Driving integration while maintaining cultures: Varian's head of HR on leading through an acquisition

In this podcast, Heidrick & Struggles’ Claudia Schneider speaks with Livia Freudl, senior vice president and head of human resources at Varian, a radiation oncology treatment and software maker headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and now a Siemens Healthineers company. Freudl shares her insights on how Varian’s people strategy has evolved since Varian's acquisition and how she has been driving full integration while maintaining both company cultures. The key to success, she says, is to stay open and curious. She also shares her perspective on the differences in leadership between Europe and the United States.

Some questions answered in this episode include the following:

• (1:17) What has changed in terms of Varian’s people strategy since the acquisition by Siemens Healthineers and what are your main drivers to achieve full integration?
• (4:30) You joined Varian at a very critical time, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and obviously you were not able to meet with the entire team immediately. How did you make sure you developed trust from the beginning, even though you had to lead the team virtually?
• (8:32) What is Varian doing in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion?
• (14:30) What is your role in driving Varian’s social responsibility and sustainability agenda?
• (17:53) Considering your background, experiences, and expertise, what piece of advice would you give future CHROs? What are the must-haves they need to be successful in today’s environment?

Below is a full transcript of the episode, which has been edited for clarity.

Welcome to the Heidrick & Struggles Leadership Podcast. Heidrick is the premier global provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. Diversity and inclusion, leading through tumultuous times, and building thriving teams and organizations are among the core issues we talk with leaders about every day, including in our podcasts. Thank you for joining the conversation.

Claudia Schneider: Hi, I'm Claudia Schneider. I'm a consultant with Heidrick & Struggles in the Munich office and a specialist in HR executive search. In today’s podcast, I'm speaking to Livia Freudl, the senior vice president and head of human resources at Varian, a radiation oncology treatments and software maker headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and now a Siemens Healthineers company. Livia spent more than 15 years of her career at Siemens in various HR roles. She joined Siemens Healthineers in 2019 and was appointed to her current role in April 2021. Livia, welcome, and thank you for taking the time to speak with us today.

Livia Freudl: Thank you so much, Claudia, it’s wonderful to be here.

Claudia Schneider: Livia, you moved into your current role when Varian was acquired by Siemens Healthineers. What has changed in terms of Varian’s people strategy since the acquisition and what are your main drivers to achieve full integration?

Livia Freudl: I think the first and most important thing for our two companies—we’re now one—is that we really want to shape the future of healthcare together. Because we now have more than 66,000 people in more than 75 countries, bringing these two organizations together is really a big commitment; we have to pioneer breakthroughs in healthcare for everyone, everywhere. So, the key driver for the combination is to realize synergies that help us address the needs of our patients.

Claudia Schneider: On that note, Livia, you mentioned healthcare for everyone and everywhere—what does that imply now for Varian in the current Ukraine crisis?

Livia Freudl: It’s a horrible situation to watch, and my feelings are really with all the people in the Ukraine who suffer. We, as a company, are committed to providing access to healthcare for everyone everywhere; that also means we try very hard to make sure that, for example, spare parts can reach the Ukraine to make sure its people can be treated. On the other side, we also have to be very clear that a lot of people in Russia will need treatment, and we try to make sure that we can support everyone everywhere as well as we can. As a company, we are also trying to give the best possible support to those affected by the situation in Ukraine. We're still collecting donations and as a company, we've committed to matching the donations of our people. We’ve also donated €1 million as a company. So, in total, I think the last number I saw of what we’ve donated to the people in the Ukraine was already more than €4 million.

Claudia Schneider: In your experience, what has worked in terms of strategy to determine the culture for the merged companies, and how have you been able to work and shape the new culture in your role?

Livia Freudl: This was a very important point for us because we felt that, on the one side, the cultures of our two organizations are quite similar. It was very surprising; we did surveys to really understand what have, and seeing the results gave us a lot of insight. On the other side, we also knew that it would be extremely important for the people to feel that we are one, and so we spent a lot of time working on how we could achieve that, and, you know, working on a combined culture was a key part of that.

I was part of a project team that paid particular attention to making sure that the voices of our people are heard. So there was a small core team that was kind of steering the process, defining how we’d go about it, but there were hundreds and hundreds of people, who were asked for their opinion, who participated in workshops, and who then also worked on defining the combined culture.

Claudia Schneider: That brings me to my next question. You joined Varian at a very critical time, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and obviously, you were not able to meet with the entire team immediately. How did you make sure you developed trust from the beginning, even though you had to lead the team virtually?

Livia Freudl: It was a huge challenge and if anybody had told me before the pandemic that we would do an acquisition of that size fully virtually, I would have said, “No, look, this is not possible.” But we were somehow forced to make it work and I have to say that it worked a lot better than any of us thought it would. Just yesterday we had a final meeting of a project team and we said, “OK, we're now coming close to year one, so this will be the last meeting that we have in this group, we’ll kind of end the project set up.” And I thought, “Oh my god, it’s unbelievable what we have achieved as a group in a fully virtual setting.”

Being fully virtual was a challenge, particularly in a situation like an acquisition where there is so much anxiety and insecurity because people don't know what to expect; they don't know the company. You can do a lot of great presentations but it’s the moment when you really come together when people can start feeling out what a company is like because, in the end, it’s about the people. So, yes, I've spent a lot of time in one-on-ones, making sure that we create an environment of trust and vulnerability in which people can really talk about their anxieties and what's on their minds. At the same time, as a leader, I was also able to create as much transparency as possible and really continue that dialogue on a constant basis so that it’s not just a one-time thing. More or less in every meeting, I’m checking in with the team, asking, how are you doing, what's working, what's not working, similar to how I do so in one-on-one meetings. I think I've never spent so much time in one-on-one conversations as during that last year.

Claudia Schneider: Interesting. So you’re really making sure that you spend a lot of time with the individual team members. Are there any other processes or structures you've found especially helpful when handling this particular leadership challenge?

Livia Freudl: Yes. I think, and this is, again, very much also related not only to this virtual world but also to this acquisition situation—people were newly coming together; they sometimes didn't know what to expect. And even though our two company cultures were very similar, the ways we expressed our cultures were extremely different. So, what I tried to invest a lot of time in was helping people understand that we're in a situation where two extremely successful companies have come together—both sides must have done a lot of things right, otherwise we not have been so successful. So it’s important to stay open to and be very curious about how the other side has done things and not come in with judgment. It’s worth spending a lot of time on helping people see that it’s worth pausing, it’s worth listening, it’s worth learning, and it’s worth always assuming good intent. That’s not really a structure or program, though, and that can make it hard to work on it and implement it in the organization because it’s not so tangible a goal. And we're, you know, engineering companies. People want goals that are data-driven and things that they can kind of touch and feel, but it's something that we invested a lot of time in.

Claudia Schneider: You mentioned those two very successful companies coming together. I’d imagine this creates a much higher request for diversity. What is Varian doing in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Livia Freudl: Diversity, equity, and inclusion is an absolute top priority for us at Siemens Healthineers and equally at Varian. It’s embedded in our goals and we're constantly working on it. On one side, we're really focused on ensuring that we achieve a diverse workforce, so this is more the KPI perspective on DE&I. But we all know, of course, that that’s not everything. Equally important is that we foster a really inclusive culture. Therefore, we focus on inclusive leadership and provide a lot of support in terms of training to foster an inclusive culture. And we also measure our progress. We have a very data-driven approach to DE&I. We work with a DE&I dashboard and we have check-ins—currently on a biweekly basis—where we ask questions, constantly keeping up with how we are developing on these KPIs.

We also focus on (and think we touched a little bit on it at the beginning) making sure that everybody on this planet has access to care. That's also a part of the equity and inclusion that we drive, that we work on ensuring people have access to care and that we also support the society in creating an equitable environment for everybody.

Claudia Schneider: Livia, you also bring leadership experience in both a European setting and now a North American setting. Have you seen any differences in DE&I between the United States and Europe?

Livia Freudl: Yes, I have. I’ve reflected on that question quite a bit because my spontaneous reaction was, well is it really so different? I would say that in the United States, a lot of things—and this is, of course, historically based—are not a question. But in my experience in Germany, very often you still find people in the country with whom you have to argue for why we are investing in gender equality, why we are investing in diversity. That's not a question in the United States, full stop. It's a given; it’s not something to be questioned. And the nice thing about that is that you don't have to argue, you can focus a lot more on just making it happen, and also a lot more on inclusiveness. So, I think that's a major difference. But I don't want to speak for all countries in Europe. There are likely differences here and there. But when I compare the United States directly to Germany, there's for sure a difference.

Claudia Schneider: On that note, what can we here in Germany (or in Europe as a whole) learn? If and when you move back to Europe, what would you implement and what would you do differently?

Livia Freudl: Well, I'm thinking of a LinkedIn post that I read yesterday by a wonderful colleague who also shared some numbers about what has the pandemic done, for example, in regard to gender equality in Germany. We all knew that the pandemic would have a negative impact, but it’s sad to see how really negative it has been, and it’s again sad to see how much of that very traditional mindset is still there. So, for me, the most important thing would be to really ensure that we just drive things with more consequence. I'm very happy to see that we had at least some quotas implemented because I believe that a key driver to be faster on DE&I will be that we have diverse representation at decision-making levels. That's absolutely key, in my view, and I would be very intentional about implementing that, just to help us get to the next level. There are, of course, a lot of additional things to be done around ensuring that men and women equally, including single parents, can work and have a family without suffering. I think there's a lot of structural change we still have to make. And also, from a process perspective, when we think about selection, I think there is so much more that we can do to reduce bias in selection that would also allow a more diverse group of candidates to come to the top.

Claudia Schneider: Yes, absolutely. Livia, I think we could spend at least another hour on this topic. It’s certainly very fascinating and very important to all of us. But if you allow me, let’s move to another very important topic: corporate social responsibility and sustainability. As head of human resources, you play a crucial part in that, too. What is your role in driving Varian’s social responsibility and sustainability agenda?

Livia Freudl: Yes, and I’ll start more from a company level. I think the most important aspect for us, when talking about social responsibility, is truly to ensure access to medical care for everyone everywhere. The key driver there is that where you are should not determine whether you live or survive, and it also shouldn't matter how much money you have. We are, of course, extremely committed to other aspects of sustainability like sustainable business practices, including respecting the environment. But we are committed to ensuring that the promise of human rights is really, truly, lived up to in every kind of business that we do.

Focusing more on the HR side, my team and I are really DE&I, of course, which is an integral part of sustainability, and also, of course, we’re driving everything training and development. Many voices [demanding social responsibility] in societies are extremely loud now and I'm very happy about that, though I sometimes have conversations with people who say, “Oh my god, what is the world coming to?” acknowledging that talent is getting so much more demanding. It’s not only that people want to have an exciting job, but now they are also questioning whether they or their company really live up to all the sustainability goals and whether they truly have a mission and a vision as a company that helps change the world for the better. Honestly, Claudia, I'm very happy about that development, because it will just make our planet so much better, but it’s definitely something we have to meet as employers. Talent now is not only asking about development opportunities, they're asking, “What do you do in regard to DE&I? Where are you currently? What are you doing for sustainability?” And I think that's great.

Claudia Schneider: I was going to ask you about that. I'm sure you're seeing an effect on talent attraction and retention. Would you say that companies like Varian, which have a clear strategy and clear mission and values, win the war for talent? Because, as we all know, it’s such an active and hot market right now.

Livia Freudl: Totally. In fact, I think [having those clear strategies, mission, and values is] a main contributor. It’s for sure an advantage. During the pandemic, people reconnected to what they really wanted, what life they want to live in this world, I think, because death was so much closer, and not knowing what the world would be like the next day was bringing up a lot of fundamental questions for a lot of people. It also brought up the question of where people want to live, where their families were, and where they felt at home, and now they're no longer willing to move somewhere just because the best job is there. So that's something we have to manage as employers, something that will define how attractive we are.

Claudia Schneider: Livia, a very broad but very important last question: considering your background, experiences, and expertise, what piece of advice would you give future CHROs? What are the must-haves they need to be successful in today’s environment?

Livia Freudl: More and more we are not simply administrators of people processes but truly part of a management team that defines the future of our businesses. And this, of course, also means that we need very different skill sets—we need to be able to come in and truly understand the business and develop not only people strategies but business strategies. And that’s for sure very true for HR leaders, but I think it’s also very true for those further down in the organization, and it’s also a key driver of differentiators. When I look at HR in general, I would also say that there's a lot more project management required now, and a lot more change management. Change is coming so fast, so dramatically fast, that sometimes we're still in the middle of one thing when the next thing comes along, and we have to make sure that we're fully equipped to support that change in the organization and support the leaders in managing that change.

Claudia Schneider: I think that's a perfect closing. Livia, thank you so much for making the time to speak with us today. It’s greatly appreciated. All the best to you.

Livia Freudl: Thank you, Claudia, it was a pleasure.

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About the interviewer

Claudia Schneider (cschneider@heidrick.com) is a principal in Heidrick & Struggles’ Munich office and a member of the Industrial and Financial Officers practices.