What does it take to lead a fragmented business through disruptive transformation?

When she joined The Economist as Group CEO, Lara Boro faced a divided company, metaphorically, and physically. She quickly won the confidence of the board, by writing off a £12 million, four year long transformation project, and showing that its replacement wouldn’t need a single pound of investment. It could actually fund itself. Through strategic and purpose-based leadership, Lara solidified her legacy of being the person who was able to finally bring two sides of the business together.

Join host Jimmy Allen of Bain & Company and Lara as they discuss the importance of striving for simplification at pace, how culture helped her team embrace an ambitious digital transformation, and how she brought the business together through dissecting one foundational question: what is The Economist?

Lara’s journey also highlights the value of building for the customer. How can analyzing customer data shape budgets and provide strategic direction?

This is a conversation about the role of a leader in guiding teams through positive disruption, leveraging customer data to shape business strategy, and ensuring every part of a team strives for success together.

https://www.bain.com/founders-mentality/

EPISODE CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

01:19 Arriving to a cultural divide

02:53 The gap between the editorial and the business

04:36 Understanding the issues from both sides

05:37 Journalism is independent, but not from the business

06:27 Lara's playbook - reframing the business strategy

07:35 Starting by understanding the customer

08:30 Customer data helps improve efficiency

09:42 Writing off £12 million and four years of work

11:50 Why Lara used the phrase "self funding"

13:19 The when, the how, and the little wins

14:25 Momentum matters most

15:35 Mixing pace with simplicity

16:44 Building a culture that eases tension

18:06 Maintaining principles in the face of AI

19:35 Discovering new perspectives through debate

20:44 Expression may change, but culture stays the same

21:40 What is The Economist?

23:32 Convincing the right people to join

24:27 Lara’s legacy: bringing The Economist together

25:22 The people who believed in Lara

26:44 The grand reframe

LINKS

The Most Successful Cultural Change Programs Never, Ever Discuss Cultural Change - Jimmy Allen - Blog [https://tinyurl.com/CEOCulturalChange]

Bain & Company LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/bain-and-company/]

Bain & Company X [https://x.com/BainandCompany]

Jimmy Allen LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-allen-3442b/]

Lara Boro LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lara-salameh-boro-4a16405/]