(*) As a measure of confidentiality, the identity of the interim manager and the client are changed
1. BACKGROUND
A French insurance group has just acquired a German company, which specialises in managing IT services in this particularly regulated sector.
In close collaboration with the headquarters based in Paris, the objective is to prepare and lead the integration of this entity of more than 1,500 employees within the Group and to organize it in order to make it a real shared services center for all of the Group’s European activities.
The French management, having quickly identified the managerial shortcomings on the site and the lack of accurate information sent to the headquarters, took the decision to part ways with its Chief Executive Officer. It therefore called on WAYDEN to ensure the urgent takeover of this subsidiary at short notice, to manage the implementation of the necessary reporting and, in a tense social context, to support the teams with the greatest proximity.
For these 8 months of critical period, the site’s interim General Manager must ensure the continuity of the management of the activity as soon as possible; the specifications are as clear as they are demanding: the interim Managing Director of WAYDEN quickly restored confidence in the French Governance, allowing a successful integration, and ensured the handover to his replacement whom he recruited before handing over the reins to him in the best conditions and as soon as possible.
2. THE DEVICE
Faced with the responsiveness required by this transition mission, Rémi DESSERTINE, Associate Director at WAYDEN, selected in record time from the specific pool of WAYDEN Sélection, an expert in the structuring of service companies, capable of managing and organizing this subsidiary in its entirety (finance, development, recruitment, legal, etc.) and trusted Hervé SCHNEIDER, Specialist in this type of intervention, capable of intervening in this Franco-German managerial, cultural and linguistic context thanks to his experience of more than 25 years.
Focus on the Interim Manager course
A graduate of ESSEC and an MBA in corporate finance from the University of Munich, Hervé SCHNEIDER began his career and learned his trade at Deloitte, a firm where he quickly climbed the ladder to team management positions.
He was then called upon by one of his clients, the Bosch Group, to create the finance function of one of its companies based in Austria and thus support its growth. He then merged with two other European subsidiaries of the Group, for which he was entrusted with the responsibility of setting up a shared services center for the entire finance back office. He stayed there for more than 10 years before being chased away to take over the administrative and financial management of the Building Services branch of the Siemens Group in order to restructure this department after the complex context of the late 2000s.
After 4 years in these finance functions and convincing results, Hervé was promoted to Managing Director of a subsidiary resulting from various acquisitions covering 3 countries in Central and Eastern Europe: he became the key man in the recovery of the business in close collaboration with the group’s headquarters.
In 2017, with nearly 25 years of experience, Hervé chose to embark on interim management and carried out a first assignment on behalf of a private equity fund and one of his holdings in a German business services company: his role was to manage the relationship with shareholders and the implementation of budget reporting, HR, sales, etc.
His efficiency, benevolence and sense of results make him a highly appreciated and sought-after leader.
3. MISSION
Reporting to the head of the division France based in Paris during this year of mission, Hervé carried out the following actions with irreproachable involvement:
- Implementation of new management tools to operate a massive recovery plan
- Relations with German authorities: banks, chartered accountants, auditors, lawyers, etc.
- Monitoring and optimization of cash flow in a tense context of debt repayment: financing, aid
- Project monitoring and analysis
- Re-establishment of trust on the French site of the client based in the Oise region
- Recruitment and management of a new management team for the site
- Recruitment and success of the incumbent
For its part, WAYDEN ensures great proximity and availability to the manager, with the production of regular reports, so that the progress of the mission is shared with the client with the greatest transparency.
4. ASSESSMENT
This interim general manager mission, originally lasting 8 months, proved to be a great success in the sense that the client asked WAYDEN and Hervé to continue for 4 additional months, to support the integration of another company acquired at the end of the mission; and it is always with the same enthusiasm and professionalism that Hervé accomplished this task brilliantly, before actively participating in the recruitment of his successor and making him successful in less than a month.