Marguerite Bérard, the CEO of ABN Amro, is attempting to navigate a precarious corporate restructuring by trading the formality of the executive suite for a sandwich and a seat at the table with her employees. The $24 billion Dutch lender is currently executing a plan to cut roughly a fifth of its workforce over the next three years, a move designed to stabilize the bank’s financial footing and increase competitiveness.
The strategy is as much about cultural diplomacy as it is about balance sheets. Bérard, a French banker leading a Dutch institution, has implemented weekly lunches with groups of eight to 10 colleagues to hear candid views on the bank’s transition. It is a deliberate effort to foster “consensus and coalitions,” a leadership style Bérard notes is deeply ingrained in Dutch professional culture but less common in the French tradition.
This shift in leadership style comes at a critical juncture for ABN Amro. The bank has faced significant headwinds since the 2008 financial crisis, including a previous rescue from collapse. More recently, the institution’s 2025 fourth-quarter net profit fell short of market expectations, adding pressure to a turnaround strategy that requires aggressive cost management and a leaner organizational structure.
The Financial Roadmap and Workforce Reductions
The current downsizing is part of a broader roadmap announced last November aimed at boosting the bank’s efficiency. The primary objective is to increase the return on equity (ROE) to at least 12% even as maintaining a cost-to-income ratio below 55%. To achieve these benchmarks, the bank outlined a plan to cut 5,200 positions between 2024 and 2028.
The impact of these cuts is already being felt across the organization. According to data provided to the press, 1,500 employees had already been let go by the end of 2025. For the remaining staff, the anxiety of a shrinking workforce is being met with Bérard’s “desk-lunch” diplomacy. The CEO has admitted to adjusting her own habits—sacrificing the traditionally long French midday meal for a quicker, more accessible format—to be more present for her team.
| Metric | Target/Goal |
|---|---|
| Total Workforce Reduction | 5,200 positions |
| Target Return on Equity (ROE) | Minimum 12% |
| Cost/Income Ratio | Below 55% |
| Cuts completed by end of 2025 | 1,500 employees |
Bérard has maintained that these redundancies will be handled in a “very responsible manner,” with the bank committing to assist displaced workers in finding new employment. However, she has also acknowledged the inherent tension in the process, noting that while consensus is the goal, We find moments where the status quo is not viable and the company must move at pace.
A Growing Trend of ‘Accessible’ Leadership
Bérard’s approach to workforce management is part of a wider trend among high-profile executives who are leveraging informal interactions to break down corporate hierarchies. In an era of remote operate and digital detachment, the act of “breaking bread” has become a strategic tool for gathering unvarnished feedback that rarely makes it into a formal slide deck or a quarterly engagement survey.
This philosophy is mirrored at other global giants. At Apple, CEO Tim Cook has frequently been seen dining with random employees in the company’s cafeteria. This represents a notable departure from the era of Steve Jobs, who typically kept his midday circle limited to a few close collaborators, such as design chief Jonathan Ive.
Similarly, at Duolingo, the $4.5 billion language-learning platform, leadership maintains a presence in the public commissary. CTO and cofounder Severin Hacker has highlighted that these daily team lunches, which include CEO Luis von Ahn, are fundamental to the company’s culture. Hacker suggests that these interactions allow executives to hear “the real stuff”—unrehearsed feedback from new hires and cross-functional teams that would otherwise be filtered through layers of management.
Even in the hospitality sector, the practice is used to drive employee retention. Chris Tomasso, CEO of the breakfast and lunch chain First Watch, frequently eats in the employee break room. Tomasso has stated that minimizing the visibility of his CEO title during these interactions helps employees feel more appreciated and less intimidated by the corporate structure.
What This Means for Corporate Culture
For a financial institution like ABN Amro, the stakes of this “sandwich diplomacy” are higher than at a tech startup. The bank is not just managing a culture shift, but a significant contraction of its human capital during a period of financial volatility. When a company cuts a fifth of its staff, the remaining employees often suffer from “survivor guilt” or a fear of future rounds of layoffs.
By engaging in weekly, small-group dialogues, Bérard is attempting to mitigate this instability. The goal is to ensure that the remaining staff “understand” the reasoning behind the strategy—specifically the need to stay competitive and profitable in a challenging European banking landscape.
The effectiveness of this approach remains to be seen, but it highlights a shift in how modern CEOs view their role. The “ivory tower” model of leadership is increasingly being replaced by a model of visibility, where the CEO acts as a chief listener as much as a chief executive.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice or an endorsement of specific investment strategies.
The bank’s progress toward its 12% ROE target and the continued rollout of its workforce reduction plan will be monitored in upcoming financial filings and quarterly reports. The next major checkpoint for the bank’s strategic roadmap will be its next scheduled financial update, where the impact of the cost-cutting measures on the bottom line will be quantified.
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