Leading Corporate Transformation: The WHU Podcast, powered by PwC

How does a global consumer and industrial company balance heritage brands, science-led innovation, and investor expectations in increasingly dynamic markets? In this episode, Astrid Hermann, CFO of Beiersdorf, explains how Beiersdorf manages a portfolio that spans mass skincare, fast-growing dermatological brands, and luxury. She also speaks about why Derma has become a core pillar after tripling...

What is the perspective of one of the world’s leading technology companies on the future of Artificial Intelligence? In this episode, Christian Schätz, COO of Microsoft Deutschland, discusses how Microsoft scales innovation while adapting to Germany’s regulatory, operational, and cultural environment. Christian explains why Microsoft views AI as a copilot rather than an autopilot — a technology bu...

How does one of the world’s leading private investment houses balance agility, scale, and purpose? In this episode, we sit down with Jan Philipp Schmitz, Executive Vice President and Member of the Executive Committee at Ardian, to explore how the firm has grown from a management buyout of AXA Private Equity into a $192 billion global investment leader. Jan Philipp takes us inside Ardian’s multi-as...

How do you steer a 350-year-old global science and technology company through complex transformation while balancing short-term market expectations and long-term family ownership? In this episode, we speak with Helene von Roeder, CFO of Merck, a diversified company operating in healthcare, life sciences, and electronics. We explore how Merck navigates M&A strategy across highly specialized sectors...

What does it take to transform one of Europe’s largest utility companies from a legacy coal and nuclear powerhouse into a leader in global renewables? In this episode, we speak with Dr. Michael Müller, CFO of RWE AG, about steering one of Germany’s most iconic energy companies through structural upheaval, international expansion, and shifting regulatory environments. From its roots as a diversifie...

How do you bring management and investor views together to successfully transform a company for growth? In this episode, we explore this question with Dr. Sven Oleownik, Partner at EMERAM Capital Partners. EMERAM is a Munich-based private equity firm focused on the DACH region, specializing in mid-sized companies. Together, we examine the company’s approach to nurturing leadership teams and consid...

How can a family-owned company navigate the industry-wide transformation while maintaining financial stability? AVL List, a €2 billion company located in Graz, Austria, is a leader in engine technology. With the car industry’s shift to electric vehicles, AVL List needs to transform itself, too. This requires substantial investments. As Yorck Schmidt, AVL List’s CFO, explains, "We have invested mor...

“We grew by more than 100% for 12 quarters in a row." Today, the market reality of the food delivery business has changed. Fierce competition, devaluations, and strong pressure from investors to turn the business profitable are the dominating forces. Join us for an interesting discussion in which, together with Emmanuel Thomassin, we talk about the future of the food delivery business model and ho...

Bayer AG is one of the most important German companies in the life science business. Now the organization is at a historic turning point, dealing with numerous lawsuits resulting from the acquisition of Monsanto, a pharmaceutical pipeline that is losing exclusivity, and a significant decline in market value over the past few years. This has also sparked investor discussions about the possibility o...

In this new episode of the Leading Corporate Transformation podcast, Professor Martin Glaum from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC Germany interview Kai Andrejewski, the CFO of the Sixt Group. Sixt has achieved remarkable growth in recent years. How have they managed to achieve this amidst global challenges? As CFO, Kai gives us insights into the company's growth story, highlighting their dis...

In the latest episode of Leading Corporate Transformation, Prof. Serden Ozcan and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC Germany interview the Chair Managing Director of Keysight Technologies Germany, Dr. Joachim Peerlings. He talks about the history of his company and how its operations have evolved over the years. Learn more about the business of Keysight Technologies and what impact the company has tod...

In this new episode, Prof. Serden Ozcan and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC Germany discuss with Gillian Drakeford, former Head of Global Retail Experience at INTER IKEA Group. She talks about her long career at IKEA and her role as a CEO in China, United Kingdom and Ireland . Gillian explains the company's biggest strategic and operational challenges and also looks at the company's ability to incr...

In this episode of Leading Corporate Transformation, Professor Martin Glaum of WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen of PwC Germany are joined by Harald Wilhelm, CFO of the Mercedes Benz Group. In their conversation about the fundamental changes within the In this episode of Leading Corporate Transformation, Professor Martin Glaum of WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen of PwC Germany are joined by Harald Wilhel...

In this new episode of Leading Corporate Transformation, Prof. Dr. Martin Glaum (WHU) and Gori von Hirschhausen (PwC) together with their guest Christian Ladurner, CFO of Hensoldt AG, talk about Hensoldt's operation model, business structure and product portfolio. Christian also answers the question of what challenges exist for a defence company like Hensoldt in the areas of supply chain bottlenec...

To kick off the second season of Leading Corporate Transformation, Prof. Dr. Martin Glaum (WHU) and Gori von Hirschhausen (PwC) are joined by Lars Kaestle, CFO and Managing Director of Breitling. The three finance experts talk about the importance of strong brand positioning, Breitling's special approach to sustainability, and how the current geopolitical circumstances are affecting Breitling's bu...

In this episode of Leading Corporate Transformation, Professor Martin Glaum from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC Germany talk to Eva Kienle, CFO and Executive Board Member at seed producer KWS Saat. We cover a variety of topics, including challenges faced by companies in the agricultural sector and how global population growth will affect demand for seed solutions in the medium term and the...

Hosts Professor Martin Glaum from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC Germany are joined in this episode by Sebastian Säuberlich, CFO of the Westwing Group. We talk about what’s special about Westwing’s business model, how the pandemic has affected shopping habits (and Westwing’s growth), and the challenges of the battle to attract and retain talent. Sebastian also explains what a cross-docking...

In the first episode of the new year, Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC and Professor Martin Glaum from WHU are joined by the CFO of Axel Springer, Dr Julian Deutz, to talk about Axel Springer’s fascinating journey from a traditional print publisher to one of the world’s leading digital media corporations over the last two decades. The biggest challenge in this transformation was to avoid losing sigh...

Hosts Professor Martin Glaum from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC are joined in this episode by the CFO of Giesecke+Devrient, Dr Peter Zattler. We focus on how G+D has always been ahead of its time, innovating its way from a small family business to a global tech corporation. Listen in for insights into what will make good CFOs of the future stand out, and which challenges the next generati...

This time, hosts Professor Serden Ozcan from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC are joined by the CEO of the Röchling Group, Professor Hanns-Peter Knaebel. Professor Knaebel talks about how Röchling has always been undergoing transformation, and how the company is transforming going forward. As a company which mainly produces industrial plastics, shortages of raw materials are a major challeng...

This time, hosts Professor Serden Ozcan from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC are joined by the longstanding former CEO of Klöckner, Gisbert Rühl. We talk with him about his exciting career, learning from contact with the greats of Silicon Valley and how he put these lessons into practice at Klöckner. We also take a look at how Klöckner was able to succeed in its transformation to a platform...

Hosts Professor Martin Glaum from WHU and Gori von Hirschhausen from PwC are joined in this episode by Dr Lars Grünert, the CFO of Trumpf, to discuss how family-owned businesses can better withstand crises. We also take a look at the fascinating story of how Trumpf has grown from a simple engineering company to a high-tech corporation, and how the company’s finance function has reflected and guide...

Hosts Professor Serden Ozcan and Gori von Hirschhausen are joined in this episode by the CEO of Techem, Matthias Hartmann. He tells us about the challenges and opportunities that his company encountered in corporate transformation and how you can get your own employees involved in shaping the future. We also take a look at how energy service providers for the real estate sector are looking to tran...

What actually is corporate transformation? How does it differ from strategic management? And what’s it got to do with WHU, PwC and this podcast? Our hosts and transformation experts Professor Serden Ozcan (WHU), Professor Martin Glaum (WHU) and Gori von Hirschhausen (PwC) are here to answer these questions and many more, and to give you a sneak peek into our upcoming episodes.