imperial - Panopa

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News 1-08-2 englisch:News 2/05.2 30.04.2008 17:44 Uhr Seite 18 18 I M P E R I A L S O U T H A F R I C A Last Farewell to Bill Lynch Bill Lynch, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Imperial Holdings Limited for many years, passed away on 21st January 2008 after a serious illness at the age of 64. Imperial Holdings developed under his leader - ship into what it is today: A respected and successful global business. Bill Lynch was awarded the sought after title of “World Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2006 for his exemplary management skills. Bill Lynch determined the success story at Imperial, particularly with his individual man - agement style oriented to people. This united high expertise with a great trust shown towards customers, suppliers and staff. He gave those around him the feeling that he trusted them and that he wanted to take on the future with them. Bill Lynch primarily relied on the self-responsi - bility of his workers and he was firmly convinced that growth has its origins in the freedom enjoyed by in - dividuals to make decisions. His motto “Act rather than talk!” is a reflection of this. He was sure that “A lot of people have ideas, yet don't bring them to fruition.” These exceptional management qualities, his inspired visions and ambitious targets won him the renowned title of “World Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2006 from the auditing company Ernst & Young. The jury judged Bill Lynch to be the epitome of an entrepreneur. He started off with nothing, but over the next 30 years led the company from one triumph to the next. Sad news reached us shortly before going to press. Leslie Boyd, Supervisory Board chairman at Imperial Holdings Limited, died suddenly on 28th March 2008 after a short illness. Leslie Boyd had been chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2001 and knew the European and international financial markets inside out. He was co-founder of the “South African Chamber of Business” in 1990, the members of which include the 150 largest companies in South Africa. In 1999/2000 he was President of the “South Africa Foundation” (re - Imperial News 1/2008 Bill Lynch grew up in Ireland. In 1971, at the age of 27, he and his wife Ann emigrated to South Africa where he joined the Imperial Motors vehicle dealership. Mr Lynch's strategic management, aided by numerous takeovers, turned the car dealership business into a corporation that nowadays provides services in vehicle trading, logistics, transport and tourism. Around 44,000 employees in three continents today generate a turn - over of around 65 billion Rand. Bill Lynch stepped down from the operative management of the company on 4th July last year for reasons of health, and passed the daily business on to the then general manager Hubert Brody. Bill Lynch nevertheless continued to assist Hubert Brody and the management team with advice drawn from all his experience and knowledge. Bill Lynch stamped his personality onto Imperial Holdings. His business credo – concentration on the essentials and customer-oriented thinking as a prerequis ite for success – lives on as our corporate philosophy. Last Farewell to Leslie Boyd named in 2005 as “Business Leadership South Africa”). The South African was highly respected for his exper - tise and specialist knowledge by colleagues and busi - ness partners alike. As chairman of the Supervisory Board of Imperial Holdings Limited, he was also able to contribute his many years of professional experience to the logistics sector. He also visited the Imperial Logistics Inter - national Group in Duisburg as chairman, the positive development of which he had always supported. Leslie Boyd passed away at the age of 71.
News 1-08-2 englisch:News 2/05.2 30.04.2008 17:44 Uhr Seite 19 I M P E R I A L S O U T H A F R I C A From a Filling Station to a Global Player – How it all Began Imperial Holdings Limited is characterised both by continuous growth and by continuity of management. In this interview, Gerhard Riemann, Executive Director of Imperial Holdings and Chief Executive Officer of Imperial Logistics International GmbH, gives an insight into the impressive development of the business. Imperial Holdings Limited has only been around for 50 years, yet has since developed into an internation - ally operating corporation with around 44,000 employees. How has this been possible in such a short time? Imperial Holdings has its roots in a filling station in South Africa. A certain Percy Abelkop first sold petrol there and repaired cars. The enterprise continued to grow over the course of time: He began selling used vehicles and soon afterwards new ones. New vehicles nevertheless need to be financed and insured. Percy therefore offered these services, too. Always oriented to the needs of customers, he thus constantly expanded his business. So Imperial Holdings arose from quite humble be - ginn ings. Can the corporation of today be compared with the filling station of yesterday? Yes. It all belongs to Imperial Holdings as before – although nowadays, of course, in another dimension. Last year Imperial Holdings sold around 200,000 vehicles and is the largest automotive dealer in South Africa. As in the past, this also includes repair shops. We are also the largest car rental operator in the Cape and a major leasing agent for cars. Over the course of the years, the vehicle financing business led to the establishment of the Imperial Bank, a property financer, whilst a significant, international insur - ance company developed alongside this. The logistics and transport sector likewise grew in parallel. To what is the impressive development attributable? The main impetus came in the last 35 years, once Bill Lynch had joined the company. Right from the start, his strategic decision-making helped to contin u - ally expand the business – first in South Africa, then increasingly abroad. The decentralised corporate structure, which has always been a characteristic feature, was nevertheless maintained. How did Imperial Holdings find its way to Germany in 1999? Imperial Holdings had been very success - ful in its fields of business in the 1990s. Yet by then, the business had become so big that opportunities for growth in South Africa in certain fields were limit - ed. Imperial Holdings therefore began to look abroad for potential acquisitions. We, as nestrans Logistik GmbH and part of ThyssenKrupp AG, were a suitable candidate. The company and the phil - osophy of the management working here fitted in with Imperial Holdings. What kind of a philosophy was that? The chemistry between the people was right. We discovered that we saw and dealt with a lot of things in the same way – even though we didn't know each other. That naturally creates trust. The philosophy of a service provider close to its customers was just as important for us as it was in South Africa. So you moved to Imperial Holdings, too? Yes, I changed to Imperial Holdings at the express request of Bill Lynch. And as the remaining management also all moved and have remained to this day, we were able to set forth the business seamlessly. A successful change also depends upon a motivated workforce who have trust. How have the employees responded to the change? The complete management team made the move. That was naturally an important sign for the workforce: “Nothing has changed at the top, so hopefully it's business as normal.” A decisive factor was the trust placed in us by Imperial Holdings: Management and staff were treated as experts, the lo - cal knowledge and functioning structures were used and retained. We were, and still are, able to develop independently. This has obviously provided an incentive and motivated everyone. The same still applies today because Imperial Holdings continues to be a fully decentralised organisation. With 44,000 em ployees and a turnover of around 65 billion Rand, the head office of the holding company in Johannesburg still only em ploys some 30 staff. In view of this de centralised approach, the progress we've made here in Germany is therefore attributable, in the main, to our own initiatives. How do you see the future of Imperial Holdings? When I first got to know Bill Lynch, he told me he wanted Imperial South Africa to grow at a rate of at least 25 per cent each year. After catching my breath, I asked: “That's all very well to have such a target, but what do you achieve in practice?” He replied: “Always more, actually.” And that's how it was, that's been the development of Imperial Holdings. We have a get-things-done philosophy, mean - ing that we have ambitious growth targets for the whole group – through operative expansion and via acquisitions. The main thrust here will be in our core business. Here in Europe we want to triple our turnover and profit over the medium to long-term. But one thing that will not change is the corporate policy of decentralisation, also one of the legacies of Bill Lynch. With Hubert Brody as the new CEO, it is safe to assume that Imperial Holdings will continue down the path to success. Imperial News 1/2008 19
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