Management of the Ana Bell Group

In 2000, Luc Bellière was appointed managing director of Sofraser (Société française de services), one of the pioneer companies in process viscometry and the on-line transmission of results, both of which are the precursors of Industry 4.0 (the Fourth Industrial Revolution). He wanted to share the management of the company rather than exercise power on his own, and carried out a series of unusual experiments. These included outsourcing the commercial activity in the form of a limited company, and then outsourcing the maintenance activity in the form of a slightly different limited company. However, he always made sure that there were a large number of employee shareholders. The structure of the Group has changed with time, but there is one fundamental and unchangeable rule, namely that one person cannot take radical decisions alone. This principle of shared responsibility has been extended to the company’s relationships with local actors with whom it conducts business. Sofraser does not adhere to the dogma of the ‘liberated company’ or any form of ‘holacracy’. Instead, it demonstrates that power-sharing and giving employees a degree of autonomy requires a long-term transformation which is extremely rewarding.