How OneSubsea aligned two worlds to lead the sector

Joint ventures are moments often fraught with uncertainty. When SLB, Aker Solutions, and Subsea7 joined forces to create OneSubsea, the challenge was as much cultural as it was technological.

This was a complex transformation which combined SLB’s and Aker Solutions’ subsea businesses and workforces, creating a new company that overnight became the world’s leading subsea technology and solutions provider.

But for employees, the sudden shift triggered questions that metrics alone couldn’t answer: Would their values survive the transition? Would their ways of working be preserved or erased?

Navigating cultural crossroads

The central challenge was balancing the employee make-up (50/50) with the ownership representation (70/20/10) of the new company. OneSubsea would become a sub brand within majority shareholder, SLB’s Masterbrand system—yet there was a desire to maintain a link to the legacy Aker Solutions brand so that its 5000 employees felt represented.

The answer lay in an empathetic approach that recognized cultural tensions not as obstacles, but as critical design inputs.

“We avoided talking about legacy this, legacy that, and always talked about one company. We brought employees together to understand the mindsets of both groups, creating new values together through culture workshops and interviewing people to find out the common values across the two groups," says Conci Maduli-Bush, Head of Internal Communications at OneSubsea.

Internal comms as cultural engineering

Underpinning every element of the work was the new aspirational purpose, "Expanding the frontiers of subsea for a sustainable energy future", and market leading positioning of “Driving the new subsea era”. The new values and behaviors, "The OneSubsea Way", were crafted to reflect the purpose and positioning.

The values are deliberately easy-to understand, dynamic, and energetic to align with the forward-thinking culture OneSubsea aims to foster: “We care deeply” (safety and integrity), “We pull
together” (teamwork and collaboration), and “We push further” (innovation and progression).

These values were designed to be simple and future-focused but, most importantly, to be embedded. The first phase teased what was to come. Unscripted selfie videos from employees shared raw excitement and questions. Posters hinted at the new brand without revealing it. And a provocative “CONFIDENTIAL: brand reveal” email—designed to look like a leak—sparked intrigue and buzz.

When launch day came, it wasn’t a top down broadcast. It was live experiences that created identity across 40 locations, with local leaders presenting brand decks and video messages from the CEOs of all three parent companies. Employees weren’t just informed but filled with energy, pride and a shared sense of belonging—they were made protagonists of the story.

“We ensured that employees were given a platform from day one—our intranet and Viva Engage platform—that reflected one company, one team. We saw this not just as internal communication workstream but one reinforced by all the leaders who reference the values in their business updates, highlighting examples of teams collaborating and being together," comments Maduli-Bush.

Weekly post-launch themes explored OneSubsea’s innovation strategy, new values, and purpose. A live event brought together leaders and employee ambassadors to unpack what those
values meant in daily life. This wasn’t brand-building. It was trust-building.

"Values are actively used in peer-to peer dialogue. Through our Viva Engage platform, people post examples of ‘caring deeply’ etc., of people living them. We also launched a values award program earlier this year called ‘Echo’, which recognizes teams that are living the values."

Creating a brand to unite cultures

Apprehensions from employees needed to be carefully navigated. The goal was to show that this wasn't an acquisition but a partnership. Through strategic visual design, we incorporated design elements of both brands to achieve symbolic balance.

Rather than starting from scratch, the brand draws on and balances the best from the legacy businesses. Aker Solutions’ signature orange and dark blue were incorporated as accent colors. The logo is designed with both day and night versions—during daylight, SLB’s signature colors dominate, while at night, a dark blue and Aker Solutions orange takes over, visually reflecting the partnership between the companies. The day-night logo is particularly effective at OneSubsea’s Norwegian headquarters, where scarce daylight for half the year means equal illumination of both logo variants.

The brand architecture also speaks volumes. Though OneSubsea would operate within SLB’s Masterbrand system, visual and symbolic equity was consciously balanced, creating a brand that didn’t feel ‘owned’ by either side, but rather born from both.

The photography was carefully chosen to represent the different people within the businesses. The photography was then arranged along a horizon line, connecting them all and showing they are part of one business. Even the name itself, OneSubsea, was chosen to represent that they were all professionals in the subsea industry, operating as one.

Proof in the data

Four months after launch, those efforts were already paying off. Among legacy Aker Solutions' employees, confidence in the company’s future had jumped 17%.

More importantly, over 90% of employees across the business said they understood why the joint venture had happened and believed in its ambition.

A blueprint for the transition era

Joint ventures can be culturally disruptive but with the right strategies, they also present opportunities to unite employees and create a strong culture.

By addressing cultural concerns head-on, involving employees at every level, and building momentum through structured communication phases, businesses can spin a challenging transition into a success story.

OneSubsea’s journey shows that when you:

• Tackle cultural dynamics head-on,

• Engage employees as co-creators,

• Build shared values from scratch,

• And sustain belief through storytelling and recognition

...you don’t just survive the transition. You come out stronger.