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Front-mounted<br />
diesel engine<br />
Automatic<br />
stop/start<br />
Six-speed<br />
gearbox<br />
High-voltage battery<br />
improve their leadership skills further. Being<br />
global, being excellent operationally and in our<br />
customer service, and promoting innovation to<br />
remain a step ahead, are all things that matter a<br />
great deal to me.<br />
Was the company under a lot of stress?<br />
The Group was being forced to deal with the<br />
global crisis and severe management issues<br />
simultaneously.<br />
It was also a big shock for this company to<br />
have to take a EUR 3 bn loan from the French<br />
State. If you see the glass as half empty, it<br />
was a traumatic time, but if you see it as half<br />
full, it gave us the opportunity to answer the<br />
questions: “Where do we want to go?” and<br />
“What is our vision?” This is not rocket science.<br />
It’s rather a matter of making things happen.<br />
We have to look for the opportunities created<br />
by the crisis.<br />
How do you keep people motivated?<br />
What our people want is success, because<br />
success is what drives them. People who<br />
are part of a winning team and personally<br />
rewarded for success – not only with money but<br />
by the way their contribution is recognized –<br />
will want to play a role in achieving the vision.<br />
This is crucial.<br />
What have been some of the success stories at<br />
PSA Peugeot Citröen since you joined?<br />
If a company wants to be global it has to take<br />
some big steps. We focused on China because<br />
it’s the key market for growth. We already had<br />
one joint venture partner and we reinforced<br />
our partnership by setting up an R&D center<br />
in China. The turnaround had started before<br />
I joined. However, I think we’ve moved things<br />
further ahead by establishing a new relationship<br />
with Dongfeng Motor Group.<br />
At the same time, we’ve negotiated a second<br />
joint venture with Changan Auto Group. Our<br />
market share today has to be closer to 8 % compared<br />
to 3 % previously. We can go from 3 % to<br />
5 % with Dongfeng and we can get another 3 %<br />
with Changan.<br />
We’ve set goals and told our people that these are<br />
what we want to reach for. When we say 50 %<br />
of our sales will come from outside Europe by<br />
2015, it’s more than just a concept; people see<br />
that we can do it. Another success story is our<br />
step ahead with CO 2 -reducing technology.<br />
We’ve launched our Citroën C-Zero and<br />
<strong>ACT</strong>: PEUGEOT<br />
Philippe Varin<br />
Biography<br />
After graduating from the<br />
elite École Polytechnique<br />
and École des Mines,<br />
Philippe Varin joined<br />
Pechiney in 1978. He held<br />
executive posts in the<br />
company’s R&D, strategy,<br />
audit and project management<br />
departments before<br />
being appointed as head<br />
of the Rhenalu division in<br />
1995. Four years later, Varin<br />
was promoted to senior<br />
executive president of<br />
aluminum and became a<br />
member of the executive<br />
committee.<br />
In April 2003, before<br />
Pechiney’s acquisition by<br />
Canadian rival Alcan, Varin<br />
joined the Anglo-Dutch<br />
steel maker Corus as CEO.<br />
Following the merger of<br />
Koninklijke Hoogovens<br />
and British Steel in 1999,<br />
the company was facing<br />
a diffi cult situation, but<br />
Varin turned the hardship<br />
around and orchestrated<br />
its merger with Tata Steel<br />
in March 2007.<br />
Varin was appointed<br />
chairman of the managing<br />
board of PSA Peugeot<br />
Citroën in June 2009. He is<br />
58, married, and the father<br />
of four children.<br />
<strong>THINK</strong> <strong>ACT</strong> SEPTEMBER 2011 61
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