Michael Polk on the Flat Structure That Changed His Approach

Not many chief executives get to compare running a public company against running a private one from the inside. Michael Polk Newell Brands has done both. He spent years at Kraft Foods and Unilever before leading Newell Brands, then retired from that role in 2019 only to take over Implus LLC, a fitness accessories business owned by Berkshire Partners, the following year.

The biggest difference, in Polk’s telling, comes down to structure. Newell Brands operated with the layered management typical of a large public corporation, where decisions on cost reduction or demand creation moved through multiple levels before reaching the people responsible for executing them. Implus, with its sixteen-brand portfolio but far smaller team, could not support that same setup, and Michael Polk has said he prefers it that way.

Working the Crucible

Polk has described his current role as one where he works directly with his team on brand and business development rather than reviewing decisions from above. That closeness, he argues, gives leaders and employees a fuller view of the business, from how products are sourced and manufactured to how retailer partnerships get built and maintained. Fewer layers means fewer places for information to get lost along the way.

The timing of his arrival added complications. Polk took over Implus just as the pandemic disrupted the fitness and active lifestyle sector, forcing him to rebuild parts of the company’s operating model while also strengthening its financial performance. He has framed that stretch as difficult but formative, arguing that private companies push people to take on responsibility earlier than they might at a larger firm simply because there are fewer people around to do the work.

Polk’s earlier career included growing Newell Brands’ enterprise value from roughly five billion dollars to more than fifteen billion. He has said building Implus into a bigger, more competitive company now ranks among the most enjoyable pursuits of his professional life. Refer to this article for related information.

More about Michael Polk Newell Brands on https://ir.newellbrands.com/news-releases/news-release-details/newell-brands-announces-ceo-transition

Not many chief executives get to compare running a public company against running a private one from the inside. Michael Polk Newell Brands has done both. He spent years at Kraft Foods and Unilever before leading Newell Brands, then retired from that role in 2019 only to take over Implus LLC, a fitness accessories business…