I by IMD

Ann Perrins on rebuilding Atlassian Williams F1 through talent, culture, psychological safety – and the long road back to winning.
What does it really take to rebuild a Formula One team from the inside out? 
In this episode of I by IMD podcast, Susan Goldsworthy hosts Ann Perrins, Chief HR Officer at Atlassian Williams Racing, to discuss the human side of elite performance: how to attract world-class talent, build a culture people want to stay in, and transform an iconic team without losing its identity. 
Perrins makes it clear that this doesn’t mean a soft agenda: the team “can't return to winning unless we get that right.” She also reframes a term many leaders misuse: “psychological safety is not about everything feeling nice and comfortable.” And she is blunt about the reality behind the glamour: “we’re very explicit and we don’t sugarcoat it.” 
Our guest:

Ann Perrins is the Chief Human Resource Officer at Atlassian Williams Racing. Before joining Williams in 2023, she built her career across banking, consulting, and global engineering and operations environments, including 17 years at BP and senior roles at GKN Automotive. At Williams, she is helping lead the people, culture, and talent transformation needed to support the team’s return to winning.

What does it take to restore confidence in a 160-year-old bank that investors had stopped believing in? 

In this episode, IMD’s Jean-François Manzoni speaks with Societe Generale CEO Slawomir Krupa about rebuilding a major institution from the inside out: stronger capital, more cost discipline, harder strategic choices – and a leadership culture of clarity and accountability.

Krupa does not frame transformation as storytelling. He frames it as work. He says the bank inherited “weak foundations,” warns that dismissing challengers such as fintechs is “a recipe for disaster down the road,” and explains why some painful decisions were made because “it was the right thing to do.” 

Our Guest:
Slawomir Krupa
Chief Executive Officer, Societe Generale
Slawomir Krupa became CEO of Societe Generale in May 2023 after spending nearly his entire career at the bank. Before becoming CEO, he held senior leadership roles across Corporate and Investment Banking, served as CEO of Societe Generale Americas, and led Global Banking and Investor Solutions. Under his leadership, the bank has focused on restoring capital strength, simplifying the portfolio, and repositioning for sustainable growth.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/slawomir-krupa/

Scaling a company is not about chasing headlines. It’s about proving customers care.
In this episode of I by IMD, Katarina Bonde shares hard-earned lessons from decades in venture-backed tech, board leadership, and global scale-ups. She challenges founders to validate demand before celebrating growth: “If no one is… spending money to buy it, you actually don't have a product.” 
Katarina, who served as board chair and CEO in various venture-backed tech firms across the US and Europe, also reframes the AI discussion. The opportunity isn’t in the current bubble, but in the smart use of data – “the real gold here.” 

For rapid-growth startups, so-called scale-ups, who are tempted to prioritize land grabs over margins, Katarina offers a grounded reminder: “You have to show that you have a business model that can pay for itself.” 
Our Guest:
Katarina Bonde served as Chair of companies including Mentimeter, Stillfront Group, and others in Sweden’s digital ecosystem. She also served as an executive in various venture-backed tech firms in Europe and the US and is an active angel investor.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katarinabonde/

What does it take to build a company that lasts generations — not just quarters? In this episode, Endress+Hauser’s Supervisory Board President Matthias Altendorf discusses with IMD professor Goutam Challagala how to integrate sustainability into strategy, innovation, and board governance of a global market leader.
Altendorf challenges common thinking: “If you start to separate one from the other, you will never get the synergies.” He embraces disciplined vigilance: “Only the paranoid survives.” And he reframes diversity as protection: “The more diverse your DNA is, the better you can deal with the future.”
A conversation for everyone interested in building organizations that can navigate uncertainty without losing their identity.

Our Guest:

Matthias Altendorf led Endress+Hauser as its first non-family CEO and now serves as Supervisory Board President. Under his leadership, the company strengthened its global market position, expanded into high-growth sectors, and deepened its sustainability integration while maintaining family ownership principles.

Construction is one of the biggest carbon emitters – and cement sits at the center of it. In this episode of Inside the Transition, IMD's Julia Binder and Knut Haanaes speak with Holcim’s Head of Operational Excellence Ram Muthu about what decarbonization looks like when you’re responsible for heavy equipment, waste streams, and execution across real plants.

Muthu doesn’t romanticize the challenge. He argues the sector can move fast – but only if policy and infrastructure keep up, and if leaders stop treating transformation like a checklist. As he puts it: “Cement and building materials are probably one of the hardest to abate sectors,” “our industry still depends a lot on carbon capture and storage,” and “focus on execution is critical.”
Inside the Transition delivers practical, executive-grade conversations on the energy transition. More info: https://www.imd.org/ibyimd/podcasts/inside-the-transition/ 

Our Guest:

Ram Muthu is the Head of Operational Excellence at Holcim and a member of Holcim’s Executive Committee, focused on operational performance and the delivery of transformation at scale across a global building materials leader.
LinkedIn: https://ch.linkedin.com/in/ram-muthu-112b46b