The program “Daimler leading transformation: Shaping the automotive transformation amidst turbulent times” received the 2021 EiP Gold Award for Organizational Development. The “Management Excellence Program” created for the TRATON Group to enable intrapreneurship and foster business success after a merger and in times of Corona was awarded the 2021 EiP Gold Award for Talent Development.

To increase the company’s ability to react faster to changing customer needs and complex market dynamics, Daimler optimized its organizational structure towards more divisional independence. Harald Hungenberg, Dean of Programs at ESMT Berlin, worked together with the Daimler Corporate Academy, Harvard Business School, and the consultancy Brand-and-story, to design an innovative global learning intervention to provide leaders across Daimler with the tools, frameworks, and capabilities to successfully steer change. The program engaged 4,500 leaders across the company in a hybrid format: live in a digital setting, in combination with decentralized organized workshops.

When the MAN Truck & Bus, Scania and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus brands merged into the TRATON GROUP, one key priority was to enable cooperation and business success. Targeted at high potential middle managers, the aim of the firm-specific program was to foster an intrapreneurial mindset and critical data consumption in times of rapid and often unpredictable change. ESMT program director Christoph Burger and program manager Sandra Vincke worked together with the Swedish training company Mindset and the TRATON team to develop a three-layer program that aligned a diverse team along a detailed impact map. They linked content and online learning with specific application challenges in order to change behavior. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic then enabled the team to develop a seamless online journey with even more interventions and regular checkins.

“These two gold awards demonstrate how well-tailored ESMT customized executive education programs are to support companies in transition, be it at an organizational or individual development level,” said Harald Hungenberg. “By using our innovative educational technology, we are able to scale programs and provide even greater impact for our customers.” EFMD is an international non-profit association and Europe’s largest network association in the field of management development, with member organizations from academia, business, public service, and consultancy. Its Excellence in Practice Awards recognize outstanding and impactful client-supplier partnerships in the domains of leadership, professional, talent, and organizational development.

More about the awards here.