Italplastic, C.A. is a Venezuelan family business that was founded in the 1970s by Italian immigrant Antonio Pietri, who had extensive experience in the plastics industry. Antonio started up his company with a business partner and a close friend and then later brought his children in to the company in different roles. The business grew into a company of 350 workers that had a turnover of some USD 7.5 million a year, and had even made small inroads in the Colombian market and in some Caribbean countries. His only male child, Alessandro, graduated from a renowned Venezuelan business school and was first integrated into the company as deputy president. In mid-2005, Antonio appointed Alessandro general manager, and he became president of the board of directors, of which his two daughters were members. Alessandro tried to make several changes and outlined a strategy that would grow the company through involvement in external markets; however, he faced opposition from his father and several employees. At the beginning of 2009, he began to question his future in the company. He repeatedly asked himself the question: Should I stay in the family business or take another path?

In order to improve income in rural communities, towards the end of 2001, Proyecto Paria Foundation (FPP) completed a plan to reactivate the cocoa economy. At the center of the plan was CARIOCA, a civil association set up to process and market cocoa, whose partners were five grower associations (50%), FPP (30%), and EMER, a commercial firm (20%). The design was successful from the start: during its first year, CARIOCA exported 100 tons of cocoa. Yet towards the end of 2003 circumstances emerged that not only threatened the operation of CARIOCA, but the very existence of the foundation: leaders of the five grower associations, instigated by local politicians, sought to take over control of CARIOCA. Opens just after these leaders had asked the FPP to leave both the board of directors and the administration of the cocoa processing plant. At that moment, the two protagonists (both leaders of the FPP) faced a dilemma: decide whether to leave CARIOCA or try to recover control of the organization. Additionally, they had to develop a long-term strategy to assure the foundation's operation in the Paria region.