Warner-Lambert

Pharmaceutical company acquired by Pfizer in 2000 for $90B. Warner-Lambert had its own established hierarchy with marketing-dominant culture ('customer first') under CEO Lodewijk de Vink.

During the merger, Warner-Lambert's 11 senior VPs had to establish dominance relationships with Pfizer's 12 executives, requiring 132 pairwise contests. The merger created 18 months of chaos before McKinnell forced clarification.

After hierarchy crystallization, 73% of Warner executives were ranked below equivalent Pfizer executives, and 8 of 11 Warner executives resigned within 3 months. The market ultimately punished ambiguity more than clear Pfizer dominance.