Interview with Robert Berendes, Head of Business Development, Syngenta
a-connect and business development - a powerful combination
by Nils Hagander
 Over the last few years, a-connect has worked with Syngenta on a number of business development projects around the globe. From China and India to Europe to the US and Brazil, a-connect IPs have brought in industry knowledge and business development expertise to support Syngenta's internal teams. Robert has overseen some of these projects and seen a-connect IPs "in action".
a-connect co-founder Nils Hagander spoke with Robert about business development and his experiences with a-connect.
Biography:
Robert Berendes was appointed to Syngenta's Executive Committee as Head of Business Development with effect of January 1, 2007. Previously, he was Head of Diverse Field Crops (2005-2006) and Head of Strategy, Planning, M&A (2002-2005) for Syngenta. Prior to this, he was a partner and co-leader of the European chemical practice at McKinsey & Company and a process engineer at Procter & Gamble. He graduated from the University of Cologne in Chemistry and has a PhD in Biophysics from the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry and Technical University of Munich.
Interview:
1. How would you define “efficient growth”? What are the key success factors for “efficient growth”?
Efficient growth is about maximizing the return on your growth investment: first and foremost driven by very good people forming an excellent growth team, and also highly dependent on a well-defined value proposition and go-to-market strategy and a robust business plan that enables flexibility in the face of a dynamic business and competitive environment.
2. Why did you select a-connect to support Syngenta in business development work?
When developing new businesses, you sometimes don’t have all the resources and skills in house that you need to get started. In these situations, a-connect can provide you with experts that will be integral members of your team and that combine conceptual strength with business experience and come from different relevant industries and geographies.
3. What are typical challenges growth projects encounter in large organizations like Syngenta?
Small scale growth projects do not always get sufficient attention, as they sometimes operate in the shadow of the large core businesses; also, because of their sub-critical size it is sometimes difficult to provide them with adequate resources required in the early stages of business building.
4. Do you think a-connect IPs have an entrepreneurial spirit? If yes, how does it impact growth projects?
I have experienced a number of a-connect IPs as being entrepreneurial. They have helped to raise the bar in terms of project expectations and speed of delivery.
5. How would you summarize the a-connect value proposition for business development projects?
Identify and provide highly skilled IPs on relatively short notice to help resource and fast-track both the definition and implementation of growth projects.
6. Would you hire a-connect again? What should a-connect do differently or better going forward?
Yes, I would. Helpful would be an even broader footprint of IPs, both in terms of geography as well as experience and industry base.
Thank you.
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