Here is a brief excerpt from Hervé de Barbeyrac and Ruben Verhoeven’s interview of Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, CEO of Solvay, for the McKinsey Quarterly, published by McKinsey & Company. A Belgian company, Solvay is reshaping its portfolio to focus harder on fast-growing markets. To read the complete article, check out other resources, learn more about McKinsey & Company, and register to receive email updates and direct access to free resources, please click here.

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Many companies talk about placing a greater emphasis on emerging economies. Solvay, with headquarters in Brussels, has acted decisively in this respect—first by freeing up resources through the €5.2 billion sale of its core pharmaceutical business in 2010, then in 2011 by acquiring Rhodia, a French rival with an enterprise value of €6.6 billion. Rhodia complemented Solvay’s chemical portfolio and added a substantial Chinese business.

Responsibility for directing Solvay’s latest international expansion lay initially with Christian Jourquin (CEO, 2006–12) and, more recently, with Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, who had been Rhodia’s chairman (2008–11) and CEO (2003–11) and became head of the enlarged group in May 2012. Mr. Clamadieu won many plaudits in his native France a decade ago for leading a radical restructuring at Rhodia, and the task ahead is more complex and no less challenging. He recently talked with McKinsey’s Hervé de Barbeyrac and Ruben Verhoeven about the importance of strategic agility, radical plans for the group’s top talent, the dangers of “sequential” thinking, and the appropriate role for a global CEO seeking to build a fresh culture.

The Quarterly: Can you summarize the rationale for the Rhodia acquisition?

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu: I think it was very unusual for a group like Solvay to sell its pharma business without having a specific target in mind for how to spend the proceeds. There was a clear understanding in 2009 that Solvay did not have the scale or the innovative potential to grow in pharma—and an equally firm belief that the group had the fundamentals to succeed in chemicals with the right acquisition. But there was nothing more than an agreement in principle to reinvest in that sector. In my view, that could only have happened because of the controlling shareholding of the Solvay families. Over the past 150 years, these shareholders have demonstrated their commitment to a long-term strategy for the business. In most companies, investors would have wanted their money back and asked for a special dividend.

The Quarterly: How important was it for Solvay to increase its exposure to emerging markets?

Jean-Pierre Clamadieu: Solvay was too much tilted toward Europe, so this was a significant factor in the choice of Rhodia. If things go according to plan, by the end of the year we will end up with one-third of our sales in Europe, one-third in Asia, and one-third in the Americas. That will be a unique position in the global chemical industry. Asia gets a lot of attention these days, of course, but we shouldn’t forget that North America is also a very attractive market because of the very favorable energy scenario which has developed there over the last three to four years. Energy is the key input factor for a large number of our chemical products.

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To read the complete interview, please click here.

This interview was conducted by Hervé de Barbeyrac, an associate principal in McKinsey’s Paris office, and Ruben Verhoeven, a director in the Antwerp office.