Smurfit Kappa’s CEO on what makes a good leader

🎥 Sep 01, 2022 📺 CNBCInternationalNews ⏱ 1m

Smurfit Kappa’s CEO, Tony Smurfit reveals to Karen Tso the secret behind his award-winning leadership style. Subscribe to CNBC International TV: http://cnb.cx/2wAkfMv Subscribe to CNBC International: http://cnb.cx/2gft82z Like our Facebook page / cnbcinternational Follow us on Instagram / cnbcinternational Follow us on Twitter / cnbci

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About Saverio Mayer

In September 2023, Smurfit Kappa CEO Tony Smurfit announced the company's merger with U.S. peer WestRock, describing the deal as "fantastic" for shareholders. Smurfit stated that the merger addressed a "very big gap" in the company's portfolio due to its lack of U.S. operations, and said the combined entity would have $34 billion in adjusted annual revenue, with about 65% of revenues coming from the United States and Latin America. He noted that the company intended to list primarily in the U.S., citing a larger pool of capital there. Smurfit characterized WestRock as "at the beginning of its transformation" and Smurfit Kappa as "towards the end of its transformation," and said the combination would create "significant cost reduction opportunities." In a 2022 interview, Smurfit discussed his leadership philosophy, emphasizing the importance of communication and treating all employees with respect. He said that "everybody's the same" regardless of their role, and that he aims to be a leader who "wants to do the right thing for the people of the factories."

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Transcript (1 segments)

Saverio Mayer0:10

I think if you communicate with people and you treat people with respect. You know, I read a book called The Goal when I was younger and it said it doesn't matter if the guys on the factory floor sweeping are the boss; everybody's the same. And sometimes the guy on the factory floor is more intelligent than the boss, in fact awful. So therefore you should make sure that that guy is given the respect that he deserves because he's there for a reason. It doesn't matter where they are. So I tend to think that one of my real attributes as a leader is that I communicate and treat everybody with respect. And then when people have to leave the company for whatever reason, we try our best to treat them with respect. Culture makes you a leader that wants to do the right thing for the people of the factories.