Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç Shares His Turnaround Playbook

Summary

Podcast Summary: Leaders with Francine Lacqua Episode: Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç Shares His Turnaround Playbook
Date: May 25, 2026 | Host: Francine Lacqua (Bloomberg)

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Brief Overview

In this compelling episode, Francine Lacqua sits down with Tufan Erginbilgiç, CEO of Rolls-Royce, to explore his dramatic transformation of the iconic British aerospace and defense company. Facing an underperforming business battered by years of decline and the COVID pandemic, Erginbilgiç implemented a bold turnaround strategy—radically restructuring operations, renegotiating contracts, enforcing a new performance culture, and energizing leadership. Francine probes his unique management style, personal philosophy, and what his playbook offers the broader British industry.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Entering a Company in Crisis (02:30–06:08)

• Assessing the Situation:
  Upon taking the helm in January 2023, Erginbilgiç found a company with “lots of strengths” but lacking clear direction, strategy, and strong performance management, with a “terrible” balance sheet.

  "All those good people have not been led by wealth. Direction is not clear, strategy doesn't exist, performance management doesn't exist." (05:35, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• Establishing a Data-Driven Vision:
  Instead of merely critiquing, he commissioned external benchmarking. The resulting data allowed him to “put the mirror up for the organization,” making a compelling case for radical change.

2. Transformational Leadership Approach (03:44–07:16)

• No ‘Tough Love’ Narrative:
  Erginbilgiç rejects the premise of “tough love,” emphasizing clarity and factual candor over sentimentality.

  "Tell it how it is. Bring your style. You are going to be very clear, but very straightforward. You won’t dance around the subject." (04:46, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• Authenticity and Transparency:
  Consistently, he highlights being “very fair, very transparent”—making sure no one wonders about their standing. His style prioritizes straightforward feedback for growth.

  "You won't be wondering what Tufan is thinking about me, because I will tell you—and you won’t like everything I tell you because I want you to improve. ... That pace and intensity is for a purpose." (08:37, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

3. Restructuring and Layoffs (06:08–07:10)

• Eliminating Layers, Not Operational Staff:
  The restructuring removed organizational layers without sacrificing operational talent.

  "No operational people left...if we don’t do that, probably 50,000 people’s lives will be affected because company will go to bad places." (06:18, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

4. Creating a Culture of High Performance (09:14–10:04; 13:04–14:30)

• The ‘New Normal’:
  Post-turnaround, the organization adjusts to elevated expectations and a different culture.

  "You almost move to new normal and expectations are different. Performance culture is different." (09:20, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• Four Pillars of Transformation:

  • Leadership & Engagement: People-first, motivating employees to take ownership.
  • Granular Strategy: A strategy understood at every level—not just boardroom talk.

    "If you don’t have granular strategy, only ten people know it. ... In big organizations you come and go. Nobody tells you ‘you matter’." (13:21, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

  • Clear Roles & Vision: Ensuring each employee feels energized by their role.
  • Energizing Recognition: Performance management that ties directly to recognition and reward.

• Building Strategy Together:
  Engaged “500+ people” in strategy workshops, emphasizing openness and idea inclusion.

  "There’s no hierarchy ... this is going to be chaotic. ... You need to open it up so that all the out-of-blue ideas come into the room." (14:35, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

5. Renegotiating Contracts: Achieving the Impossible (15:30–17:34)

• Immediate, Direct CEO-Level Negotiations:
  With the company hemorrhaging, Erginbilgiç led direct talks, reframing discussions as win-win to ensure both sides’ survival and mutual benefit.

  "Weak Rolls Royce can only do that. Strong Rolls Royce actually can be a lot better partner." (16:05, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• Cultural Ripple Effect:
  Persevering in ‘impossible’ renegotiations inspired teams to attempt their own bold initiatives.

6. Lessons for British Industry (20:00–22:53)

• Carrying the Weight of British Industry:
  Acknowledging intense scrutiny and responsibility, Erginbilgiç notes that demonstrating sustainability in the UK belies suggestions that firms must move abroad for survival.

  "After a point, it’s never about you. ... Once you pass a stage—okay, you have a success—now make sure that is sustainable success and actually you can build on it." (20:35, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• Blueprint for Peers:
  Start by fixing the business model at its core, energize employees globally, and nurture people with strong career prospects.

  "Mediocrity at that level kills the organization, but also good people. You need to develop them and have a great career in this." (21:25, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• Retaining Top Talent:
  Cultivate a firm where the most “highly marketable” people choose to stay.

  "That is almost 360 performance management ... always finishes with reward and recognition. And then grow the company. ... Grow—that actually feeds itself." (22:23, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

7. Innovation & Engineering: Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) (22:54–24:10)

• Strategic Necessity:
  SMRs are positioned as critical for Europe’s energy security—presenting a repeatable, modular solution rather than costly bespoke projects.

  "SMR 85% manufacturing process. You learn, you learn. And it is modular. It is standard ... rather than every nuclear project bespoke." (23:06, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

8. Building Corporate Resilience (24:14–26:16)

• Preparing for External Shocks:
  He stresses cultivating resilience and agile mindsets before challenges strike.

  "Once you get into trouble, it is too late. ... Mindset is more important than anything else. ... Be action oriented, not explanation oriented." (24:22, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Authentic Leadership:

  "You won’t like everything I tell you because I want you to improve. But I will also tell you what you are doing well." (08:37, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• On Employee Engagement in Strategy:

  "When you are done, whole organization is aligned because they were in the room when you were making the decision." (14:35, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

• On Facing Criticism:

  "Some people love it, excel in it, because that pace and intensity is for a purpose. You choose where you are, where it matters." (08:37, Tufan Erginbilgiç)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Tough Leadership Myth & Company Status: 03:44–06:08
• Culture and Delivering Candor: 04:46–05:30
• Handling Layoffs: 06:08–07:10
• Resetting Company Culture: 09:14–10:04
• Relating Private Equity to Corporate Turnaround: 11:49–12:56
• Four Pillars of Change: 13:04–14:30
• Strategy Workshops: 14:35
• Renegotiating Impossible Contracts: 15:30–17:34
• Lessons for Other British Companies: 20:22–22:53
• On Small Nuclear Reactors/Innovation: 22:54–24:10
• Managing External Shocks/Resilience: 24:14–26:16

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Rapid-Fire Personal Insights (26:16–27:35)

• Retirement Plans: Multiple destinations, including London and a sunny place. (26:28)
• Would Teach Leadership, Not Economics: (26:58)
• Favorite Books: Returns to history, for insight into persistent human behavior. (27:19)

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Conclusion

Erginbilgiç’s episode offers a masterclass in transformation: lead with authenticity, face facts head-on, make difficult choices swiftly, and include people at every level—while always preparing for the unknown. His relentless honesty, clarity, and refusal to tolerate mediocrity stands as a blueprint not just for Rolls-Royce, but for any company seeking a true turnaround.

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Transcript

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[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I am demanding if you are working with me, there is this trust element. I'm going to be very fair, very transparent. You won't be wondering what too funny thinking about me, because I will tell you and you won't like everything I tell you, because I want you to improve.

[Francine Lacqua]

I'm Francine Lacqua, and this is Leaders, the podcast that explores what drives the world's most influential people. This week I'm speaking to Tufan Ergen Bilgic, the chief executive of Rolls Royce, the aerospace and defense company historically a jewel of British industry. When Ergen Belgic took over in 2023, it was on shaky ground. It had underperformed for over a decade and been battered by the COVID pandemic, with shares down almost 70% during his predecessor's time. Since taking over, Ergen Bilgic has set in motion a dramatic restructuring defined by thousands of job contract renegotiations and Widespread culture change for the company. All of that pain has paid off. His tenure was described by McKinsey as a case study in the art of corporate transformation. I wanted to know what gave him the confidence to institute such radical change, how he actually did it, and whether he sees himself as a standard bearer for British industry.

Tufan, thank you so much for joining us.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Great to be here.

[Francine Lacqua]

Now, you took over Rolls Royce in January of 2023 and quickly you made waves with a speech, right, where you talk about a burning platform that every investment we make, we destroy value. Why did you decide to be so tough?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I'm not sure I was tough, actually. That speech itself actually was one and a half hour speech, but obviously headlines took from the first ten minutes. You said January 23rd I took the job, but actually I planned that speech starting from September 22nd. I commissioned an external benchmarking because what you want to do in that is really put the mirror up for the organization. You cannot say the things you just said without data because it will just land like you are criticizing them effectively with data. I demonstrated where the company is. But in the same speech, then you continue and you talk about your vision and where you take the company.

[Francine Lacqua]

First of all, was there a decision to give the company and the employees tough love?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Neither of them actually. Interesting, because I don't think that way. First of all, they need to understand where the company is. Secondly, they need to understand this is going to be different. Because before that everybody was asking me, oh, Rolls Royce restructured many times, why it is different. First of all, it was never this restructuring, it was transformation. But that wasn't the tough love or this. It was about tell it how it is. Bring your style. You are going to be very clear, but very straightforward. You won't dance around the subject. You cannot miss what I say.

[Francine Lacqua]

So January 2023, what do you walk into? What company do you find?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Lots of strengths. On the one hand like good people. But on the other hand, all those good people have not been led by wealth. Direction is not clear, strategy doesn't exist, performance management doesn't exist. And the company's balance sheet is in a terrible shape. And yes, I said we destroy value every investment we make because companies cost of capital was significantly higher than returns of the company.

[Francine Lacqua]

You said there were good people at Rolls Royce, but you also laid off a lot of people, thousands of people. So was it difficult to make that you weren't letting go the people that you needed?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yeah, I mean there is always that risk, right? But you manage this process really tightly so that that doesn't happen, or if it happens, really on the edges, why I did it, frankly, we eliminated layers in the organization. So if you actually look what we did, no operational people left. When you are doing these restructurings, people, obviously you make stuff because people. It's about people's lives. But I always worry about, if we don't do that, probably 50,000 people's lives will be affected because company will go to bad places. So there is always that risk. But in this, actually, we had very little of that. We were able to keep sort of who we want to keep.

[Francine Lacqua]

How important was it that that first town hall people got to know you and got your style.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

You need to be very authentic. And so that actually when they look at you, they say, okay, I believe it. Because remember, you are not only talking about burning platform, you are talking about vision and how we are going to get there. Vision needs to be energizing.

[Francine Lacqua]

By talking so openly. Did you ever think, I'm going to make the people before me really mad?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes, but remember, this was supposed to be internal tunnel. Right. So it wasn't press conference. And therefore, yes, there was that risk. It may leak, but upside was a lot bigger for me.

[Francine Lacqua]

Some shareholders at the time were worried that it'd be destabilizing for staff.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes.

[Francine Lacqua]

Did they call you?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

No, but I've been talking to shareholders. Frankly, they have been deeply frustrated. One banker, he said, can I actually summarize what they said with one word? I said, go ahead. He said, frustration.

[Francine Lacqua]

But it's also a perception because you've been almost criticized, right, by some people that are close to you or in the press by saying you are tough, your style is quite harsh. I mean, someone even said you're a nightmare to work with. I mean, does that hurt you?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I am demanding. If you are working with me, there is this trust element. I'm going to be very fair, very transparent. You won't be wondering what Toan is thinking about me, because I will tell you. And you won't like everything I tell you because I want you to improve. But I will also tell you what you are doing. Well, some people love it, excel in it, because that pace and intensity is for a purpose. You choose where you are, where it matters.

[Francine Lacqua]

Now that you've seen results at Rolls Royce.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yeah.

[Francine Lacqua]

Have you eased off people? I mean, you talk about a kind of cadence, right? A rhythm to applying pressure.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

So I don't know what eased off means because you almost move to new normal and expectations are different. Performance culture is different. I now watch the team because we always have and currently we are dealing with another one. Ah, team is behaving very differently. So then you don't need to push. Actually, I had a couple of conversations this morning to say perfect. The way you are thinking is great. So in that sense it is easing off, but actually company moves to new normal.

[Francine Lacqua]

After the break, the Rolls Royce boss, who once warned the company was a burning platform, explains how he pulled off one of Britain's biggest corporate turnarounds. And just a reminder, be sure to follow and subscribe to the show now, so you never miss an episode.

The Rolls Royce restructure, which Ergen Bill

Gates likes to call a transformation, brought the company back from the brink and now it's doing quite well. Because since taking over, Rolls Royce's shares have increased by more than 10 times. But how did he actually transform the company? And how did previous career experiences inform his thinking?

At some point you're basically in the running to become chief executive of BP and you don't get it. So you have to make a decision on whether you stay or you leave.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

That's correct.

[Francine Lacqua]

And that's a very difficult decision.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes, I agree.

[Francine Lacqua]

So how did you make the decision of leaving? Is it because you wanted to be

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

CEO at that point? Yes. Because you are already in CEO because company had a process, they invite you into the process. So because they invite you, that means there's a chance. Exactly. So therefore, yes. And given my track record, etc, I thought I should get it. But that made leaving question also easier, frankly, because once you don't get it, now you know what you want at that point. And then sort of, it was almost natural that I left and you go into private equity. Yes.

[Francine Lacqua]

What did you learn in private equity? That you apply for restructure or transformation

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

of companies when you go to private equity. Given that investment committee is the business in a way. Right. You really understand what good investment committee

[Francine Lacqua]

is and why are they different in

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

nature or how they are a lot more open, a lot more blunt. Not for you to fail, for you to succeed. What they are doing make sure case is robust.

[Francine Lacqua]

So it's like a stress test.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Exactly. So then, frankly, I took that to our investment committee in Rolls Royce and I told the team, we are not doing this for anybody to fail. Because if I actually see in the period an investment proposal that will never fly, I call the person and I say, let's take it out of investment committee, because I don't want them to be embarrassed.

[Francine Lacqua]

How did you transform Rolls Royce? It was Very clear. You talk about being blunt quickly. Can you say what those steps were?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

For instance, you are using blunt. I'm not sure I'm authentic. I didn't put the mirror up, but I never had.

[Francine Lacqua]

But blunt is not a bad word. I mean, maybe we've made it a bad word. Right. But blunt means, you know what you get instead of dancing around.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yeah, that's true. I never actually thought about time frame in transformations, but I said to people, in the first two, three years, we need to make good progress. And normally you do. But I think four pillars were important. So the first pillar is all about people. It is the leadership, vision, engagement. And second pillar is very granular strategy. And everybody knows in the company their role in delivering strategy. If you don't have granular strategy, only 10 people know it. And then 10 people are surprisingly surprised that that strategy is not delivered. I don't have a role, how am I going to contribute? And then everybody has a role. Because in big organizations you come and go. Nobody tells you you matter. Somebody tells you you matter. In Roy Chauss's transformation, and this is your role. If you deliver, this is very energizing.

[Francine Lacqua]

I mean, you also famously said, I don't do strategy in a dark room with consultants.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I personally attended 25, 30 workshops when we were developing strategy. So every like 500 plus people joined. When you are done, whole organization is aligned because they were in the room when you were making the decision. I go in those workshops, I say two things. There's no hierarchy in the room. Second thing I say, this is going to be chaotic. Why chaotic? Because many strategic conversations don't open up. It closes. It becomes like planned conversations. You need to open it up so that all the out of blue ideas come into the room. Even if you don't do them, they are in the room.

[Francine Lacqua]

One of the other things, when you were transforming, right, what was key was also renegotiating some of the contracts. How did you do that?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I needed to negotiate them because company was bleeding. One thing I didn't appreciate the cultural impact of that because I went and did that and everybody thought that was absolute impossible thing to do. Then people said, I'm gonna do impossible things as well, but too fat.

[Francine Lacqua]

What happened? Do you call the phone and say, look, we had a contract, but actually let me go.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I mean, we need to do meetings, different people, but play out in the same. So unfortunately, that was the time I needed to go into action quickly. So there was no relationship building, frankly, because most of the time this was my first meeting with the person and numbers are so big that CEO to CEO conversation required right? So normally how it happened first half an hour they complain new CEO, they complain about all the operational problems we cause. Then I am thinking wow how am I gonna now in this open up that Actually we are not happy with commercials but it gave me good opportunity to say yeah, understand all your concerns but weak Rolls Royce can only do that strong Rolls Royce actually can be a lot better partner. And then I link that to saying effectively our contract doesn't work in the first meeting. All you want to achieve for them to agree to bring the teams together to rebalance the contract and find win win solutions. That's all. If you are planning to achieve more than that, you are going to be disappointed.

[Francine Lacqua]

When we come back, Tufan Ergen Bill Gitsch explains why the Rolls Royce turnaround could offer blueprint for other British businesses

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[Francine Lacqua]

British industry has been described as being in constant decline. With factors like rising energy costs posing challenges to making money. Rolls Royce's turnaround has been seen as a positive sign for the wider industry. So is there anything Rolls Royce's peers can learn from its strategy?

Tiffany, you brought Rolls Royce, a British heritage brand, back from the brink. I mean, do you feel sometimes like you're carrying the weight of British industry because you've made it a success?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes, sometimes. Because I think there's this discussions whether companies should move to the US market. I'm sure Francine, you ask, we ask those questions. So actually demonstrating that you can be in this market and frankly after a point, it is never about you. You don't want to fail all the stakeholders, employees, investors, even government. Once you pass a stage, right, okay. You have a success now make sure that is sustainable success and actually you can build on it.

[Francine Lacqua]

What can other British companies learn from Rolls Royce?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

A lot. But business model level are they. Are they actually set up to win? If not fix the business model and you do that, then of course you need to energize your employees. It's not about you. It is about 50,000 people. I am non compromising for that. You may say blunt or whatever, but non compromising mediocrity at that level kills the organizations, but also good people. Then you need to develop them and have a great career in this.

[Francine Lacqua]

How do you manage good people? What do they want effectively?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

You want people in your organization who are highly marketable, but they want to stay with you. Right?

[Francine Lacqua]

Right.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

So that's what you want.

[Francine Lacqua]

It's a secret sauce.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Exactly. That's what you want, Right? That is almost 360 performance management in my mind. And three 60 performance management always if you want to close the circle, it finishes with reward and recognition. And then grow the company. Because that creates all sorts of career opportunities. Shrinking companies, you have less opportunities. Grow the company. Grow that actually feeds itself.

[Francine Lacqua]

Right.

I mean every time I see you, we speak about small nuclear reactors.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes.

[Francine Lacqua]

Because it's. Because it's not a 360 view, it's a very granule. It's almost problem solving.

It's engineering.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I always go to big picture before I come to small picture. Europe cannot do without it. World needs it for net zero, frankly, Europe needs it for supply, security, full stop. Because even before geopolitics, Europe needed that. After some geopolitical events, frankly, Europe needs it more than that. So therefore SMRs make sense at big picture because they are less risky because smaller plants and manufacturing activity. Nuclear industry has a bad sort of experience with projects. They take longer, much more expensive SMR 85% manufacturing process. You learn, you learn. And it is modular. It is standard rather than every nuclear project bespoke EPC project in a way. Right.

[Francine Lacqua]

Anything could happen in the world of politics as we've seen.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes.

[Francine Lacqua]

How do you deal with politics, with events outside your events. And even here you could see a change in government with reform coming into power.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yeah. I have a principle in business. I always tell people once you get into trouble, it is too late. So you need to prepare the company before you get into trouble. So what does that mean? Like we are actually living with it as we speak. And last year we lived with tariff. But first of all make the company very resilient. That was our drive, we did that. So external shocks, we, we actually deal with it a lot better. Mindset is more important than anything else. You need to have the mindset and the response capability in the company. You need to develop that before you are in trouble because it takes some time. Right. And then you need to be agile using that capability. And then last thing you are gonna do, you are gonna be action oriented, not explanation oriented.

[Francine Lacqua]

But if you don't know what the trouble is, are you scenario planning for all the things that could change?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

It's not about actually predicting the world. It is about how your company now thinks about dealing with external sharks. Right. So that is the capability, the processes, the mindset. We are not responding to current sharks. I can assure you we couldn't do half of what we are doing three years ago. Probably 10%. Probably when I said something, people would look at me with blank eyes. What is he talking about today? I don't need to say a lot. I need to give the context and people are in action.

[Francine Lacqua]

Are you ready for rapid fire questions?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Yes.

[Francine Lacqua]

There are always reports that you know someone could be retiring, including you. If you were to retire. Where would your dream retirement destination be?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

I'm not sure I want one destination. I would like to have multiple places. One probably is sort of a little bit sunny place. I love London. I will retire in London definitely, but with some summer sort of sunny place in the backup.

[Francine Lacqua]

But no plans to retire.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Not anytime soon.

[Francine Lacqua]

You said you were a university lecturer. If you were to go back, what subject would you like to teach?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Probably I would teach more leadership related stuff right now. I was teaching at that time micro and macroeconomics but but given my career I think I would do something different.

[Francine Lacqua]

We've heard you're a keen reader. So is there one book you've returned to multiple times?

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

So I read history books. Why history books? Because that tells a lot about human behavior to me. Because yes, times change. I'm not sure human behavior change a lot too Fun.

[Francine Lacqua]

Thank you so much.

[Tufan Ergen Bilgic]

Thank you.

[Francine Lacqua]

Thanks for listening to this episode of Leaders with Me, Francine Lacqua the Podcast. If you like our show, please rate, review and subscribe. And if you want to watch the show, please Find us on YouTube. This episode was hosted by me, Francine Lacqua. It was produced by Atalandi Dixon, Samara Saadi and Moses Zandam. Amy Keen is the executive producer of Top Podcasts Sound designed by Blake Maples and Aaron Casper. Special thanks to to Fun Ergen Bilgic.

[Podcast/Studio Announcer]

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