Strategy

The Michelin travel company was created for one reason - to promote the sale of tires, Michelin’s primary product. The tire company’s executives reasoned that promoting destinations to travel to, such as restaurants, hotels, and travel guides for a wide range of countries, will increase car travel and, with it, tires’ wear and tear. The entire line was considered a marketing expense to support the main business of the company.They were right. Car travel increased…

CFOs’ North Star is building a fortress balance sheet generating resilient and growing earnings. It’s a tall order. The path to achieving and sustaining it is ever changing, since capital markets and balance sheet valuations are highly dependent on unpredictable external factors, most notably interest rates, the economy at large and regulatory expectations. The last couple of years have complicated many a CFO’s life even more. They must find ways to modernize their institutions’ infrastructure…