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Marie-Jose VelenturfGlobal Head CoE Talent & Leadership

Living the M&A experience: Leadership challenges in

times of turbulence

2Let our journey begin…

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Introduction & Context

Who am I and why am I here?

PART I

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I Introduction & Context

II Our ABN AMRO Story

III Our changing world – Takeover battle in action

IV Leadership Challenges in Turbulent Times

V Navigating through rough waters

VI The Tsunami Ahead

Our Storyline

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The ABN AMRO Story & Context

Who are we, and what do we do?

PART II

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An Overview of ABN AMRO …

Who am I?

Dutch based bank with heritage stretching back to 1824

Over 3,000 branches, 60 countries, 100k FTE’s

Serving over 20 million customers worldwide

Net profit attributable to shareholders 2006: EUR 4.715 bn

Total assets (as per 31 December 2006): EUR 987 bn

Group capital (at end 2006): EUR 45.1 billion

We are active in four principal customer segments: Personal Banking, Private Banking, Business and Commercial and Corporate and Institutional.

Global headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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… our HR vision ….

Who am I?

We set the standard for HR in Financial Services by demonstrating top performance through

unleashing human potential

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….and our HR strategy

Culture

Performance Mgtand Reward

Leadership and Talent

HR2TOMServices HR capability

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Our changing world – The Takeover Battle in action

What happened & how did it impact our organisation?

PART III

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A flavour of the headlines…Starting with an initial bid & exclusive period with UK based Barclays

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… followed by a rival bid from a consortium of banks led by RBS with allies Fortis & Santander bank

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… and the timeline

Who is happy now?

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• When would it end?

• What destination would we end up in?

• What should we be doing when we can no longer steer?

• Who would be the new captain/s?

• Would we be the same boat, a bigger boat or a divided boat?

• How should we manage the stormy waters?

• What should we do with our crews on deck – how do we keep them on board, motivated, and what can we tell them?

So, what did this really mean for us?

We were in the middle of an unpredicted storm…

The only thing we knew for certain was what we didn’t know –

and that our boat was riding the deep waves of uncertainty

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What challenges would you expect this turbulence and uncertainty to bring to the

leaders of our boat?

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Leadership challenges in times of turbulent change

What was the theory; & how did it live up in

practice?

PART IV

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Leadership challenges in turbulent times?

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What does CEO Forum Group say we should expect as leadership challenges in

turbulent times?

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What might we face?

Spectrum of challenges facing top managers in crisis situations…

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Self-Assurance Corporate Purpose

Personal Responsibility Well developed team spirit

Active shaping & moulding Ability to learn quickly

Consistency in delegation Upward Management

vs to question everything

to seek success with resolution

to give meaning & direction

to break down goals

to ensure necessary continuity

to let others perform their duties

to utilise new developments

to influence conditions for success

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So, how did we experience this ‘Spectrum of

challenges’ in practice ?

We asked five of our top leaders to share some of their thoughts with us…

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Theory v Practice 1

Self-Assurance

Corporate Purpose

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Theory v Practice 2

Personal Responsibility

Well developed team spirit

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Theory v Practice 3

Consistency in delegation

Upward Management

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Theory v Practice 4

Active shaping & moulding

Ability to learn quickly

Active Shaping & Moulding

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Navigating through rough waters

What interventions have we made and what lessons

have we learned on the way?

PART V

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Navigating through rough waters…

Key Strengths Analysis & Talent Inventory

Rapid Client Engagement & Retention

Line Management Toolkits & Training

Customised Leadership Development Offerings

Stabilisation Packages

Key & critical people inventory

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The Tsunami Ahead

What is on the horizon, & what are the questions on

our mind?

PART VI

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Key questions in our mind

How to secure the psychological contract of the matrix

How to manage the accountability for business continuity

How to keep our leaders on board

How to build trust in and commitment to the new leaders

How to manage the different waves of change

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What light have we discovered on our turbulent journey?

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Looking ahead…

“I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my

sails to always reach my

destination”

   - Jimmy Dean

Q&A