We don't have to give up our identity, even if we open up to other cultures and assumptions.<br /><br />Question: Do you believe the Ango-Saxon way of doing business is dead? <br />Peter Brabeck: Well, first of all, it all depends on definition. What is capitalism and so on? I know I am not a scientific thing. But I would say if the summary in pragmatic terms of capitalism was shareholder value and nothing else, then I think this is over. I think we don't have to wait for this, this is over by now. And I don't think this will come back. As I mentioned before, any CEO of this world has recognized through this crisis that shareholder value alone is not a sustainable model, and that you have to be able to combine shareholder value with the value of the society at large. So that's one thing. <br />Now, has this changed enormously? Perhaps with some companies. I don't think it has changed a lot financially. We wouldn't be here 145 years after having been created, successful, growing, profitable, giving a great return to our shareholders, if we had not had all the time thought about long-term and about we have to create value for society. A company is not sustainable if it doesn't act in such a responsible manner. <br />Question: How has your perspective on these global challenges evolved over the last 30 years? What are your concerns as you look ahead? <br />Peter Brabeck: My personal perspective has changed enormously. In the very beginning, I was a salesman not very much worried about the role of the company itself in this society. I was more worried about taking care of my consumers and my customers and that's what more or less the horizon was. Now, very early on, this came from my exposure, of course, in Chili, I was exposed and very abruptly, I would say, to the role of the multi-national company in a society that was questioning its role. I mean, at that time, in the late-60's and early 70's, multi-nationals were being considered as ugly as a dragon could be and I always remember there was one African leader who once told me, he said, "There is nothing worse for a country to be exploited by a multi-national." And he said, "exploited by a multi-national." And I asked him what was it? And he said, "Not being exploited by a multi-national." But at that time, really, I mean, multi-nationals were really seen as a very ugly thing until I think society and the multi-nationals also through their behavior started to understand that they have to integrate themselves into this society. <br />So, this learning process which then of course was intensified during my years in Ecuador, which was just coming out of a military dictatorship and had the first steps into democracy and then later on in Venezuela, which was a completely different environment where we were nationalized, learned about what can lead to a nationalization of a company that behaved and sold very well. All of those things, of course, have formed and changed my mind about the role of societies. And here we are today. And I think having been able to formulate this concept of creating shared value, I really hope that this is a certain legacy that I can leave behind, not only for Nestle, but hopefully also for other companies and I was extremely happy to see that in the annual reports, 2009, of several of my competitors creating shared value was mentioned as a concept under the title of shared values. So, it shows me that I am not alone and that many of my colleagues also share that the real role of the company is to be at the service of the shareholders and of the society. <br />Recorded on February 26, 2010
