CELEBRATING THE BW EUROPEAN 50

The BusinessWeek European 50 recognizes excellence in European corporate achievement, by identifying the top fifty performing companies from the Standard & Poor's European 350 index. The BusinessWeek European 50 editorial will be complemented by panel sessions within the European Leadership Forum programme, giving audience members the chance to hear directly from individuals driving management and business performance across the region.

As part of a new initiative to complement the 2007 Forum, BusinessWeek teamed up with research partner ThinkAgain to produce a number of in-depth reports into the critical success factors of the BusinessWeek European 50.

FEEDBACK FROM PREVIOUS YEARS

Alan Hippe, CFO, Continental AG
"It is not so much market scale, but market position, that is important. However, when you have a good market position you must go for rigid cost management - you have to really optimise your position in the market and hopefully come up with good margins. You have to do your homework - market positioning is only one factor in your success."

John Ove Ottestad, CFO, Hydro
"Market share and presence is important to company success but not decisive in itself - for us, our asset base and skill set are more important."