INSIGHT 2|2019

7 FOCUS ON HOWHASGENERAL CABLE CHANGED SINCE THE STARTOF THE INTEGRATION? I would say, we have all changed. Prysmian Group North America is a newly combined region, and all were impacted by the changes. What was key was our ability to benefit from the best combined know how from the 2 legacies to build an even stronger company. We had to communicate, listen, and learn from what each company had to offer and then implement the smartest solutions. We have all had to adjust to the changes, but our shared passion and common goals keep us moving forward. WHICHBUSINESS LINESORCORPORATE FUNCTIONSHAVE SEENTHEMOST IMPROVEMENT FROMTHE INTEGRATION? One of our challenges was with finance, because we had different systems and a different way of defining profit and loss. Prysmian used a contribution margin and General Cable used gross profit.Now the team in Finance is on the same page working in new effective and efficient ways. The sales function alsomade radical changes. We had to reorganize our external sales force and agents to consolidate the activities and ensure one face in front of our customers. Every function has realized that there is much to gain from combining the skills coming from the two legacy groups. This has improved all aspects of our business. WHICHBUSINESSUNITSHADMORE TOGAINFROM THE INTEGRATION? All business units had much to gain. Telecom probably had the most, General Cable and Prysmian were working in different product segments with virtually no overlap. T&I had some overlap because we were essentially selling the same type of product but to different customers. In Power Distribution, we had a lot of complimentary services with overhead lines. Our Specialties business also had overlap, complementarity, and a strong plant footprint. There has been a lot of opportunity to cross sell to each other’s customers. The ability to sell these legacy products to the entire region will continue to be an important driver for growth in 2020. HOWDOESNORTHAMERICACONTINUE TO INTEGRATE INTOTHEGROUP? We have much we can both learn from and share with colleagues around the world. What we may be working on or developing in North America may benefit another region, and vice versa, so, maintaining a continuous and open dialogue with Milan and the Group is the benefit of being part of such a global company. We are now the 2nd home region with strong access to a wide set of skills and capabilities, which will be a solid boost to our Group’s profits in 2019 and beyond.