In 1985, Jan Ekberg became CEO of Kabi, a Nordic pharmaceuticals company that had sales of $250 million and was part of the Procordia group in Sweden. Over ten years he guided the company through a dazzling evolution, as Kabi acquired company after company around the world, culminating in the 1995 merger of equals between Pharmacia and Upjohn. The new company is one of the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, with sales over $7 billion. In April of this year Jan Ekberg spoke with Arthur D. Little's Nils Bohlin about the key success factors in making mergers work, building a strong and flexible management team, and taking a company through rapid transition.