Asset management firm Capital SAFI wanted to attract new strategic investors and expand to other countries. Having the right corporate governance in place was critical to achieve this goal.

Many large companies fail to pay enough attention to their leadership pipelines and succession practices. That leads to excessive turnover at the top and destroys a significant amount of value--close to $1 trillion a year among the S&P 1500 alone, say the authors of this article. The biggest costs are underperformance at companies that hire ill-suited external CEOs, the loss of intellectual capital in the C-suites of organizations that executives .....more

Distinct Software (disguised name), a global enterprise software company, is at an important point in its growth trajectory where the luster of its mantra of "grow and win at any cost" has dimmed with increasing competition and margin pressures. To help navigate its sales organization through this difficult phase and improve sales productivity, the firm has hired Sam Chadwick, a digitally savvy industry veteran as its new Global Sales Head. .....more

In 2020, JPMorgan Chase announced a $30 billion Commitment to Advance Racial Equity. The Commitment included investments in housing, small businesses, and financial literacy across the U.S., and diversity, equity, and inclusion within the bank. It was part of a broader cultural shift within JPMorgan and U.S. society to better acknowledge and work to remedy the effects of systemic racism in the financial system. The bank was now focused on implementing .....more

In early 2021, BlackRock-the world''s largest asset manager with $9 trillion in assets under management (AUM)-sought to become a leader in promoting environmental and social sustainability. Over the previous ten years, CEO Larry Fink had written an annual open letter to CEOs, pushing them to view sustainability and climate change planning key components of any long-term strategy. He had built an investment stewardship committee to attend portfolio .....more

During economic slowdowns, consulting, law, and accounting firms often start offering services and taking on clients they really shouldn''t, just to keep the lights on. This path is perilous. If a firm''s practices have a diffuse mix of clients and unclear strategic positioning, it will weaken the firm''s market profile and lead to internal conflicts, especially about the organization''s future direction. This article .....more

During the 1980s, leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and the private equity (PE) firms responsible for carrying them out revolutionized both investment and management in the U.S. Between 1980 and 1989, buyout activity in the U.S. surged from $1 billion per year to $60 billion. There was widespread agreement that the PE industry created enormous value, but who exactly was it creating that value for? PE firms claimed that LBOs not only benefitted investors, but .....more

The case introduces a classic digital disruption process applied to a secular sector, wealth management. It explains the current challenges of this industry, which has undergone severe changes following the recent financial crisis. It shows that even an industry for which the main key success factor has been the personal relationship and trust between the client and its advisors, is not resilient to digitalization. The change is driven by technology .....more

In 2017, Jan Juchelka, the new CEO of Komer n Banka, identified the need for the bank to start an enterprise wide agile transformation. He started by working to create a sense of urgency to kick-start a process to enable the level of service delivery to customers he believed is necessary to prepare for a future of increased levels of competition from both traditional players and possible new digital challengers. This journey is embarked upon despite .....more

In 2021, Ron DeShay, former American Idol producer, is launching his new business venture: World of Dreams Entertainment Group. World of Dreams rethought the existing TV production model, giving audiences more power to directly influence the creation of shows through a digital platform, and building an immersive experience around the TV production business.