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Orchestrating Digital Business Transformation

Working in Concert to Achieve Digital Excellence

By Michael R. Wade, Andy Noronha, James Macaulay and Joel Barbier

20 pages

June 2017

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KEY QUESTIONS FOR EXECUTIVES

The Global Center for Digital Business Transformation is turning its research lens to a different set of questions that are top-of-mind for the hundreds of senior executives with whom we have engaged:

How should we execute our digital transformation?
Where do we start?
What is the sequencing of actions?
And in different areas of the business, what precisely should we change, and to what extent?

To address these questions, we are launching a new research project we refer to as “Digital Orchestra.” Just as conceiving of digital disruption as a vortex helped us explain how disruption changes the nature of competition, the analogy of an orchestra illustrates how to execute a digital transformation.

Orchestrating Digital Business Success

To thrive amid digital disruption, a company’s executives must answer fundamental questions about the value they want to create – and their strategic options for getting there. By answering these questions, they set the strategic direction, the execution of which will require significant changes across many aspects of the business. These parts of the business – the company’s operating model – constitute the “orchestra.”

To learn more about the Digital Orchestra, read the full report.

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Case Study

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Nestlé Health Science: Building a healthy future towards 2030

By Niccolò Pisani Elham Pazirandeh-Micol Karine Richard Liudmila Ost and Quentin de Rham
Case reference: IMD-7-2636 ©2025

Summary

The board of Nestlé S.A. announced that Anna Mohl would become the CEO of Nestlé Health Science (NHSc) — a global leader in nutritional science — on 1 January 2024. She was delighted to hear about her new position but knew there was little time to celebrate. The pressure was on her to make timely strategic decisions to navigate some operating challenges while future-proofing the business for years to come. As Anna sat at her desk and looked out the large window, she began reflecting on how NHSc had grown under her predecessor, Greg Behar, who was instrumental in expanding it into new markets and establishing it as a well-known player in nutritional health solutions. Anna’s dilemmas boiled down to four main questions: Should the company choose organic or inorganic growth? What about market expansion and exploring potential outside North America? How to ensure continued product innovation via research and development (R&D) and potential acquisitions? Finally, how best to align sustainability goals with financial performance? And, of course, expectations were high and a lot was at stake. Anna was aware that the journey ahead would not be easy, but she was ready to tackle the challenges head-on, steering the company towards long-term success.

Reference IMD-7-2636

Organization Nestlé Health Science

Industry Healthcare, Health and Medical Services;Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals

Available Languages English

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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications

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By Michael R. Wade and Lisa Simone Duke
Case reference: IMD-7-2192 ©2025

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The case describes two transformation journeys for ABN AMRO bank. The first transformation is cultural and the second is digital. It explores the interplay between these two journeys from the perspective of the head of the Personal Banking. The case goes into detail regarding how the bank rebuilt its internal operating model. The hierarchy was de-layered and replaced with agile ways of working, employee empowerment and a new performance management approach. At first, there was a lot of chaos, but, after some time for adjustment, benefits started to appear, such as higher NPS scores and improved financial results. The new approach also helped the bank cope with the Covid-19 pandemic as many of the changes were linked to remote working for employees and technology-mediated service provision for customers. The case also explores new challenges that appeared. While some teams embraced the new ways of working, others had trouble letting go of legacy approaches. There were inconsistencies and confusion around performance measurement. Despite improving performance in some areas, multifunctional teams were not necessarily delivering the best customer experiences. Sick leave was increasing, and there were signs that employee engagement was falling. The reader is placed in the shoes of the head of Personal Banking who must come up with solutions to these challenges.

Reference IMD-7-2192

Organization ABN AMRO

Industry Finance and Insurance, Banking

Available Languages English

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Reference IMD-2660

Available Languages English

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