How I Did It: Lessons from the Front Lines of Business

Reckitt Benckiser’s CEO on Building a Company Without Borders

by Bart Becht

Bart Becht is the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, headquartered in Slough, England.

The Idea

You may never have heard of Reckitt Benckiser, but in the past few years the company has out-performed its rivals P&G, Unilever, and Colgate in growth—even during the downturn. Here’s how.

They say you can’t go home again. If you work for Reckitt Benckiser, you can go home—but you may not want to, and you certainly won’t have to. Many companies, when they describe themselves as global, mean they have operations around the world, they work virtually and in all time zones, and their key people are developed through stints in other markets. Our version is more comprehensive. Most of ...