APC 1998 Annual Report Download - page 9

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7
During the eighteen years in which I had the
honor of serving as Chairman of your Board
of Directors, we experienced some momentous
changes. Through these changes, Schneider
has been transformed from a conglomerate
of complex, diverse businesses into a well-focused
corporation guided by a clear strategy.
I am proud to be leaving a Company in perfect
shape.We can point to a record of enviable
performance and global leadership in our two core
businesses: electrical distribution--which we have
succeeded in extending to consumer final low
voltage--and industrial control and automation.
All peripheral operations unrelated to our core
businesses have been divested and our refocusing
is now complete.
Another key development has been Schneider 2000,
a strategic Company-wide program that has
enabled us to foster competitive growth in our
units across the world.We have done this by
improving our skills, aiming for total customer
satisfaction, motivating our people and creating
teams with a sense of co-destiny, accelerating
our sales growth, and steadily increasing our
productivity. It is through such efforts that we
can enhance our performance and set our sights
even higher.
We have achieved our goal of making Schneider
what it is today, and I can leave with an easy
mind. I am supremely confident in our
Company’s potential, in its people, and in its
ability to adapt and innovate.
T his fine organization, which includes so many
excellent men and women around the world,
will—I am sure—keep building a solid future for
itself while pursuing its goal of exemplary
success.
“We have achieved our goal of making
Schneider what it is today”
Didier Pineau-Valencienne
Honorary Chairman