According to VRdS, they gave the best general meeting speeches of DAX companies: Martin Brudermüller (BASF), Bjørn Gulden (Adidas) and Roland Busch (Siemens)
“The atmosphere at an adidas balance sheet press conference hasn’t been this relaxed for a long time. And that’s despite the fact that the numbers are anything but positive.” That’s what TW editor Mara Javorovic wrote in March of this year after Bjørn Gulden’s first public appearance as Adidas CEO. The reason: Gulden knows how to get the audience involved. He has now even received an award for this ability.
The Association of Speechwriters in the German Language (VRdS) has introduced a new prize and recently awarded it for the first time: the VRdS prize for business rhetoric. All AGM speeches were evaluated in the leading German share index DAX 40.
Patrick Maloney, member of the Executive Committee and coordinator of this year’s speech analysis of the VRdS, says about Gulden’s performance: “He manages to deliver an extremely likeable speech, which credibly expresses his great bond with Adidas and which lets him be experienced as a person as well as an ambassador for the Adidas brand.” With a free speech, a large dose of humor and authentic nonchalance, the manager not only speaks to the matter at hand, but above all to people, Maloney continues. In doing so, he skilfully breaks with the audience’s expectation “that a general meeting has to be a rather stiff affair”.
Speeches as reputation maintenance
All the speeches had one thing in common: they were much more political than in the past. “All speakers commented on the major political issues – from energy supply to supply chains and trade issues to inflation,” says the VRdS.
However, VRdS President Peter Sprong believes that there is much more to the speeches: “The speeches at the general meeting are far from what they could be, namely real annual highlights for the reputation of the company.” Too often, tradition and legal constraints still characterize the event format. Strategic communication accordingly dominates over credible positioning and vivid narrative.
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Restructuring of the board of directors: Adidas head of human resources resigns
The restructuring of the Adidas board under Bjørn Gulden continues: Amanda Rajkumar, responsible for Global Human Resources, People and Culture, is leaving the sporting goods group. This leaves only two members from Rorsted’s time on the board.
Clearer language with less technical jargon is positive. In addition, digital formats provided more visual variety. The association also states that the fact that Gulden wore a red tracksuit during his performance was innovative. Because that proves that he and those responsible for communication understand that “serious entertainment and solid information do not have to be opposites”.
The VRdS has been analyzing the general meeting speeches of all DAX companies since 2014, but has so far compiled a ranking of the ten most convincing speakers. The new prize is intended to promote a positive development of the speeches. This year’s award will be presented on October 14, 2023 at a ceremony in Berlin.
2023-07-21 18:37:14
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