan Symonds, Chairman of GSK
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 & consulti...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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42:19
Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman of L'Oréal
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, cor...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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40:35
Thomas Leysen, Chairman of Umicore, Mediahuis & Royal DSM
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 inf...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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52:06
Paulo Azevedo, Chairman of Sonae Group
Paulo Azevedo tells us about growing up in Portugal and England and the various stages of his ascent to the role of Chairman of the Portuguese conglomerate, Sonae Group. We talk about what drives his belief in people and why reski...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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52:21
Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo
Alessandro Profumo talks 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 discu...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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37:52
Nancy McKinstry - ERT Vice-Chair and Chair & CEO of Wolters Kluwer
Nancy McKinstry 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 Wolters Kluwers to transform it into the leading information...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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40:54
Stefan Oschmann, former-Chairman & CEO of Merck Group
We sat down with Stefan Oschmann, former-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 conver...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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43:58
Tony Smurfit, CEO of Smurfit Kappa Group
Tony Smurfit 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 packagi...
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Season 1
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Episode 3
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44:23
Dr Ilham Kadri, CEO & President of Solvay
Ilham Kadri 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. She also tells us about her approach to transforming the 158 year old Bel...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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44:10
Carl-Henric Svanberg, ERT Chair & Chairman of Volvo Group
In a very open conversation, Carl-Henric Svanberg talks about his 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 ro...
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Season 1
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Episode 1
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49:31