Esteban Farrero: "I recommend recruiting advisors who have experienced many failures"

Don't miss this extraordinary interview with Esteban Farrero Badia, a business and High Impact Board figure. In it, Esteban shares his main recommendation: 'Recruit advisors who have experienced numerous failures.' The interview was published by Infonegocios España.

Experience, background, and know-how are just three terms that describe Farrero's curriculum, which includes positions of maximum responsibility in companies such as the German Henkel, the American Sara Lee, or Bimbo, in different geographical locations around the world.

In this context, Esteban Farrero himself emphasizes three adjectives - which he elaborates on during the interview with InfoNegocios - that define his approach as a business advisor: pragmatic, interventionist, and expert in strategy control.

Similarly, Farrero envisions a promising future regarding technology intervention. He emphasizes how digital tools can improve decision-making efficiency and transform how data is managed. Among the tools he highlights, he focuses especially on Boardology, which he says "sophisticates business management even more." The advantage of the tool, he adds, is that "it allows organizations to compare the performance and contribution of their advisory board with others globally."

How has your experience as an executive prepared you to become a High Impact advisor?

I worked in two multinationals: at Henkel, as director of marketing and sales in Spain, and later I was hired as a general manager at the American multinational Sara Lee (Chicago). Then I returned to Spain to lead Bimbo.

I retired at the age of 57, so while I was president of Bimbo, I prepared to join different advisory boards. Thus, in 2011, I started with two advisory boards, one of them being Chocolates Valor, in which I am still present. Therefore, with my experience and training, at the age of 57, I began to work as an advisor on various advisory boards of family businesses ranging in size from 100 to 500 million euros.

What would you recommend to companies considering adding independent members to their advisory boards?

First, define very well why you need an advisory board. Look for more advisors who have been executives because today, the world is so challenging and changing that theory is useful, but you have to get into the details. You need to look for that executive profile that brings you failures as well as successes because this is what experience gives you. What I would advise is to hire advisors who have had many failures because if they have had many failures, they have achieved some success. Don't be afraid to have people explain their failures because if they explain that they have failed, they have learned and will not repeat the same mistake.

What value do advisors bring to companies?

What I believe I bring is that I am very pragmatic; I try to bring the best practices I have learned in the executive world. And what they value a lot is that I always start with having a strategy in the company, defining the strategy for the next three years, and then monitoring it. A strategy is useless if there is no good execution. So, I am a fanatic of, once the three-year strategy is defined, seeing how the KPIs of essential projects in the strategy evolve. In addition, in recent years, I have focused a lot on talent management because I have seen that the key lies in the talent of companies.

Does the size of the company matter?

Regarding the size of the company, there is no difference between 100 and 500 employees; the difference may lie in the owner's style. There are owners who, billing 100M, still act as if the company had 20M, and that is the big issue for advisors: knowing how to manage ownership depending on the owner's style and the level of independence they want to give to their executive team and the advisory board.

What do you consider to be the essential characteristics of a High Impact Advisor?

I would highlight three aspects. The first is that they have a strategic vision, and once they have that strategy, they should assist from their experience. The second quality is that there is a follow-up on the strategy, and, above all, the advisor has to contribute their experience because there are difficult moments in executing plans, so you help with your experience to unblock those bottlenecks that may occur. And the third point is to bring pragmatism.

Have you had experience with any tools or platforms that facilitate management, communication, or analytics?

I have used a very good tool to evaluate advisory boards; it is also digital and when used well, it helps a lot to evaluate each advisory board meeting very confidentially. It is a simple but very useful tool to ensure that the advisory board continuously improves. Boardology is a very good tool that companies should try to apply in the evaluation and feedback of their advisory board meetings.

What are the main differences you noticed in the use of Boardology compared to other similar tools?

In advisory board evaluation, Boardology is the best I have seen; the others were much more subjective and more traditional. Boardology sophisticates it much more. It starts by evaluating each meeting quickly and accurately. The advantage it has is that it is continuous benchmarking with other advisory boards, both at the European and U.S. levels, so you can compare the advisory board where you are with others, thus seeing how you are positioned and what value you bring compared to other advisory boards that were evaluated with the same tool.

What features are essential in these tools to ensure their effectiveness and relevance in the digital realm?

First, they need to be understood. For users, it has to be an easy-to-use tool. If it's easy to use, everyone appreciates that tool because it helps make advisory board meetings more efficient.

Would you recommend the use of digital tools in advisory boards?

I am a fanatic of the digital world because it helps save time and integrates all the information. That is what allows you and me to make faster decisions. That is the advantage it has; therefore, I am in favor of digital tools serving to make better and faster decisions.