In this article of the “Forward Thinkers’ Talks Series (c),” Dr. Ivo Pezzuto, Professor of Global Economics and Digital and Sustainable Innovation at ISM Paris/New York and Founder of the Ivo Pezzuto Forward-Thinking Lab, interviews Maurizio Zordan, Zordan srl sb’s CEO, and Woodways’ President. Zordan is a certified B Corp. specializing in the furnishing of prestigious luxury brands’ flagship stores. Most of all, this group and its forward-thinking leader have a clear vision of the future. A future in which his company aims to create a harmonious balance between business objectives, sustainability, and prosperity. The article has been published on the May 2023 issue of The Global Analyst

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C O N T E N T S
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43 ESG Framework and MSMEs
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52 Q&A
IvoPezzuto
Professor
ofEconomics
andManagement
Zordan srl sb
CEOandWoodways’
President
56 MACRO MONITOR
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FromRussiawith Love
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3. | The Global ANALYST |
| May 2023 |
52
has fully embraced the Green Transi-
tion, making its commitment to decar-
bonization, people, the planet, and
prosperity its corporate mission, goal,
and main source of competitive advan-
tage. With its impressive score of 106.5,
Zordan is the first B Corp in shopfitting
and an inspiring, forward-thinking
leader of sustainable growth and pros-
perity.
The interview covers the following
topics:
• Sustainable business models and
sustainable value creation
• The 3Ps of purpose: people, planet,
and prosperity
• Diversity, equity, inclusion, and
prosperity
• B Corp certification and Benefit
Company legal status
• TEAL – the people-centered organi-
zational model
• Impact report
• The future of retail and store inte-
rior furnishings
• Luxury brand stores
Q&A
I
n this first part of the “Forward
Thinkers’ Talks Series,” conducted
by Ivo Pezzuto, Professor of Global
Economics and Digital and Sustainable
Innovation at ISM Paris/New York and
Founder of the Ivo Pezzuto Forward-
Thinking Lab, he interviews Maurizio
Zordan, Zordan srl sb’s CEO, and
Woodways’ President.
Zordan is a certified B Corp. special-
izing in the furnishing of prestigious
luxury brands’ flagship stores. Most of
all, this group and its forward-thinking
leader have a clear vision of the future.
A mission and a vision of creating a har-
monious balance between business ob-
jectives, sustainability, and prosperity,
or, as HBS’s Professor, Michael Porter,
dubs it, creating a sustainable “Shared
Value Strategy”. A strategy that is good
for business and for the common good.
Zordan is an emerging and fast-growing
firm, with deep roots in Veneto (Italy), a
land with a long tradition of excellence
in the production of woodworking, furni-
ture, and carpentry workshops. Zordan
/ Forward-Thinkers’ Talks
A Conversation with Maurizio Zordan
(Zordan srl sb’s CEO and Woodways’ President)
• Sustainable supply chains and de-
carbonization goals
• Organizations and the “Great Res-
ignation”
• Companies’ valuations and Sus-
tainable Development Goals
(SDGs)
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, tell us what
business your company is in and how it
turned a carpentry workshop in
Valdagno (province of Vicenza, Italy)
into an emerging luxury shop fitting
player in the global markets? Zordan
furnishes the prestigious flagship
stores of Dior, Bulgari, Van Cleef &
Arpels, Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and
Nespresso. In 2014, you were awarded
the Bulgari Green Design Award.
Wasn’t that a turning point for Zordan?
Maurizio Zordan: Our company was
founded in 1965 as a technical carpen-
try shop supplier to Marzotto Group (a
leading Italian textile manufacturer)
and as a furniture maker serving the lo-
IvoPezzuto
ProfessorofEconomicsandManagement
Zordansrlsb
CEOandWoodways’President

4. | The Global ANALYST | 53
| May 2023 |
cal market. In the mid-1990s, Marzotto
offered Zordan the opportunity to de-
sign, build, and install the furnishings
of approximately 200 stores in Italy
and Europe for their informal clothing
line (Marlboro Classics). The collabora-
tion lasted five years and marked the
end of the historic collaboration with
the wool-production manufacturer, but
it opened up the prospect for Zordan to
specialize in furnishing premium
stores. The beginning of a collaboration
with Bulgari in 2001 marked a turning
point for Zordan, which led the company
to create the first flagship store for the
jewelry brand in Chicago in 2004. Since
then, we have developed collaborations
with multiple other luxury brands.
When the 2008 Global Financial Crisis
and the following “Great Recession” hit
international markets and our sector,
we suddenly realized that sustain-
ability would become a strategic pillar
of differentiation and competitiveness.
Bulgari recognized our outstanding
achievements in sustainability by
granting us the Green Design Award in
2014 and 2017, and thus, they have
been pointing us out as a best practice
example for other global suppliers.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, what are the
“founding principles of mindful growth”
that have led your family business
(Zordan and Woodways International)
to become a successful Benefit Com-
pany (BC) and to earn the B Corp Certi-
fication? What are the 3Ps (Purposes)
of sustainability in your organization?
Maurizio Zordan: After receiving the
Green Design award from Bulgari, we
pursued the prestigious B Corp certifi-
cation, and we realized that it was an
excellent strategy for implementing a
comprehensive sustainable framework
at our company (i.e., people, environ-
ment, community, customers, gover-
nance), but above all, an easier way to
communicate our commitment to
sustainability through a simple score.
We engaged in this journey in 2015, and
we obtained the B Corp certification in
2016 together with the transformation
of our firm’s legal status into a benefit
company. We were among the very first
companies in Italy and absolutely the
first in our industry worldwide. In the
past, marketing was mainly about
managing the 4Ps: Price, Product,
Place, and Promotion, which became a
marketing “mantra” for all companies.
We have fully embraced sustainability
and defined our new brand mission and
goal with the 3Ps (People, Planet, Pros-
perity), way before other firms did, and
even before these iconic pillars of
sustainability appeared at the G20
meeting in Rome in 2021. It is a demon-
stration of our paradigm shift in terms
of mission and corporate values. Profit
(i.e., dividend payout and shareholder
value creation), which for decades has
been the primary goal in the business
world and the first on the list of items to
be pursued, in our corporate mission
became the last item on the list (after
People and Planet) and gained a
broader meaning (as Prosperity), that
is, both in terms of time horizon and
beneficiaries. We are indeed very proud
of our B score. In 2020, Zordan has in-
deed been re-certified as a B Corp with
a score of 106.5. This is an extraordi-
nary result considering that the B Im-
pact Assessment (BIA) has been used
by more than 100,000 companies world-
wide, but only 4,862 of these exceeded
the threshold score of 80.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, why did you say
that becoming a BC in October 2016
was a turning point for your company’s
vision, mission, organizational culture,
operating model, and community and
environmental impact? What does it
mean at ZORDAN to achieve sustain-
able value creation (SVC)?
Maurizio Zordan: This is part of
Zordan’s identity. For us, this is the true
purpose of doing business. After all,
what is the benefit of generating huge
profits if companies don’t improve the
living standards of people and if they do
not have a positive impact on society
and the planet? We are a forward-look-
ing organization focused on
sustainability with deep roots in the
past. We are inspired by social progress
achievements and by firms and trans-
formational leaders of the present and
the past, such as the Renaissance,
Olivetti, Marzotto, Cucinelli, Luxottica,
and others. These have been iconic and
virtuous examples for a long time and
are still part of our cultural heritage.
Now Americans have only encoded
these values and priorities (of shared-
value and sustainability) in their busi-
ness models and in the B Corp certifica-
tion framework.
This way of doing business makes ev-
eryone more motivated and creative,
and opens up new possibilities, making
work a more desirable part of life.
With this approach, firms can rethink
their organizations in new ways, and
probably, in more agile and inclusive
ones, which we think might make them
more appealing in the season of the
“Great Resignation.”
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, what is so spe-
cial about your organizational culture,
people, and values that make it pos-
sible to spread positiveness, inclusion,
sustainability, and beauty throughout
the world? What is Zordan’s TEAL orga-
nization framework? What is so unique
about Zordan’s people-centered organi-
zational model?
Maurizio Zordan: Without going into
operational details, I would summarize
everything into the following principle:
sharing values fuels trust, and with
trust, you can build great things.
Can we argue that it was just a coinci-
dence that in October 2016 we were
awarded the B Corp certification and
that in December 2016 we bought the
book Reinventing organizations. How to
create organizations inspired by the next
stage of human awareness by Frederic
Laloux (Laloux, 2014). In reality, it
seems like those events are coming full
circle. That transformation led us to
think that we could change the way we
see work and increase people’s motiva-
tion. Since then, following the challeng-
ing events of 2008, it took us some time
to find the right moment to launch the
project, and at the end of 2018, that
moment finally came. In six months, we
implemented the new organizational
framework, and in the following six
months, we understood that we would
never go back to the way it was before.
We have embarked on an irreversible
change by adopting Frederic Laloux’s
(Laloux, 2014) self-organized small
cross-functional teams’ organizational
model or TEAL framework. We have
Q&A

5. | The Global ANALYST |
| May 2023 |
54
adopted the TEAL organization as a
possible solution to tackle the uncer-
tainty and complexity that pyramidal
and hierarchical organizations are not
capable of dealing with in an effective
manner. As a BC, we have recognized in
the TEAL model a tool for valuing
people and their contributions. Co-cre-
ation and co-participation have been
fundamental ingredients for the new or-
ganizational structure and our new way
of working and cooperating within and
among teams. This new approach has
allowed us to spread responsibility
more effectively, thus increasing the re-
silience of our system and our ability to
quickly respond to market changes and
customer needs.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, what does it
mean in today’s world, full of uncertain-
ties, geopolitical threats, and complexi-
ties, to be a forward-thinker; an entre-
preneur with a purpose and a vision; an
innovator, and a change agent?
Maurizio Zordan: Complexity puts hi-
erarchical organizations to the test; it is
very difficult to find individuals with
exceptional skills, who can effectively
overcome any challenge and who can
rapidly come up with optimal solutions
to be implemented throughout the firm.
Our experience indicates that the collec-
tive effort of all our teams and their cre-
ative thinking contributions (open inno-
vation) prove to be much more effective
in addressing any challenge or new
business opportunities. Our collabora-
tive approach, sense of belonging, and
sense of community provide a greater
sense of safety for all members of our
teams. The old saying “everyone is use-
ful, nobody is indispensable”, starting
with the CEO, seems to be highly rel-
evant at our company. It’s better to
work on building and strengthening our
corporate culture and inclusive and mu-
tually supportive corporate community
than to focus on other things, as it repre-
sents our real, sustainable competitive
advantage in the long run.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, with your
company’s values and unique business
model you are inspiring many other
firms, startups, entrepreneurs, inves-
tors, and stakeholders to embrace sus-
tainable value creation and to become a
B Corp certified orga-
nization. Who has in-
spired you and your
team to become what
you are today?
Maurizio Zordan:
We are happy not to
be alone and to in-
spire others on the
path to sustainable
and inclusive growth
because, in this way,
we truly improve the
world more rapidly.
We can have a real
impact on 3Ps. As often happens be-
cause we are humans, it was crises that
forced us to rethink our values, priori-
ties, mission, and operating model. In
pursuing these mindset and business
changes we are looking forward to new
innovative and creative approaches and
solutions while anchoring values and
principles on the inspiring and precious
teachings of those who preceded us (our
grandfather’s job, our father’s activity,
and leadership style, the heritage of
firms like Marzotto, and more recently,
the use cases of a book like Reinventing
organizations. How to create organiza-
tions inspired by the next stage of human
awareness by Frederic Laloux” (with ex-
amples like Mondora, a company that
creates benefit for all stakeholders by
designing and building software solu-
tions that maximize positive impact).
Our teams were then inspired by their
own personal and professional experi-
ences.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, how did you re-
organize your production (in-house and
external production), value chains,
product development processes, work-
ing methods, lean philosophy, quality
control systems, and skills develop-
ment process to achieve superior perfor-
mances, sustainable growth, and profit-
ability? What do you think will be the
key skills and organizational capabili-
ties of the future? Why is it so impor-
tant for firms to monitor key competi-
tive indicators such as revenues,
EBITDA, and Net Financial Position?
How do sustainable value-creation
strategies impact communities, the en-
vironment, and firms’ EBITDA Mul-
tiples, free cash flows, and Enterprise
Value (EV)?
Maurizio Zordan: A lot of things in one
question!
Let’s try.
When we decided to specialize in this
specific sector, we had to face several
risks related to this sector (i.e., the
events of 2001, 2008, 2015, and 2020).
These were not easy years for us. We
also had to face customer concentration
risks. At the same time, we wanted to
keep production rolling to gain signifi-
cant learning curve effects and dynamic
capabilities. So, what are the figures to
keep an eye on?
a) Break-Even Point (BEP) set at 50%
of budget volumes and obtained
through the mix of fixed costs and
margins
b) From the BEP, we derive an internal
production capacity that does not ex-
ceed 30% of total production.
c) From this figure, we understand that
we cannot exercise excessive bar-
gaining power over our suppliers
since with our purchases, we cannot
affect more than 30% of their turn-
over.
Given these conditions, we can work on
improving our productivity, on the opti-
mization of the workloads, the product
margins, the orders, the customer expe-
rience, and the market-specific de-
mand. We also developed advanced
skills in benchmarking analytics. We
are constantly comparing our perfor-
mance, business model, and value
proposition with those of our competi-
tors. We regularly monitor our
company’s position in the market in or-
Q&A

6. | The Global ANALYST | 55
| May 2023 |
Reference # 20M-2023-05-15-06
der to better understand how the com-
pany is performing, its strengths and
weaknesses, and its strategic options.
Without measurement, improvement
cannot be achieved.
In our firm’s cafeteria, our competitors’
main KPIs are displayed. These are
Turnover (we call it: vanity); EBITDA
(we call it: health status), and NFP (we
call it: reality). These key indicators are
made available to everyone in the com-
pany, and many of our corporate cus-
tomers ask for these data when they
visit us. So, that means they are useful.
Our organizational chart with all the
related metrics on the employees’ pro-
files (i.e., age, gender, nationality, edu-
cation, English proficiency, and dis-
tance of their residency from the work-
place), reported in full compliance with
our privacy disclosure policy, also at-
tracts the attention of our corporate
customers.
Teams work on Contribution Margin 2
(CM2) and Volumes. Difficult situa-
tions occasionally emerge from ongoing
planning and replanning of sales quotes
and production activities, but this is
also where the best results come from.
Constant review and refinement of
planning activities also represent a
good management practice.
Job flexibility and collaborative learn-
ing will increasingly become cutting-
edge skills and dynamic capabilities in
organizations for future generations.
No specific job skill will last forever;
thus, it is better to learn multiple
skills.
Regarding your last part of the question
(How do sustainable value creation
strategies impact communities, the en-
vironment, and firms’ Multiples and the
Enterprise Value?), we believe that
there is a great correlation between sus-
tainable value creation practices and
firms’ EBITDA multiples, free cash
flows, and the enterprise value. This is
not only based on our direct experience
but also the research findings of the
Italian tech company, Cerved Group.
Their data indicates that, for small-to-
medium-sized companies like ours,
valuation metrics and multiples are
better when they are paired with good
performances in terms of SDGs.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, based on
your firm’s latest impact report,
how are your firm’s B Impact as-
sessments evolving and affecting
governance, employees, commu-
nity, environment, and custom-
ers? What role does the Carbon
Footprint of Product (CFP) tool
play in your company to achieve
the European Union climate-neu-
tral targets (net-zero greenhouse
gas emissions) by 2050?
Maurizio Zordan: Now, our goal
is to maintain the score obtained in
2020, or 106.5 points, which is an excel-
lent score. In order to achieve this objec-
tive, we must improve the performance
of our US subsidiary and align it with
our operational model in Valdagno. The
path for them is more difficult because
they started far behind in terms of oper-
ating results and therefore in terms of
sustainability, thus, the path is more
challenging. Regarding the CFP, our
company, together with other 400 B
Corp (out of a total of 6000), declared
during the 2019 Madrid Cop25 that we
would become carbon neutral in 2030.
Since then, we have obtained the prod-
uct and organization CFP, and we have
offered our customers the measurement
of the CO2
contribution of their concepts
(i.e., a verified tool for measuring the
impact of the furnishings produced for
the point of sale). Together with the cus-
tomers, we are now working on CO2
re-
duction, even through product re-engi-
neering. We are highly committed to our
sustainable business model, which is
based on the benefits of renewable ener-
gies, environmentally friendly certified
materials, water-conservation and wa-
ter-efficient manufacturing practices,
sustainable forestry and regenerative
practices, biodiversity protection prac-
tices, and a circular economy. Circa 95%
of Zordan’s waste is recycled.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, what role does
digital transformation play in retail,
and in your business, and what direc-
tion do you think will take in the future?
Maurizio Zordan: We are normal us-
ers of the tools made available by infor-
mation technology. The digital transfor-
mation of our organization and the
change to ERP, which we are currently
undertaking, will help us provide more
timely and detailed information to our
teams and will allow them to have bet-
ter control of the processes, thus im-
proving efficiency and quality.
We are positively intrigued by the po-
tential of artificial intelligence (AI) and
generative AI, which, however, we prefer
to call “artificial efficiency” applica-
tions. Our focus at Zordan is primarily
on the distinctive skills of hand-made
work. The more AI there is, the more
precious we think will become black-
smiths, glassmakers, carpenters, up-
holsterers, marble workers, decorators,
and installers.
Ivo Pezzuto: Maurizio, what will be the
future of retail and sustainable retail
(i.e., physical, and digital retail experi-
ences/multiple brand touch points, and
Omni channel strategies)?
Maurizio Zordan: There are better ex-
perts than us to answer questions
about the future scenarios of retail in
the medium-to-long term. In the short
run, we have observed greater attention
from clients to the point of sale and its
services’ expansion. However, I would
like to point out that we work in a spe-
cific niche of retail, namely that of abso-
lute luxury, in which the shopping expe-
rience is characterized by the search for
a very sophisticated and immersive ex-
perience of sustainable beauty. I bet
this will not change in the future unless
there are “barbarians at the gate.”
Interview conducted by Ivo Pezzuto.
(©2023 Ivo Pezzuto’s
Forward-Thinking Lab
All Rights Reserved.)
QA
Fope, London Old Bond Street