Neste

Neste and IMD: Partnering for renewal

Context

When Matti Lievonen became the CEO of Neste in 2009, the Finnish oil refining company was facing strong headwinds – a sharp fall in oil prices, market overcapacity, falling margins and new carbon emissions legislation in the EU. The company’s market value dropped 50% between 2008 and 2011. Matti had to implement a radical strategic shift into renewable fuels.

Challenge

“In practice, our business based on renewable products and circular economics is eating away at our traditional business operations. This is a sacrifice that many did not believe in at first. But when it comes to the question of what kind of planet we will leave to future generations, the transition to sustainable lifestyles cannot be held back.”
Matti Lievonen, President and CEO of Neste

Custom approach

IMD and Neste collaborated on four L&D programs to enable the company’s transformation journey. The strategy implementation and organization development process required Neste to examine where it had come from, where it was at each stage and its ambition as a sustainability champion.

Impact

Throughout the Neste-IMD collaboration, the company has seen significant growth in its renewables business, profitability and market valuation.