think: act BUSINESS COO INSIGHTS launched as first ever business magazine specifically for Chief Operating Officers (COOs): new title adds to Roland Berger's award-winning range of client magazines

• Role of COOs is increasingly important
• think: act BUSINESS COO INSIGHTS supports this trend: a new platform for executives in purchasing, development, production and supply chain
• Topic of the first edition: "design-to-value"
• Highlights: exclusive interview with Porsche CEO Michael Macht, seven questions for Alexander Taro Zerdick, Head of Operations at Google Germany, Austria and Switzerland

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What can COOs learn from Porsche's value-driven approach to product design and realization? What does a mechanical engineering company like Gildemeister have in common with Apple? How does COO Alexander Taro Zerdick see his role at Google? These are the topics explored in the first issue of the new COO magazine. But think: act BUSINESS COO INSIGHTS will not just give answers, it is also intended as a platform for managers – across the entire spectrum of operational leadership, in purchasing, development, production and supply chain.

"Competing worldwide for customers, capital and talent, companies – no matter what industry or what size – have to find the right balance between optimum strategic development and operational excellence," says Axel Schmidt, head of the global Operations Strategy Competence Center at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "We're seeing new expectations at the top and a new dimension to the executive division of labor: While the CEO takes on the question of 'where to', the COO increasingly coordinates the 'how'."

Whether at financial services provider Allianz, automaker Daimler or fashion house Hugo Boss – the managerial ranks are reorganizing themselves. think: act BUSINESS COO INSIGHTS will be watching this trend – as the first ever magazine in the German-speaking markets aimed specifically at COOs. The new title adds to the successful think: act range published by Roland Berger. These client magazines have already entered the hall of fame of Best of Corporate Publishing (BCP), having won the BCP competition three times in a row. The new magazine is initially to appear two or three times a year.

Topic of the first issue: "design-to-value"

"Costs and their continual adjustment to reality are a central task of management," says Roland Berger Partner Axel Schmidt. "But that can't be their only concern. Focusing on value is now a must." This is why the big topic for the first edition of think: act BUSINESS COO INSIGHTS is "design-to-value", understood as a logical development of the "design-to-cost" approach.

Looking at specific industry experience, the magazine asks: What can COOs learn from Porsche's value-driven approach to product design and realization? What does a mechanical engineering company like Gildemeister have in common with Apple? How does COO Alexander Taro Zerdick understand his role at Google?

"Experts from Roland Berger, experienced external business journalists and high-caliber managers from various industries answer these questions and provide plenty of food for thought," says Torsten Oltmanns, Head of Global Marketing at Roland Berger. "We've made a good start with the first edition by attracting some top contributors like Porsche boss Michael Macht and Alexander Taro Zerdick, Head of Operations at Google Germany, Austria and Switzerland."

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