From Disney to Growth Investing

There is perhaps no more globally established brand than Disney. The iconic Disney castle and Mickey Mouse ears have conquered the world many times over, much to the delight of children and adults across the continents. The team involved in this growth is of course a very talented one, with diverse skillsets that have allowed the business to branch into streaming, toys, and all new forms of media. It may come as some surprise that many of the skills used in a global entertainment company come in especially useful when finding and executing investments across Europe. In HPE’s leadership team, we are blessed to have someone with that exact experience in Harry Dolman, who is able to share his insight and experience.

Having started his career on the other side of the world in Australia for Unilever, Harry was quick to adapt to the way a global team works, something that has come in particularly useful in supporting portfolio businesses to expand internationally. A move back to the Netherlands followed, allowing Harry to further expand his international repertoire. It was then that Disney came calling, initially beckoning Harry to its Paris office, and then later on to its California headquarters. It was there that Harry became remarkably familiar with the workings of one of the world’s best-known businesses and came to learn some of the skills that have come to define HPE Growth’s approach to investing.

As an EVP at Disney, Harry was tasked with managing and growing its Consumer Products business globally into what became a $14bn business in revenue. In addition to overseeing established businesses, he also launched a new side to the business within the development and sale of electronics and pet products. These were departments that Disney was keen to tap into to make the most of the boom in consumer electronics at the start of the 21st century. As new departments within a larger business, one of Harry’s tasks was to put together venture teams that could grow a business that would trade internationally and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue.

Building those high-performance teams is a big part of the value that Harry and HPE bring to businesses looking to scale sustainably. This growth of the management team to support growth of the business must also be well thought out, as Harry did himself with the team at Disney. The team that is being built must be representative of both the target consumers and the decisions they will have to make in order to succeed and expand. For Harry, the representation needs to be cultural as well as geographical because there is little sense in expanding into a market without a team that speaks the language and has some experience in that particular region. For example, it’s not a particularly good idea to expand into a German speaking market without some German speakers in the team to liaise with suppliers and consumers. Unsurprisingly, it is doubly relevant for external-facing parts of the business to have an understanding of the local geography, culture, and language. Teams within customer experience, sales, and marketing must understand their core audience in order to succeed.

As the leader of a global organisation that grew and expanded Disney’s consumer business over a 17-year period, Harry did learn some things about the type of person it takes to lead a business from start-up to international player. A key part of building a team that represents diverse backgrounds is to respect and appreciate the benefits of diversity as a leader yourself. Instead of hiring similar people to yourself it’s better for the business to bring in people and opinions that can complement and contrast your own views. To accompany this, a leader wanting to grow their business must be aware of their own limitations and those of their management team.

A leader should also have the right balance of ambition and self-awareness to support sustainable growth and so as not to result in a team being overextended. This will allow your team to bring on board the right skills and experience when needed, instead of being drawn into a false sense of confidence in existing staff skills. The most talented CFO that has been with the business since day one may not have the specific skills to take a business to IPO, for example. It may take some time but tempering the collective ego will only benefit the business in the long-term. This also applies to the sometimes-painful process of finally delegating some duties to the management team, usually including the hiring process. For any founder, this can feel like a step down or like abandoning key responsibilities. However, when your team begins to number in the 100s, there just aren’t enough hours in the day for a leader’s focus to be on the minutiae of team building. The process is never one that founders look forward to, but when they have time to focus on the larger picture of the business, they are thankful for having gone through it.

Having caught the “growth” bug during his time at Disney, Harry brings a point of view that brings the world to each of HPE Growth’s portfolio. He is able to bring a global mindset to each business, supporting them in their own growth like he did himself with Disney in the past. This growth is also sustainable, building infrastructure to make each business a long-term success, rather than booming rapidly and busting just as quickly.