The referee has blown the whistle. The match is over. And the winner is: SDL. This company has transcended the localization and translation industry and is now a global information management conglomerate. Equipped with lots of cash, SDL CEO Mark Lancaster will be on the lookout to buy more companies in order to expand his kingdom. After establishing SDL as a premier LSP, conquering the CAT tool market, and dominating in web content management, Lancaster is setting his sights much higher.

In a press release on January 25, 2010 SDL announced the restructuring of the company into 5 business units. Each unit will be branded with the SDL name in order to take advantage of the name recognition that this company has achieved. By structuring the company into these business units, Lancaster has telegraphed his overall strategy and product/service segmentation. His challenge will be to staff each division with the best management and motivate them while providing the vision needed for company expansion. 

I had the privilege of meeting Mark Lancaster a few years ago at the Localization World conference in Bonn and was impressed by his down-to-earth, cockney-accented, eye-level, modest approach. It is evident that he is a business genius and will lead SDL to even greater accomplishments. Personally, he is an inspiration to me.

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