A corporation that runs and manages many, unrelated businesses. The businesses are in different industries and generally have nothing at all to do with each other in terms of what products are produced.

The theory behind a conglomerate states that the individual businesses can be managed at lower cost because they are able to pool resources while also reducing risks inherent to any particular industry.

Conglomerates are not as popular as they once were because some became so complex, they were impossible to operate (except Japan, Korea)

Endemic to groups

Often exalted, more often vilified

CEOs are the rock stars of the Y2Ks

An ephemeral quality, perhaps best defined by example rather than concept

So here we go with what a few people think…

Definitional:

• "Leadership is the ability of a superior to influence the behavior of a subordinate or group and persuade them to follow a particular course of action." — Chester Bernard

Inspirational:

• "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." — John Quincy Adams quotes (American 6th US President (1825-29
• "A manager takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go but ought to."  — Rosalyn Carter

Practical:

• "The ultimate test of practical leadership is the realization of intended, real change that meets people’s enduring needs." — James MacGregor Burns
• “The manager asks how and when; the leader asks what and why.” - Warren Bennis

Cautionary:

• “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” - Abraham Lincoln

"I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done." — Henry Ford

“Most important, leaders can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations and unite them in pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts.” - John Gardner

“All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.” - John Kenneth Galbraith

Lead across a platform of different businesses

Deliver shareholder value through cost reduction and risk diversification

Inspire a wide group of different people with different priorities

Make the whole greater than the sum of the parts

Investment Manager:

Find the right manager and right business and let them go

e.g.: Buffet

Controller: Prescriptive and detailed management with shared set of values, mechanisms and beliefs

e.g.: GE

Practical Interventionist:

Hire the right manager and provide support at a strategic and operational level

e.g.: ICD

Family-controlled

Rich legacy – at one time ICD participated in nearly every major industry (distribution, manufacturing, retail, financial services to name a few)

Today, we have 4 main business segments

• General insurance
• Insurance broking
• Construction
• Property Management

Active in M&A

(MSMB/PCFS, IIB/CGM, BCIC/VMIC)