Compliance as a business leverage.
Imagine you are the compliance officer of Atlas Components, a fast-growing Spanish manufacturer bidding on a public tender in France.
Competition compliance for business associations
Sergio, general counsel of a 500-employee automotive supplier in Barcelona, still remembers the uneasy silence that followed an innocent question at a trade association lunch.
Compliance control monitoring. A case study
Imagine walking through EuroServices Group’s headquarters on the first week of each quarter.
Cost/Benefit analysis of compliance
Compliance is expensive. In many companies it is one of the fastest growing budget lines, more staff, more external advisers, more tools, more audits. It is tempting for boards or CFOs to conclude, we are spending too much on compliance. But that question is incomplete.
The Rise and Fall of Theranos
Theranos was born in the early 2000s with a promise that sounded like science fiction: hundreds of blood tests from a single finger prick, faster and cheaper than traditional labs. Elizabeth Holmes raised more than $700 million, attracted a board of political heavyweights, and reached a $9 billion valuation — all while the core technology quietly failed to deliver. Behind the scenes, most tests couldn’t be reliably run on Theranos’ own devices. The company secretly relied on conventional machines, hid bad results, ignored regulatory warnings, and silenced employees who raised concerns. When journalist John Carreyrou exposed the inconsistencies, the façade collapsed. By 2018, Theranos, Holmes, and COO Sunny Balwani were charged with massive fraud; both were later convicted, ordered to pay $452 million in restitution, and the company was dissolved. Theranos is more than a story of deception; it’s a case study in failed governance and due diligence. It shows what happens when “fake it till you make it” replaces evidence, transparency, and independent oversight — and why trust, controls, and robust compliance are as essential to innovation as speed.