In quarter one of 2016 ozb landed its first project with the Fortune 500’s top 5 giant, Berkshire Hathaway. A company with annual sales of over 210 Billion Dollars entrusted outofzbox with the launch event of Duracell in Lausanne, Switzerland. Duracell, since March 1st 2016 is now A Berkshire Hathaway Company. The launch event had over 350 attendees including the Global CEO and most of his C-Suite along with the Region’s President and organization.

The EPFL’s Swiss Tech Convention Center being one of the world’s most technologically advanced venues was ozb’s choice for this grand milestone welcoming the number one Personal Power Brand to its new and permanent home Berkshire. The two days were filled with inspiration, synergies, workshops, activities, brainstorming, decisions and a lot of fun, all fueled with the magical power of storytelling.

Warren Buffet was part of this historic moment, and made a video especially for the event which was broadcasted to the audience on a 20-meter-wide screen. Among the many things that the Berkshire principle Mr. Buffet shared directly with the Duracell team was - “I ask our managers to run their business as if it’s the only asset their family owns and one that can never be sold”. If only we could all think this way as business leaders, we would always make the harder right decisions, the ones that are right for today but more importantly for a sustainable tomorrow.

Olav Silden, the Europe, India, Middle East and Africa Regional President inspired the attendees with the great heritage of the brand, its proven business model, and the opportunities ahead. Angelo Pantaleo, the Global CEO reaffirmed his trust in the people, the unique business model, and the support of Berkshire that is sure to power the future of Duracell. They both listened to some great innovation ideas from different teams and committed to funding the winning ones. The inspiration expanded beyond the Duracell world with the great top executives’ talks from some of the leading technology giants such as Logitech and Walt Disney.

This was the first fully fledged project to be primarily owned by ozb’s Europe office in Geneva –ozb EU- led by Tafsir Ba and his team managing all of ozb’s operations in Europe. ozb helped our partner in the design of the full communication from concept, to ideation, visualization, business model communication, design of the days and workshops, the choice of the venue, decoration, leading logistics, entertainment and directing the whole experience to make it as memorable and exclusive as it was. It has been a great success that delivered a massive Size Of the Smile on our partners’ faces and the beginning of an all new era for Duracell as A Berkshire Hathaway Company.

Olav Silden, said about the whole experience: “Our launch of Duracell as A Berkshire Hathaway Company needed to be World Class.  outofzbox proved they have the capabilities to deliver with excellence from end to end.  Our strategy and business model was brought to life in a memorable story that fully engaged the whole organization”.

#iam_outofzbox