Case study 14

Company N integrated its European function under its US organisation. The head of US managed Europe doubling as European President. However, the US executive removed key local managers in Europe, not fully understanding the crucial roles that they were playing, and the performance of the European organisation suffered. Eventually, global CEO had to intervene and remove the US manager from not only the European operation but also from the Company itself. The Company, however, had to invest another two years in rebuilding a competent team in Europe.