Jon Asgeir Johannesson

Strategic Concepts & Mechanics

Signature MoveFour-Word Operating System: Focus, Simplicity, Reality, Fun

Capital StrategyPension Deficit as Deal Leverage

Decision FrameworkRetail Reduced to Five Numbers

Signature MoveFive Ratios and Nothing Else

Signature MoveNegotiate the Escape Hatches Before Signing

Operating PrinciplePrivate Ownership as Competitive Weapon

Cornerstone MoveBuy Back What You Built, Strip Out the Baggage

Identity & CultureFun as Operational Philosophy Not Perk

Strategic PatternCounterparty Carelessness as Opportunity

Cornerstone MoveLong-Term Greedy Over Quarterly Squeeze

Signature MoveInstinct Over Analysis for New Markets

Operating PrinciplePivot Only With Clean Breaks

Signature MoveGut Instinct As Greenlight

Signature MoveRadical Focus After Overreach

Identity & CultureStakeholder Alignment Through Personal Skin

Cornerstone MoveCopy-Paste Playbook Transplants

Cornerstone MoveLeverage-to-Ownership Flywheel

Decision FrameworkSweaty Palms as Danger Signal

Identity & CultureCompetition as Survival Doctrine

Strategic PatternOpportunity in Macro Disarray

Competitive AdvantageBrand as Rebellion Weapon

Signature MoveStealth Launches And Submarine Strategy

Strategic PatternStealth Before Scale

Signature MovePersonal Guarantees—High-Stakes Commitment

Signature MoveDeal Junkie Portfolio Cycling

Cornerstone MoveCrisis Entry, Post-Collapse Creation

Relationship LeverageTrusted Core Teams Across Borders

Operating PrincipleCuriosity as Growth Compass

Primary Evidence

"Jon Asgeir Johannesson of Baugur"

Source:Best Served Cold

"Jon Asgeir Johannesson of Baugur"

Source:Best Served Cold

"It is easy to say with hindsight, of course, but to a degree I did see the same thing happening at Landsbanki. I couldn’t pinpoint one thing. But I was sceptical of the relationship with Baugur, to which it was lending way too much money. Baugur was effectively bankrupt by the end of 2007 and I had been saying for a long time that it was just taking too much risk. It kept buying up assets on UK high streets for a full price but never sold a single one. It was always buying, and then someone in the group would form a daughter group so that assets were often being passed on within the group for a higher price, creating virtual profit. There were a lot of what I would call ‘virtual transactions’. When I made this argument, people inside Landsbanki always said it was just rivalry between me and Baugur’s chairman, Jon Asgeir Johannesson. It wasn’t, but it took a long time for Baugur to unravel and for others to realise the truth. Johannesson was seen almost as a pied piper to Reykjavik’s financial community. Bankers and investors seemed to follow him everywhere and of course the fees were lucrative. I said to one of his bankers: ‘He pays you a lot of fees. He’s never going to try to push down the fees because he’s not interested. He’s just trying to borrow to the limit and then he’s going to say: “I’m too big to fail.”’"

Source:Billions to Bust – And Beyond

Appears In Volumes

Best Served Cold Billions to Bust – And Beyond