Leading for systems change: Peter Bakker and the WBCSD

In late 2023, when the management team at the consumer packaged goods company Reckitt considered adopting gen AI, potential use cases spanned the business—from drafting presentations to delivering customer support to optimizing procurement contrac...

Global trade is re-wiring without the US leading to the rise of new trade coalitions according to trade experts from IMD and the Hinrich Foundation.

Energy efficiency is the fastest and cheapest way to cut emissions. Business leaders must do more to translate words into action.

With US tariffs on Swiss goods at 39%, Carlos Cordon outlines eight strategic ways to reduce costs and turn protectionism into advantage.

Many C-suite executives are torn between the need for a green transition and maintaining a competitive advantage. Here are five ways to find a clear path ahead.

GEA Chief Sustainability Office Nadine Sterlye explains how the engineering giant is working with upstream suppliers and downstream customers to reduce Scope 3 emissions

Leaders must balance conviction with caution. Speaking Up and Staying Strategic explores how to advance inclusion goals while navigating polarized workplaces.

IMD Professor Omar Toulan speaks with Dan Luo at OWP Singapore about driving growth, profitability, and leadership across global brands like Heinz and Lego.

European innovation can be a force for resilience, transformation and global leadership. And yet it is often overlooked due to the geographical bloc’s fragmented markets, risk-averse culture, regulatory complexity and limited access to growth capi...

The case examines how DNB Bank, Norway's largest financial services company, reshaped its growth strategy by focusing on startups and SMEs, a segment traditionally considered unprofitable. In 2013, DNB launched a bold SME strategy, deliberately choosing a gross approach to win new startups early in their life cycle rather than a net approach focused on the profitability of existing accounts. This strategy, enabled by a significant investment in digitalization and a cultural shift toward customer lifecycle engagement, generated exceptional results and by 2025, the SME segment delivered the highest return on allocated capital. The journey, however, was not linear. A European regulatory crackdown in 2019, following the Danske Bank money laundering scandal, forced DNB to shift its focus from growth to compliance. The bank reallocated 1,000 employees to KYC units, dismantling its startup-friendly onboarding process and causing customer acquisition to stall. As competitors advanced, DNB had to orchestrate a strategic Restart effort to rebuild its SME leadership. This involved launching superior digital tools, providing automated lending decisions within a minute, and renewing its customer-centric focus. By 2025, the recovery was well underway, with one in three Norwegian SMEs banking with DNB. The case challenges students to evaluate DNB's past choices, the critical balance between growth and compliance, and the future of SME banking as AI and digital agents transform customer interactions.