Better Thinking Brings Sweet Rewards to Candy Manufacturer

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For the past two years Perfetti Van Melle USA, the company behind the popular Airheads and Mentos candies, has been putting Herrmann International’s Whole Brain® Thinking framework to work throughout their business, and the results are paying off. In recognition of their efforts, the company was awarded the Organizational Learning Award, presented by Herrmann International CEO, Ann Herrmann-Nehdi, on January 9, 2012, at an event held at Perfetti Van Melle’s Erlanger, Kentucky facilities.

Perfetti Van Melle joins such companies as IBM, Microsoft and Telecom New Zealand in receiving this award, which honors organizations that are applying Whole Brain Thinking in a systematic way to tap into their collective brainpower, solve tough business challenges and optimize everyday operations.

“There are a lot of management tools and approaches that are available but nothing compares to Whole Brain Thinking,” says Ralph Chauvin, Vice President of Sales at Perfetti Van Melle. “It is the best in the marketplace for applying thought processes to drive business results.”

Brenda Gumbs, Executive Vice President of Human Resources & Communications, adds that Whole Brain® Thinking has become part of the culture at Perfetti Van Melle. 

“Our employees are making better decisions, collaborating more productively, and forging stronger connections with their colleagues and customers,” she says. “It’s had an impact on everything we do as a business.”

The Whole Brain Thinking framework includes the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®) thinking styles assessment and other learning and business tools that can be embedded into the organization. Perfetti Van Melle is being recognized for turning the Whole Brain® approach into a way of doing business, using the tools and skills to come up with better ideas, communicate more effectively, solve problems faster, and even improve relationships with vendors and suppliers.

“Thinking drives behavior, so when organizations can build the thinking skills of their employees and apply the Whole Brain concept in every aspect of the business, like Perfetti Van Melle has done, they will get better results across the board—from sales to teamwork to leadership,” explains Herrmann-Nehdi. “That’s why we say it’s the key to outthinking, outpacing and outperforming the competition.”

Herrmann-Nehdi presented the award to Chauvin, Gumbs and Ronald Korenhof, Perfetti Van Melle USA’s General Manager/President. The company’s senior leadership has been actively involved in implementing and supporting the initiative.