Multidisciplinarity across industries: the need of multi-competence to achieve success

Edoardo Bartolucci
Nicole Chiarello

In the era of digitalization companies from every industry are somehow reshaping their way of conducting business, combining their core function (such as the production of a specific good or the provision of a service) with new and innovative activities. The advent of increasingly sophisticated technologies allows firms to improve their productive and procedural efficiency, to reach a larger number of customers, to access a wider range of financial resources, together with many other advantages. However, these changes require the insourcing or outsourcing of a broad variety of competencies which, in vertically integrated companies, translates into a constant need of “multidisciplinarity”.

It could be interesting to understand how firms of different sectors address this issue. For example, companies operating in the Luxury Watches and the Private Equity industries, despite their huge structural differences, somehow share the need of “multidisciplinarity”, in order to stay competitive on the market.

First of all, starting with an overview of the Private Equity industry, it is fundamental to understand how this business works. In a nutshell, the companies operating in this industry, also called financial sponsors or PE firms, are set up in order to acquire some “target companies” (industrial companies, start-ups, distressed firms, and others) through the funds they manage. The main objective is usually to profit both from the cash flows generated by the target during the holding period and/or from a higher sale value at maturity. In other words, the core business of Private Equity firms is to invest in “opportunities” through which it is possible to create value.

But how do they create value? Financial engineering is for sure one of the most important factors that allow PE firms to generate positive returns from an investment. Financial analysts often plan transactions with very complicated structures, in order to increase their profitability benefiting from elements such as debt financing, tax savings, and others. However, during the last years, a higher competition inside the industry caused a reduction in marginality and an increase in risk-taking behaviors, with financial engineering not being anymore a substantial differentiator. Nowadays, indeed, other elements and skills increasingly help top PE firms to achieve best-in-class results and these derive from a wider range of competencies if compared to those usually required in the early days of the industry. Building up the perfect transaction through financial engineering techniques is no longer a sufficient condition, but rather a necessary starting point for a profitable investment.

This is the context in which “multidisciplinarity” comes into play. PE Fund Managers need the help of strong Operating Partners in order to enhance value creation. These latter are professional with operating expertise, in charge of portfolio companies’ direct management. Depending on the specific needs of the targets, Operating Partners might have variable skills and responsibilities. A useful set of competencies may range from economical and managerial abilities to engineering, marketing, analytical and digital knowledge. Furthermore, an Operating Partner nearly always needs to master a deep knowledge of the industry in which the portfolio company operates. For this reason, PE firms are steadily evolving from pure financial companies into multidisciplinary entities, which rely on competences coming from the most diverse sectors and industries. In conclusion, “multidisciplinarity” can be considered as the key differentiator, which leads to value creation and outperforming investment returns.

In the Luxury Watches industry, it is fundamental to mix competences from different sectors. For example, the success of the timepiece Excalibur Aventador S, launched by Roger Dubuis at SIHH 2018, comes from the union of excellent minds that operated in completely different disciplines. Built in collaboration with Lamborghini, 'Excalibur Aventador S' is made of resistant and unconventional materials taken from the world of motorsport.

This disruptive revolution is the result of an in-depth understanding of materials structure, that allowed engineers, chemists, and physicists to create timepieces made of innovative raw materials or materials coming from sport, aerospace, transportation industries, and many others. Specifically, the strap of the watch is made of Alcantara, a synthetic material similar to the suede used in Lamborghini cars interiors, chosen for its sensory and technical offering and its ability to withstand regular wear. The case is made of multi-layer carbon, a material stiffer than other common metals that, in order to be able to shape it, led to engineering improvements to design advanced machineries.

Not only the materials but also the movement was inspired by the supercars. Talented watchmakers worked to create an increasingly precise movement, able to offer more than 40 hours of power reserve and to better resist to gravity effects.

However, delivering the most sophisticated technical mechanics is not enough to achieve success. In fact, in order to increase its desirability, only 88 pieces of Excalibur Aventador S have been created. This marketing strategy confirmed that, creating a limited edition attracts more clients, because it means craftsmanship, attention to details and personalisation, as if watchmakers took care of that single product, a piece of art tailor-made for the customer.

This is only an example that shows how multidisciplinary competencies are indispensable in the watchmaking industry. The success of a timepiece is given by the combination of manual, theoretical and even digital competences. On the one hand, the realisation of a watch masterpiece needs the competences acquired by people who studied art or a profession, in particular the art of watchmaking that is synonymous with technical precision, a well-developed sense of touch, meticulousness and manual dexterity.

On the other side, the success of a timepiece could not be reached without the strategical decisions of managers, people who create a plan of actions able to attract and create an emotion to the final client. A watch really comes alive when it has a story, and it becomes a celebrity when everybody wants to own that piece because it confers a social-status and a sense of uniqueness.

Finally, the value creation chain in the watchmaking industry ends when the strategic projects designed by the brilliant minds of managers are spread through the most powerful advertising channels: social media. Digital and information technology competencies, alongside the traditional sales and communication strategies, analyze market trends and predict the progress. These skills are located at the opposite pole of those owned by watchmakers but are crucial for the business and demonstrate, once again, the importance of a variegated environment necessary in the watchmaking industry.

“Multidisciplinarity” in the Luxury Watches industry means “unity is strength”, involving different specialization in order to achieve a common goal: give a shape, utility and a soul to an eternal jewel.

edoardo bartolucci

PE Real Estate analyst – GWM Capital Advisors, London, UK

I am currently working as a Private Equity Real Estate analyst for GWM Capital Advisors in London, and I have recently graduated from Bocconi University, completing a Master’s Degree in Accounting, Financial Management and Control. Previously, I completed two internship experiences, one at CBRE, as Graduate Analyst in the Capital Advisors team, and one at KPMG, as an intern in the Audit division.

In the last five years, I have had various international academic experiences in different European and Asian countries. I spent one semester in Dublin at UCD University and one in Taipei at National Chengchi University. Furthermore, I attended two summer programs, in Corporate Banking and International Finance, at Fudan University of Shanghai and HEC Paris respectively.

E-mail: edoardobartolucci@yahoo.it
Mobile: +39 333 2986999

nicole chiarello

Retail Project Manager – Roger Dubuis Manufacture – Geneva, Switzerland

I am a young professional who just graduated in “Management” at LUISS University (Italy) and in “Luxury and Fashion Management” at SKEMA Business School (France) by attending a Double Degree program with these two prestigious universities in order to acquire specific Management tools, in particular in the luxury sector. This Double Master has been for me a fundamental opportunity both for the enrichment of my personal cultural baggage and for my educational carrier. I am convinced that this experience helped me to become a “world citizen” as it permitted me to get in contact with people from all over the world and so to appreciate different cultures and traditions that made me a better person.
At the end of my studies, I decided to practically apply the skills acquired during my Masters by starting an internship in the luxury watchmaking Maison “Roger Dubuis” in Geneva, Switzerland. I supported the Retail and Sales teams in building and follow-up sales dashboards, presentations for corporate and external purposes and new sales tools to hit the target. Furthermore, I assisted the organization of international events developing creative and unconventional ideas in line with the Maison values.
After my internship, I was promoted as a Retail Project Manager. In fact, I am currently leading projects that aim to enhance the processes, procedures, people, tools or technology among worldwide boutiques.

Email: chiarello.nicole@gmail.com
Mobile: +39 3333153216 / +41 779766809
Skype: chiarello.nicole