Group Management
In addition to the President and CEO, Group Management includes the six sector heads and the four Group staff heads. The President and CEO is responsible for ongoing management of the Group in accordance with the Board’s guidelines and instructions. Group Management holds monthly meetings to review the previous month’s results, update forecasts and plans, and discuss strategic issues.

Business sectors
The sector heads have responsibility for results and balance sheets in their respective sectors. The overall management of the sectors is the responsibility of sector boards, which meet quarterly. The President and CEO is the chairman of all sector boards. The sector board meetings are attended by the President and CEO, the management of the respective sectors and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

The sector boards are responsible for monitoring on-going operations, establishing strategies, determining sector budgets and making decisions on major investments. The product-line managers are responsible for the profitability and long-term development of their respective product lines.

In terms of external reporting structure, Group operations are divided into five business areas. Operations in Consumer Durables comprise four geographical areas, i.e., Europe, North America and Latin America and Asia/Pacific. Professional Products is the fifth business area.

Six Group processes
In order to ensure a systematic approach to improving operational efficiency and the internal control, and to ensure uniform implementation of operational procedures, the Group has defined six core processes within strategically important areas. These processes are common to the entire Group and comprise purchasing, brand, product development, demand flow, business support and people.