Discreet risk audit for a food holding company
We detected 3 critical flashpoints in communication between the CEO and the Supervisory Board, which threatened the departure of key managers.
The food holding Agro-Global Group faced the risk of decision-making paralysis at a key investment moment. A conflict between the CEO and the Supervisory Board blocked the modernization of the plant in Lublin, which directly threatened the personnel stability of the highest level.
The challenge
Since January 2024, a dispute over a 2.4 million PLN budget for new cooling lines led to a complete halt of operational transfers. The CEO sought rapid machine assembly, while the Board demanded 14 additional environmental reports, the cost of which exceeded original assumptions by 12%. The situation became critical in March, when three managers (logistics, production, IT) signaled their desire to move to the competition, tired of the company's unclear strategy.
Lack of trust meant that document circulation time between the board and the council extended from 3 days to 11 business days. Every attempt at contact ended in an exchange of aggressive emails, which blocked current purchases of raw materials from 47 local suppliers. The company was losing 18,000 PLN a day due to planning downtime.
Our approach
Arka Przymierza entered the holding in mid-May. We used the critical incident analysis method, giving up open meetings in favor of discreet individual interviews. We interviewed 11 members of the Supervisory Board and the CEO, using financial interest mapping sheets instead of psychological questionnaires.
We identified that the main trigger was not the budget itself, but the lack of real-time progress reporting. We introduced the principle of quick resolutions for expenditures below 45,000 PLN, which allowed 67% of current invoices to be unblocked without involving the entire Board. Our 3-person team worked in the evenings so that the mediators' visits did not arouse rumors among the 156 office employees.
The solution
We implemented a new communication protocol that replaced emotional emails with a standardized decision sheet. The CEO received full autonomy in managing the operational budget up to the amount of 120,000 PLN per month, provided that he supplemented the progress report every other Thursday by 3:00 PM. The Supervisory Board gained direct insight into the schedule of works in Lublin without the need to convene extraordinary meetings.
We also established a rigid window for strategic talks – 45 minutes every first Tuesday of the month, without the participation of third parties. We wrote clear regulations for proceeding in disputed situations, which shortens the reaction time to investment blocks to 6 business hours. We close disputes, we open businesses – this principle became the basis of the new board work regulations.
Results
Within 5 weeks, the conflict was completely extinguished and an investment agreement was signed. Key managers withdrew their declarations of departure, seeing stability at the top of the structure. The modernization of the plant in Lublin started with a delay of only 11 days, and the holding regained liquidity in relations with suppliers.
Timeline
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May 2024Individual interviews with 11 board members and the CEO
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June 2024Implementation of the quick financial resolution protocol
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July 2024Signing of the final agreement on strategic communication
"We talk specifically about numbers, and here the numbers stood still for half a year. Arka Przymierza unblocked our decision-making processes before we lost the most important people from production."