1. Messier’s Reign at Vivendi
Universal.
 Made by –
 Chandrashekhar jindal
 Raunak vasandani
 Sangram korekar
 Kanumuri rajashekar
 Advait bhobe

2. 1.How would you describe
Messier's leadership style at
Vivendi?

3. Probable Answer
1. Charismatic Leader
2. Competition oriented Mind
3. Leader of new generation-Thinking Technically
4. Taking challenges upfront
5. Selection of Forward thinking executives and
upgrading them.
6. Focused
7. Ambitious vision
8. Heralded as a business genius
9. Open Management style-American way
10. Aggressive in leadership and taking decisions on his
way of thinking .

4. 2.How did Messier's style
impact decisions regarding the
business, the strategy,
management and the firm's
governance?

5. Probable Answer
 Excessively relied on the CEO ,board members didn’t
comment.
 Many of the French board members had been picked
by Messier and had always been given him their
unanimous support
 Lack of transparency in the financial decisions.
 Obsession with appearing in the press

6. 3. What were the major risk
factors of Messier's expansion
plans? How did he propose to
manage them?

7. Probable Answer
Critique for his doings in the business.
 Acquisitions: Changing rapidly in the magnitude and
expanding it rapidly.
 Analysts had a tough time in understanding Messier’s
planning and strategy.
 Canal Plus-Firing of Lescure-uproar by public and
politicians.
 Messier expanded at the expense of burdening the
company with debt and overvalued assets.
 The Mounting debt due to excessive acquisitions

8. Management…
 Selling of those businesses which did not fit his
strategy
 Comment on Non media business : use of Distribution
channel
 During 2002 in order to reassure the market, Messier
Filed a libel suit against questioning VU financial
strength.

9. 4.What role did the French
social context play in
Messier's rise and fall? What
about Media's role?

10. Probable Answer
 Pressure by politicians
 Conflict of Cultures American and French
 Media used Messier as a personality associated with
Vivendi and Projected him as an Icon for that.
 They predicted the Financial statements before the
company which added to the worry
 In the french business context it was unusual for a
board member to criticize the chairman talk about
him at his own meeting

11. 5. To what extent do you think, has
Vivendi's board contributed to
Vivendi's strategic and financial
problems?

12. Probable Answer
 They did not evaluate the Acquisitions.
 The transfer of financial entries into VU and VE were
not monitored.
 Board did not pressurize the CEO to integrate the
Acquired business rather than shopping spree.