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Robert Green I Profile


in 1999 we were contending with the same problems but at NEC there was a willingness to address the problem and to restructure the business. Senior management back in Japan had realised that our customers had design centres scattered across Europe. We needed a pan- European approach to business while keeping a locally focused sales team.” Before joining NEC Green had spent time with Atmel as the company’s sales director. Having spent 15 years with Philips I ask him why the move?


“I’d become too comfortable and wanted to see a world outside of Philips. Atmel specialised in non-volatile memory - although as a market it was quite volatile - and it proved an interesting move, which was refreshing for me.“ Refreshing yes, but I get the impression it was also frustrating for Green for while it offered new responsibilities and a far quicker decision making process than he had experienced at Philips, it appears that the company’s approach was more short term without the sense of commitment that Green put and puts so much store by.


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After two years he was head hunted and joined NEC.


“I’d been an account manager for Sony


Europe at one stage so I had some experience of working for a Japanese company.”


His appointment as president of the company’s European operations came after four years and a radical restructuring of the company’s operations. “I’m proud of that achievement, of making the newly restructured European operation work. We brought the national operations together, set European rather than national goals and build a business with an open and transparent organisation. There was a policy of fairness that ran though the entire business; terms and conditions were formalised across Europe and we instigated a common incentive scheme and established a pan- European HR database. “We benchmarked ourselves against our competitors and ended up ahead of the curve in many respects.”


The merger between NEC and Renesas came as both companies were struggling


to make a profit. Both came to the conclusion that it would be only by coming together that they would break the $10bn critical mass seen, by so many, as crucial to then achieving the levels of investment and innovation required. “There were many other reasons for the merger but that should be seen as the key driver,” according to Green. News of the proposed merger resulted in the setting up of a number of project teams to identify problems and to ensure business continuity. “That was our priority. It was only this year that we started to cut staff numbers. We had worked through the details in the run up to the formal agreement. Because of various anti-trust and competition issues it was only at the very end of the process that we were able to share everything and that is when the most intense discussions took place.


“The focus on continuity reflects Japanese culture and its sensitivity to change. An integration project was set up following the April announcement which comprised of over 100 separate teams. The


business carried on, we met with customers and design in performance continued. We were determined that we would not be overwhelmed by the integration process and that we wouldn‘t become inward looking.”


Looking back on the past sixteen months the new Renesas Electronics has achieved an awful lot. Despite the dramatic impact of the earthquake in Japan the company, despite still in the process of merging its operations, recovered remarkably quickly and business has returned almost to normal. Green concurs. “The merger has been


received positively and despite the turbulence of the last few months none of our customers in Europe had to stop or restrict production.


“Our next big challenge is further integrating our operations. We’ve got great capabilities and we now have to focus on our marketing strategies and attempt, in this turbulent world, to anticipate how our markets are likely to move on.” ■


Components in Electronics November 2011 17


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