FORUM Sets the Course for the Next Five Years: Growth Through 2030, Clear Values, and the Question of How AI Will Transform the Portfolio.
Last weekend, the entire FORUM team gathered for a two-day retreat at Beuerberg Abbey to adopt the second five-year plan.
The agenda included a review of the first five-year plan, an analysis of the environment for the next planning period, a discussion of FORUM's values, and the new five-year plan.
The first five-year plan covered the period from 2020 to 2025. In retrospect, it became clear that the targets for revenue, EBIT, and headcount were met almost exactly. Over the past five years, FORUM has not only grown significantly in size but has also demonstrated that its own planning strategy is effective.
The environmental analysis focused primarily on the impact of AI on FORUM’s business model. The team anticipates major changes in this area but believes it is well diversified thanks to its presence in the four business segments: Software, Healthcare, Water, and Industry & Services.
FORUM will remain active in the software sector but will carefully assess the risks AI poses to companies. Conversely, FORUM also sees opportunities within its existing portfolio if companies quickly make the profound transition to agent-based code generation and consistently leverage it to their advantage.
FORUM’s values were also reaffirmed. This applies both to its investment policy and to how we interact with one another, with our portfolio companies, and with customers. Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett remain our greatest role models.
In the area of collaboration with its portfolio companies, the principle of decentralization has been clarified: as decentralized as possible, as centralized as necessary. This means that FORUM will work with its portfolio companies to ensure rapid implementation of major initiatives involving rapid change, particularly in the areas of AI, digitalization, branding, and market positioning.
The new five-year plan continues to call for growth of about 20 percent per year. By 2030, FORUM expects revenue of at least 800 million euros and a portfolio of 80 to 100 investments.
The recently concluded five-year plan has shown that FORUM not only sets its goals but also achieves them. The next phase will be more challenging: more investments, an increasingly fast-paced environment, and higher demands on judgment and direction. But that is precisely why the meeting in Beuerberg provided the right setting: not a loud fanfare, but a shared, level-headed look at what lies ahead for the group and the confidence to make it happen once again.
