Dr. Ziegler: 10 theses on the profession of Chief Restructuring Officer “CRO”

10 theses on the profession of Chief Restructuring Officer “CRO”

For whatever reason you “google” CRO, you will come across a talented German rapper with a panda mask. Only much later does the search engine also “find” “Chief Restructuring Officer”. This profession is far less glamorous than young creative rappers – and not only because the Chief Restructuring Officer (CRO) or restructuring manager or chief restructurer has to “perform” with an open visor. The profession of CRO has gradually emerged from the circle of crisis managers and interim managing directors.

Dr. Manfred Ziegler has already supported companies as a restructuring manager at a time when even experts could do little with a CRO. For more than 20 years, the managing director of conzima GmbH, based in the Allgäu region of Germany, has assumed operational responsibility for the realignment, restructuring and reorganization of companies and businesses. Ziegler is currently presenting ten theses on the CRO profession for debate. Ten theses that serve as criteria for the selection of professional restructuring managers with strong implementation skills.

1.
The requirements profile for turnaround managers has clearly taken shape.
Some financiers or shareholders have literally paid a lesson (“learning by earning”), some projects serve as a benchmark for what CROs can and should achieve. “The requirements for CROs have grown significantly in recent years and are now multi-complex,” explains Ziegler.

2.
“It goes without saying that the CRO must quickly get to grips with the figures and keep them under control. He must also have a clear idea of what these figures mean in practice for the business model, for the company and for the workforce. He must not only diagnose the figures, but also interpret them with his team in order to adapt and further develop the business model,” says Ziegler, explaining the multi-complex challenges that a CRO has to master.

3.
The classic management task is actually to adapt and further develop the business model. However, lemon butterflies do not fold lemons and managers do not always lead, but prefer to represent. The first management level is where the dignitaries sit, and the second and third levels are where the doubters are – especially in the case of change or transformation processes. The high art of leadership is required, which the professional CRO must not only know, but also master.

4.
Those who have clear concepts and ideas can lead. You can lead if you listen and define clear tasks, which are then implemented independently by the respective project teams. In dialog, not in one-way communication, to ensure permanent feedback. “Leadership is inextricably linked to designing and implementing processes, addressing and guiding employees, conveying and radiating competence,” says Ziegler.

5.
The competent CRO leads by example: “The CRO must quickly gain the trust of all stakeholders and justify this trust on a daily basis,” says Ziegler. His corresponding expertise goes far beyond understanding the product. Rather, it must penetrate the brand core, the unique selling point, the business model, in order to develop it further in a sustainable way. “As important as short-term success is,” explains Ziegler, “ultimately the business model should be able to survive in the medium and long term – and be resilient”.

6.
Competence and experience are the two sides of the CRO gold medal. “The CRO must be able to operate in several business models, in different sectors, industries or organizations,” is Ziegler’s experience. Anyone who has come to know and appreciate know-how, skills and abilities from various sectors is a competent sparring partner for the top performers in the company.

7.
Part of thinking outside the box and the CRO’s job profile is his network. He knows contacts and rules of the game on the financial side, with auditors and tax advisors, whom he can approach in confidence and at short notice if necessary. His network also includes entrepreneurial personalities who are sometimes considered as advisors, sometimes as potential investors. “Last but not least, the CRO must also prove to be sure-footed on the legal advisor stage and know competent, implementation-oriented lawyers in the various areas of law. This also includes the insolvency administrators and knowledge of the opportunities and risks of insolvency proceedings,” says Ziegler.

8.
Industry and service providers in Germany take advantage of their globalization opportunities. Half of SMEs are active abroad, import activities have increased significantly, foreign sales have risen sharply, the eurozone is the most important sales region, the domestic market. Consequently, the CRO must understand the different cultures in business and society: “The CRO must not be exclusively national but also international,” explains Ziegler. “Otherwise he may not even have the opportunities for the business model, for potential investors or cooperation partners fully on his radar screen.”

9.
The mandate as a restructuring manager is not for the faint-hearted. Stakeholders expect the restructuring manager to stand by his challenge with all his duties and rights. When a company is faced with a labyrinth, it expects someone in charge to guide the company through the maze with sense and understanding.
The days when consultants handed companies the blueprint for the march through the maze with a friendly “good luck” are numbered. Ziegler: “Carefully preparing the strategy, straightening your back and implementing it – this is what the various stakeholders rightly expect from a seasoned CRO today”.

10.
The field hockey stick diagram is based on a scientific study on global warming published in 1999. For many consultants, the field hockey stick effect was synonymous with hope: in the distant future, there will be a steep rise in sales or profits. The prudent CRO knows that process dynamics are never linear, that order pipelines turn out to be hot air, that stakeholders like to live the principle of hope, that new structures, new processes and new teams have to settle in. On the one hand, he is a logician, a consistent analyst who must not shy away from sacred cows. Precisely because he knows about sacred cows, about sensitivities, vanities, fears and worries, he is on the other hand emotionally highly sensitive. He must have an antenna for changing moods, he should have people in his team who question and are also allowed to hold up a mirror from time to time. Compared to young German rappers with panda masks, the tasks of a CRO are not very glamorous. Both CROs need talent – as well as the ability to constantly reinvent themselves and to fascinate, convince and entertain the respective stakeholder groups.