Find out how Smurfit Kappa partnered with London Business School to design two precisely calibrated learning journeys that transformed participants from two distinct strands of leadership.

1. 1
Accelerating personal development
Broadening horizons
Smurfit Kappa
& London Business School
The Senior Executive
Programme
Accelerated Development
Programme

2. 2
■ Senior Executive Programme for country CEOs
■ Accelerated Development Programme for
regional general managers
Executive Summary
It’s 2010 and market leader in paper-based packaging,
Smurfit Kappa, faces a leadership challenge.
To maintain competitive edge, the company’s country CEOs
and regional general managers need to develop:
Deeper understanding of the trends shaping their industry
A solid grasp of the latest in management thinking
Greater confidence in their own abilities
Profound insight into their personal leadership strengths,
weaknesses and impact
Smurfit Kappa partners with London Business School to design
two precisely calibrated learning journeys that will transform
participants within each stratum of leadership:

3. Executive Summary: Impact
Over six years, participants from each tier
are handpicked to pursue the programme
that meets their needs.
Numbers are kept low to optimise individual impact.
Year over year, participants from both leadership tiers and
their line managers report big wins in terms of:
¢¢ New-found confidence in decision making
¢¢ Effective tools to drive the business forward
¢¢ Modern management thinking
¢¢ Broader perspective on the business
and its competitive context
¢¢ Enhanced communication skills
¢¢ Vitality and energy in their leadership
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The tools, the capabilities and the broadened
perspective at each level of leadership to deliver
immediate and enduring impact.

4. 4
The challenge: professionalising
people development at Smurfit Kappa
Smurfit Kappa looks to two tiers of senior leaders to steer
the company to growth:
Country CEOs
who determine the future
direction of their organisations
Regional managers
identified by the company’s
succession plan as having the
potential to become CEOs
Historically, internal programmes have met basic requirements. But they fail to deliver
the leadership development impact that participants and the company need to really
drive competitive advantage.
The time has come to bring in expertise from outside.

5. We’re largely a home-grown
organisation and many
senior executives have been
promoted up through the
ranks from within. Now we
were looking for a solution that
would open up their minds to
current thinking and broaden
their horizons as leaders.
Bill Fox
Head of HR, Smurfit Kappa
5

6. Partnering with London Business School
Smurfit Kappa chooses London Business School
as its Executive Education partner.
There are a number of reasons:
World-class reputation for leadership development
High calibre of faculty and speakers
Diversity of intake – geographic and sectorial – which breeds
rich learning experiences and a wide breadth of perspectives
Focus on the financial dimension of general management
Located in one of the world’s most vibrant business hubs
Smurfit Kappa CEO, Roberto Villaquiran, also has first-hand
experience of the LBS experience. He completed the Senior
Executive Programme in the late 90s.
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7. 7
The Senior Executive
Programme was fantastic.
I wanted my managers
to have the same
opportunity.
Robert Villaquiran
CEO Smurfit Kappa

8. 8
Two groups of leaders – Two sets of needs
Country CEOs at Smurfit Kappa are experienced leaders.
Many of them have been a CEO for 10 years or more.
For this demographic, the optimal development programme is the
LBS Senior Executive Programme.
Regional Managers might be three to five years into senior roles.
At this point in their career, potential to make it to chief executive
becomes more apparent.
For next-generation, upcoming CEOs, the Accelerated
Development Programme will propel the transition from functional
to senior leadership.

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Enhanced capacity for
self-analysis, giving
greater insight into
personal strengths and
weaknesses through
360 assessment and
feedback from peers
and faculty.
An update on global
megatrends and
cutting-edge thinking
on management issues
– from innovation to
finance, from marketing
to stakeholder
management and more.
CEO Roberto Villaquiran sees three pillars of learning
that bring significant value to his senior managers:
Broadened perspectives
and enhanced business
knowledge via open
exchange with world-
class peers from a
very broad diversity
of geographies and
business sectors.
Senior Executive Programme
The Senior Executive Programme (SEP) is for experienced
senior leaders whose responsibilities include:
¢¢ Setting direction
¢¢ Managing strategic priorities
¢¢ Developing and leading effective teams
¢¢ Establishing and sustaining competitive advantage

10. These guys are used to sitting
at the front of every table
when they go to a meeting.
On the SEP they are one of
perhaps 20 number ones and
so they go back to ground
zero, where no one is more or
less important than anyone
else. Everyone is there for the
same purpose and the whole
dynamic of exchange and the
approach to the case studies –
the reasoning and contributing
– is very enriching.
Robert Villaquiran
CEO Smurfit Kappa
10

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Leadership Strategy
Financial
Management
and
Analysis
Change
and
Marketing
Strategic
Decision
Making
Accelerated Development Programme
The Accelerated Development Programme (ADP) is
for talented technical or functional directors who are
ready to make the transition to a broader role.
The programme expedites this transition, bringing participants
into a dynamic learning environment built on:
¢¢ Broad diversity of geographies and sectors
¢¢ Open dialogue and debate
¢¢ A focus on developing key competencies across six core areas

12. They come to London Business
School to be challenged
about where they are in their
leadership journey, their style,
the impact of that style, and to
experience broader ideas and
modern ways of thinking.
Bill Fox
Head of HR, Smurfit Kappa
12

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Maximum impact, minimal disruption
SEP and ADP are four-week learning journeys.
Intense, immersive transformational experiences
that leave an enduring impact.
And because executives have to juggle time and
responsibilities, Roberto and Bill work with the LBS team
to structure the programme over 12 to 18 months so that
it can be incorporated into their schedules.
This flexibility means:
¢¢ Minimal impact on busy professional schedules
¢¢ A controlled environment in which learning and
impact can be planned for and measured

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Impact on leaders
Year over year, Roberto, Bill and SEP and
ADP participants themselves have reported
substantial gains in terms of:
¢¢ New-found confidence in decision making
¢¢ Broadened perspectives on the business and its
competitive context
¢¢ Openness to new ideas
¢¢ Enhanced communication skills
¢¢ Vitality and energy in leadership

15. 15
“They come back consistently
as more mature and confident
individuals and underneath their
arm they bring with them a set of
tools that they can use as they
see fit in developing their regions
and organisations further.”
Roberto Villaquiran,
CEO
“It was an incredible
opportunity to share,
exchange and learn from
people from diverse
sectors and backgrounds.”
Saverio Mayer,
CEO Italy, SEP 2010
“The format of ADP enables you to
develop a trustful relationship, which
gave me the opportunity to let the
feedback impact my leadership style.
This was nothing short of an eye-
opener – a huge benefit to me.”
Emmanuel Rougier,
General Manager of Siemco,
Smurfit Kappa, ADP 2013
Empowered managers

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A personal journey
Ingo Gruetters is a regional
manager within a key area of
Smurfit Kappa Germany.
In 2009 he was juggling new fatherhood
with responsibility for newly acquired plants
– two of which were among the lowest
achievers in Europe.
He felt he was in danger of burning out.
The ADP showed him the value of stepping
back from the day to day to gain perspective.
And it taught him the difference between
micromanaging and exerting control, without
demotivating his team.
Today Ingo is in charge of
four plants with a combined
turnover of almost €200
million euros.
“I have a picture in my head
of a small boy trying to
learn to ride a bicycle. The
father is standing beside
the bicycle but letting the
child ride the bicycle on
his own. It’s the picture I
took with me. Let people
do what they can do.”

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Business Impact
CEO Roberto Villaquiran and Head of HR
Bill Fox see clear benefits to the business
in the transformational impact of the
LBS programmes.
Participants returning from the SEP and ADP:
¢¢ Have acquired effective tools to drive
the business forward
¢¢ Are more effective as leaders
¢¢ Are more “modern” in their management
thinking and approaches
¢¢ Have improved in leadership,
management and communication
¢¢ Are more decisive in their management
¢¢ Are more forward-looking in their leadership

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They’ve had an injection of
modern management thinking.
They’ve had their leadership
style deconstructed and then
built up again. And because
they’re at LBS for four weeks,
the effect does not last for
just six months and then
disappear. It changes them
on a permanent basis.
Bill Fox
Head of HR, Smurfit Kappa

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A strong and committed partnership
The seven-year relationship between Smurfit
Kappa and London Business School was built
on intimate collaboration and commitment.
The programme has been delivered with precision: equipping
the right people with the right insight, capabilities and tools to
deliver significant impact on leadership.
“We are by no means a big, big
customer of London Business School.
Over the last five years we have seen
around 12 executives pass through
its doors with a similar number in the
pipeline. But despite being a relatively
small customer, I feel we have a
fantastic relationship with London
Business School.”
Bill Fox
Head of HR, Smurfit Kappa