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HILTI – LEADERSHIP AND OWNERSHIP TRANSIT...

KAVIL RAMACHANDRAN...

Case

HILTI – LEADERSHIP AND OWNERSHIP TRANSITION IN A CULTURE-RICH COMPANY

KAVIL RAMACHANDRAN; Nupur Pavan Bang

ISB167 | Published August 1, 2019 | 15 pages Case

Collection: Indian School of Business

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Learning Objectives

The Hilti Corporation was founded by Martin Hilti in 1941 in Liechtenstein, Germany. From its inception, Hilti set the highest standards of peoples' practices, innovation, quality and governance. The values of the company; Team, Commitment, Integrity and Courage, defined by Martin, remained unchanged over the years, even though the company leadership transitioned from Martin to his son Michael to the non-family Chairman Baschera and later Fisher. Continuity was given a lot of importance at Hilti. In 2017, the family trust and the board of directors of the Hilti corporation, both had non-family leaders. Michael Hilti, the Lifetime Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors, was happy that the transition of leadership had happened smoothly and as planned. He was keen to identify and correct possible areas of weaknesses existing or that might emerge in future. He knew that he didn't have a long time to further institutionalize the family and business.

The case takes students through the journey of Hilti Corporation and the Hilti family. The company is a strong example for culture building practices and ownership models. It has successfully integrated its culture into strategizing for growth and has well laid out succession plans for the smooth transition of leadership to ensure continuity. There are a number of takeaways from the case on the best practices followed by the company.