Connecting Growth Strategy with Capabilities Development

The Client

Alticor Corporate Enterprises (ACE) the former corporate development and M&A arm of Alticor, the $9 billion parent of Amway, was seeking to diversify its business and drive growth in new areas, in ways that would leverage the core assets and capabilities of the parent company.  It also sought to drive growth with the portfolio businesses, supporting and enabling them with capability-building efforts.

The Challenge

After having led a series of successful initiatives with ACE – including an ecosystem analysis and M&A strategy that drove the acquisition of Metagenics, a several hundred million dollar acquisition in the nutrition space, and driving M&A strategy and merger integration planning for smaller acquisitions like RéVive Skincare (acquired by Gurwitch Products / Laura MercierÒ, as well as helping shape both organizations’’ growth strategies—ACE leadership knew they could turn to Clareo to help enhance the capabilities of their portfolio companies’ leadership teams and support their continued growth.  Leadership of ACE wanted to create and launche a best-of-breed “Academy” program, dubbed “ACE Academy,” which would bring outside-in perspectives, insights and create applied learning programs that help carry each firms’ strategies forward.

The Solution

ACE reached out to Clareo for a solution to this challenge. Clareo designed the format of ACE Academy to be experiential and applied.  The four-day program involved learning modules related to an over-arching theme, relevant to the leaders involved. Themes included: World-Class Execution, Building & Leveraging World-Class Brands, and Leading Change.

Alticor-logo-and-wordmark
Client Story

“Clareo has been a trusted partner to Alticor and ACE. Clareo earned our trust over the years by combining leading academic thinking and a powerful global network, with practical approaches that ensure results and buy-in. They know our business, and know how to get things done.”

Jim Weaver, Vice President and Managing Director

Each of the two leadership teams came prepared with a distilled version of their strategy, along with key issues and learning outcomes they were seeking.  With that in hand, the program involved a mix of plenary sessions with application breakouts, in which the leadership teams broke into groups to discuss insights, define implications and apply them to their business.

The Clareo team led the program design, incorporating external thought leaders, academic experts, and practitioners; and designed and led breakout sessions using frameworks that helped ensure the insights were captured and applied to the leaders’ businesses. Clareo also planned and led an off-site experiential learning program designed to add creativity and tie the themes together.

The Results

Over the years, both companies achieved sustained revenue and profit growth and are developing leadership positions in their respective businesses. The growth strategies Clareo helped them create have provided a roadmap and brought discipline, focus and direction for the future. ACE Academy has played a pivotal role in the strategy development and change process.

ACE Academy was an enormously successful program. The program became an integral part of the annual planning cycle – a seminal point where leadership comes together with their investors to learn, grow, and advance their strategies.

“ACE Academy is helping our new management team to take great steps forward.  It has helped us pull together as a team, build alignment, and advance our business forward.”

- Fred Howard, Former CEO, Metagenics

"I've been to many leadership programs at the world’s leading academic institutions, and this is among the most effective, I've attended to date.  [ACE Academy] helped us build a roadmap for going forward and strengthen our team." 

- Claudia Poccia, Former CEO, Gurwitch

ACE Academy has also enabled Alticor Corporate Enterprises to strengthen its partnership with portfolio companies and be seen by them as a trusted, value-added investment partner.

 “ACE Academy has been an impactful and meaningful program – one that is playing a key role in helping to propel our portfolio companies into the future.”

- Jim Weaver, Former Vice President and Managing Director, Alticor Corporate Enterprises