{"id":17717,"date":"2026-10-07T10:06:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T10:06:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=17717"},"modified":"2026-10-07T10:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T10:06:30","slug":"bayers-ceo-cut-manager-ranks-by-70-now-comes-the-hard-part","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stock999.top\/?p=17717","title":{"rendered":"Bayer’s CEO cut manager ranks by 70%. Now comes the hard part"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Good morning. After you\u2019ve streamlined and transformed and flattened your company, how do you get it to grow again? I recently asked that question to Bayer CEO Bill Anderson, who\u2019s done all of the above at the 163-year-old health science giant. He\u2019s reduced the number of managers from about 16,000 to 4,500 (in a company of 88,000) and replaced hierarchy and annual budgets with 5,000 small teams working on 90-day cycles. So what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ambition, for the last three years, basically, was to survive,\u201d he told me, as we sipped takeout coffee in an empty corner of New York\u2019s Javits Center last month. \u201cHow much are we willing to stretch ourselves now and put out a bold ambition for what this company can be and fight for that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Good question. Bayer announced plans to invest $2.2 billion in a new Ohio manufacturing site last week. Global COO Sebastian Guth recently wrote in Fortune that the company stopped assigning sales targets. Investors are newly enthusiastic as Bayer\u2019s stock is up 57% over the past year (versus about 21% for BASF and 14% for Novartis) but flat over the past three years (versus 43% and 47% growth, respectively). Anderson has improved profitability and won a Supreme Court ruling that addresses liability claims predating his arrival, but the real test will be whether he can continue to drive revenue and profit growth.<\/p>\n

Anderson has found that giving people more authority doesn\u2019t necessarily increase their willingness to make tough decisions. \u201cWe have a nice culture\u201d that\u2019s \u201ca little softer\u201d on things like \u201ccourageous authenticity and decisiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

To address that, he started at the top: \u201cThe job of the leaders is not to manage people, and it\u2019s not to decide the goals, and then, you know, cascade them. No, forget that. The job of the leaders is to set the vision. That\u2019s very different than telling everyone what to do,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are putting 95% of decision making at the bottom, not delegating it down in the hierarchy.\u201d He ranks his priorities in descending order: Mission first, employees second, shareholders third, senior management last.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What\u2019s oddly heartening is the realization that Anderson doesn\u2019t have all the answers. It shows that transformation is ongoing and hard. \u201cThis is not a culture program or a communication program,\u201d said Anderson. \u201cNinety-nine percent of all corporate transformations are not transformations. They\u2019re just shuffling the boxes around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com<\/p>\n

Top leadership news<\/p>\n

Why Oura really pulled its IPO<\/p>\n

Oura blamed “uncertainty in the IPO market” for scrapping its offering hours before pricing, but experts suspect other causes: a steep $40-$44 per share price for a hardware-heavy company, the fact that only 27% of shares would be newly issued by the company, and the threat of an Apple ring. Oura says it has the \u201cluxury of choosing our moment\u201d to go public.<\/p>\n

McDonald\u2019s looks beyond meal deals<\/p>\n

Discounts haven\u2019t reversed slowing U.S. growth for McDonald\u2019s. Rising beef costs and a crowded schedule of menu launches have added pressure on restaurants. CEO Chris Kempczinski is now offering franchisees $8.5 billion in support over 10 years as he pushes for restaurant upgrades and better service.<\/p>\n

Why Mikel Arteta had his DNA mapped<\/p>\n

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had his genome sequenced to better understand his health risks, prompting changes to his diet and sleep routines. He explains why looking after his own health is part of leading his team\u2014and why he decided to talk about it publicly.<\/p>\n

The markets<\/p>\n

S&P 500 futures are flat this morning. The last session closed up 0.58%. The STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.13% in early trading. The U.K.\u2019s FTSE 100 was down 0.14% in early trading. Japan\u2019s Nikkei 225 was down 0.92%. South Korea\u2019s KOSPI was down 1.98%. China\u2019s markets are closed. Hong Kong\u2019s Hang Seng was down 0.62%. India\u2019s NIFTY 50 is down 0.84%. Bitcoin is down at $84k.<\/p>\n

Around the watercooler<\/p>\n

Former CIA official with Top Secret clearance admits to $194 million fraud, including 298 gold bars and four luxury South Florida properties by Catherina Gioino<\/p>\n

OpenAI\u2019s human rights lead: What the military could do with AI \u2018keeps me up at night\u2019 by Emily Forlini<\/p>\n

\u2018AI Snake Oil\u2019 author sees chatbots evolving into a \u2018truth oracle\u2019\u2014and journalism heading somewhere it hasn\u2019t been in 200 years by Nick Lichtenberg<\/p>\n

Elon Musk is a trillionaire again\u2014and he\u2019d still be the richest person on the planet even if he gave everyone $90 by Emma Burleigh<\/p>\n

CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford.<\/p>\n

#Bayers #CEO #cut #manager #ranks #hard #part<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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