OCTOBER 20 15, ZURICH (SWITZERLAND). Michel Galeazzi and Felix Ackermann, the two co-founders of the private equity firm Evoco AG, were pondering their next move for Kyotec, one of their portfolio companies which just underwent a drastic restructuring. Evoco itself was at an interesting junction: Was it time to plan an exit from the investment? A strategic sale would surely strengthen Evoco's credibility and validate its original business model. As a new private equity manager focused on fixing Abstract: two related, well-known industry issues (the lack of l iquidity and serious conflicts of interests when a fund was not perform ing) through active ownership, it definitely could use some good, early performance numbers. But the turnaround was still in its early phases, and maybe it made more sense to keep Kyotec and actively drive the value-enhancing initiatives. The underlying question was how much more va lue Felix and Michel could still bring to the table. Finally, was their precious time and limited resources better spent trying to generate value in the other companies in Evoco's portfolio?

The case, together with the substantial video supplements, examines the marketing challenge of repositioning Swiss watch brand TAG Heuer in the digital era. It delves into the decisions taken by Jean-Claude Biver - the newly appointed CEO of the company - in his effort to create and execute a new strategy and to position TAG Heuer as an affordable luxury brand that would appeal to both traditional customers and the new generation. It begins by highlighting recent developments in the Swiss watch industry and then focuses on Biver - a celebrated icon of this industry. It offers a snapshot of Biver's resume and a glimpse into the marketing principles that he has applied during his remarkably successful career. The second part of the case addresses the emergence of a new product category - the digital watch, which many industry executives considered to be a major threat. TAG Heuer decided to enter the digital space and launched TAG Heuer Connected, in partnership with Intel and Google. Connected (and the series 2 model TAG Heuer Connected Modular 45) turned out to be a key pillar of the company's new brand strategy. It also acted as a springboard for experimenting with unconventional sales and marketing tactics.

Set at June 23, 2016, voters in the United Kingdom have just approved a referendum calling for the UK to leave the European Union. The case describes the motives for European integration, the rise of separatist movements in the UK and elsewhere, and the referendum process itself. The purpose of this case is to provide a contemporary counterpoint to a discussion of the economic and political motivations for the American Civil War. Dominant themes highlighted here are economic nationalism, political nationalism, cultural and ethnocentrism, and populism.

In 2015, the Copenhagen School of Entrepreneurship (CSE), the largest business incubator in Denmark, was admitting 100–125 new start-ups each year and attracting external funding of US$33 million from both public and private sources—all with an annual budget of US$435,000, funded exclusively by the Copenhagen Business School. Like most business incubators, CSE worked to provide entrepreneurs with training, mentorship, and investors, and to enhance their visibility in the market. It required all admitted start-ups to participate in a screening/selection tool and a set of incubation activities over three specific stages. The school measured success in terms of the number of incubator participants who had both a business customer and a sustainable business model at the end of a nine-month incubation period. In 2015, CSE's success rate was 53 per cent. At this point, CSE's leaders recognized a need to question how they measured the benefits of the program. How should the 53 per cent success rate be compared to the Copenhagen Business School's investment? What changes could the CSE leadership make to create more value for Danish society?

For 30 years, Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) partnered with Ford Motor Company (Ford), helping Ford in small-car engineering and lean manufacturing in exchange for finance and marketing know-how; however, this alliance was terminated due to the global financial crisis in 2008. In 2015, Mazda entered into another long-term partnership to share technologies and cope with cost pressures—this time with Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota). According to its 2016 Structural Reform Plan, Mazda aimed to achieve a global sales volume of 1.65 million units, an operating income ratio of at least 7 per cent, an equity ratio of at least 45 per cent, and a dividend payout ratio of at least 20 per cent by 2019. Given the highly competitive domestic and global automotive markets, to what extent could the partnership with Toyota and the Structural Reform Plan allow Mazda to achieve these goals? Would Mazda need to make any changes to its competitive strategies to keep the company driving forward?

In September 2016, the leadership team at KritiKal Solutions Private Limited, a software product research and development company in Noida, India, was facing several challenges. The company provided product design and development services in computer vision and image processing, embedded systems, and the Internet of things, as well as web, software, and mobile applications. It was highly regarded by its clients and employees for its research orientation and technical competence. However, the leadership team was struggling with options for strategic growth and product mix. How much time and effort should go into services and how much into new product development? What kind of structure and funding would work for the company as it expanded? The chief executive officer needed answers to these questions in order to make the leap to high growth.

Dilli Haat started in 1994 with the objective of providing infrastructure to craftspeople from across India to sell their traditional crafts in an urban marketplace and prevent their exploitation by intermediaries. The marketplace, set up in the heart of Delhi, the capital of India, was a one-stop shop for visitors seeking authentic India handicrafts and handloomed products. Dilli Haat provided a unique shopping experience in a well-laid-out area, where shopping was combined with cultural extravaganzas and food courts offering cuisine from all the states of India. It became a sought-after destination not only for shopping but also as a meeting place, where families and friends could spend time together. After rising to its glory, Dilli Haat witnessed a decrease in visits and was losing its spirit. In January 2016, the manager was faced with the challenge of restoring Dilli Haat to its former glory.

This is a flexible case that provides for discussion about the form and content of 10-K reports, managerial discussion and analysis, non-GAAP reporting, and accounting for contingent liabilities. What is unique is that Target included lengthy disclosures about the data breach, but many questions remain because the breach occurred shortly before year end. Further, the instructor can compare the contingent liability of $17 million reported in the 2013 10-K to the $201 million costs incurred by Target related to the breach as of the 2015 year end.

The case is set in October 2017 and the case protagonist is Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., one of the first fully integrated sustainable energy and transportation companies. The case focuses on the electric vehicle segment of the business (formerly known as Tesla Motors Inc. prior to the 2016 acquisition of SolarCity, a solar energy company). The case begins by Elon Musk reviewing the latest production data for the newly introduced Model 3. Musk had promised that Tesla would build 1,500 vehicles of its newest car model in the third quarter of 2017, and then ramping up production to 5,000 Model 3 vehicles per week in the fourth quarter (for a total of 65,000 cars). The reality: the maker of all-electric vehicles barely managed to build 260 vehicles of the new Model 3 in the entire third quarter. The poor result is a huge disappointment. The case then goes on to look at Musk's new strategy introduced for the company in 2016 ("Master Plan, Part Deux") to continue the pursuit of its vision "to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy." In 2017, Tesla, Inc. boasted a market capitalization of some $60 billion, an appreciation of more than 1,300 percent over its initial public offering price in 2010 (Exhibit 1 in the case). Indeed, Tesla had become the most valuable American car maker, ahead of both, GM and Ford.

In 2015, Murray Sawchuck was an award-winning magician, performing shows in Las Vegas, on cruise ships, and around the world. When he received an e-mail from Seth Leach, who proposed collaborating to make viral videos for YouTube, Sawchuck questioned whether the venture was worth his time and money. He agreed to shoot one video as a trial and the video went viral as soon as it was posted. Sawchuck began to be recognized more often from his YouTube video than from his appearances on television and decided to form a partnership with Leach. Sawchuck believed that partnerships with Leach and other successful YouTubers would help him reach new audiences and expand his viewership, but he needed to decide whether to focus on growing his business through YouTube or to treat this as a distinct source of income.

In 2014, mobile payment company Square, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, was one of an increasing number of venture capital financed firms with valuations above US$1 billion, which had become known as "unicorns." By September 2014, the company had raised $371 million over five rounds of venture capital financing. Since the first funding round had been almost five years previous, it was possible that venture funding investors would be pushing for an exit. The firm considered an acquisition offer and an initial public offering, but it was apparent that neither option would yield its desired $6 billion exit value. With $139 million in cash on hand, Square, Inc., was on track to use $138 million of cash in 2014. It approached venture capital investors for a sixth round of financing. It was then up to the investors to determine if they could agree to suitable terms.

In late 2016, the entrepreneurial founder of Mental and Natural Company, a digital multimedia company in China, wanted to have ready access to China’s best multimedia talent and expertise, but without burdening the company with an excessive number of employees. The entrepreneur and his team were developing a cloud-based multimedia crowdsourcing and collaboration platform, which would allow the company to quickly and easily crowdsource the needed freelance talent from around China. Yet, even before the platform was fully up and running, a new growth opportunity presented three possible options for the company to pursue. The entrepreneur and his team had just three weeks to decide on which option best fit the company’s existing business model, made best use of its resources, and was the best choice to secure the company’s future.

Hindustan Gum is an agro-processor in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. It is primarily in the business of processing guar gum. The market volatility in demand and prices have shot up due to the need of guar gum in the new and growing shale gas fracking, primarily in the US. Hindustan Gum has been trying to respond to this by considering options like expansion in processing, and contract farming for guar seed sourcing.

As they prepare to graduate from Harvard Business School, the co-founders of greeting card company startup Lovepop need capital to cover the company's operating costs and must choose between two seed financing offers. One offer is from an angel group and the other from a startup accelerator. Having bootstrapped the company's operations since its founding a year and a half earlier, the founders must weigh the differences in valuation and pros and cons of the accelerator program to determine which option is appropriate for Lovepop at this stage. In addition to addressing the challenges of early-stage fundraising, the case details the terms, offerings, and operations of startup accelerators.

It is January 2017, and Nikki Tyler, market access advisor at the U.S. Agency for International Development's Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact, must recommend an actionable strategy for how to use the $10 million contributed by global donors and foundations to scale up the use of chlorhexidine in Nigeria. It was clear that chlorhexidine, a substance applied to newborns' umbilical cord stumps to prevent infection, could reduce infant mortality significantly. However, changing behavior would be an enormous challenge. This case gives students an appreciation for the importance and complexity of global health issues, along with an understanding of key analytic techniques for approaching a complex market situation. Students quickly learn that there are no easy answers to encouraging chlorhexidine's greater use. To develop a plan, it is essential to complete detailed analyses, study insights and motivations, and ultimately compare different possible solutions, considering efficiency and efficacy.

The headline "Quinoa Genome Sequenced" caught the eye of Diego Pelaez, CFO of Coronilla S.A., a gluten-free pasta producer. Scientists had successfully sequenced the genome of the quinoa plant, hailed as a superfood because of its outstanding nutritional value. Quinoa, originally cultivated by the Inca Empire in the Andes, had become hugely popular in the last two decades and it was now grown in over 70 countries. It also happened to be the star ingredient in Coronilla's organic pastas and snacks. Coronilla was established in 1972 in Bolivia by Diego's grandfather, Guillermo Wille. After 25 years, he handed the reins to his daughter, Martha Wille. Unfortunately, the transition happened in difficult circumstances, with the company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Under Martha's leadership, the company successfully pivoted from a traditional wheat pasta manufacturer focused on the local market to a global exporter of gluten-free pastas and snacks made from organically-grown Andean grains. Coronilla not only transformed its business model but also wholeheartedly embraced social responsibility: it established Fair Trade sourcing with local indigenous farmers, hired mostly women and handicapped people in its workforce, and created multiple social programs for staff and their families.By 2017, Coronilla was finally reaping the rewards of its radical change program, with healthy profits and fast growth. But what was next? The news of quinoa's genome sequencing confirmed that Coronilla needed to renew itself and establish sustainability. Three strategic areas required decisions soon: branding; establishing a new production facility abroad; and negotiating a new strategic partnership. Furthermore, Diego's mother Martha was nearing retirement age and the family board had just officially designated Diego as her successor. It was now up to him to set the compass for Coronilla's next phase.

While violence against children in Turkey was widespread, people across the country were shocked by the news of seven atrocious child molestation cases,one after another over the course of a week in April 2010. Ayşen Özyeğin, Founder and President of the Mother Child Education Foundation (in Turkish, Anne Çocuk Eğitim Vakfı-AÇEV), a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting disadvantaged children and their families and promoting early childhood education, called a Board meeting to discuss whether the organization should assume a role in addressing the child protection crisis. ACEV's leaders prepared to present recommendations to their fellow Board Members and to consider decisions critical for both the agency's future and for Turkey's children.

While violence against children in Turkey was widespread, people across the country were shocked by the news of seven atrocious child molestation cases,one after another over the course of a week in April 2010. Ayşen Özyeğin, Founder and President of the Mother Child Education Foundation (in Turkish, Anne Çocuk Eğitim Vakfı-AÇEV), a nonprofit organization devoted to supporting disadvantaged children and their families and promoting early childhood education, called a Board meeting to discuss whether the organization should assume a role in addressing the child protection crisis. ACEV's leaders prepared to present recommendations to their fellow Board Members and to consider decisions critical for both the agency's future and for Turkey's children.