It was 30 December 2012, and Lee Kian Soon, the founder of Ezra Holdings Limited (Ezra), a Singapore-headquartered offshore oil and gas services company, was stepping down after 20 years as Executive Chairman of the company. Having been at the helm of the company for two decades, Lee had been instrumental in leading the business development, strategic planning and overall vision of the company. In 1992, Ezra had started off as a subcontractor in shipyards, and by 2012, had grown to become a US$984.2 million group in revenue, with activities encompassing marine and offshore support services and subsea construction. Although Ezra was a family-owned business, Lee was convinced that to enter the global stage and achieve its goals of internationalisation beyond the Asia-Pacific, the company would need someone with an experienced background who could provide the required leadership. On 31 December 2012, Ezra appointed an external candidate, Koh Poh Tiong, as the Chairman of its Board. Lee's son, Lionel, who had been with the company for ten years, remained as Ezra's Managing Director. Lee wondered if he was making the right move in appointing an external successor to the role of Chairman, and what were the implications of choosing an external successor for the company.

'Greenpac' - a Singapore-based company, offering green, innovative, packaging solutions to clients. Under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Susan Chong, Greenpac has positioned itself as a company that offers unique, customised solutions to its clients. It focuses mainly on design and innovation to come up with a 'green' solution at a reduced cost. Its clients are mostly companies dealing with high-end, sensitive equipment, such as surgical microscopes; and a majority of its clients are manufacturers of medical and defence equipment. In this case study, set in 2011, Greenpac has just made a pitch for an innovative packaging proposal to industry representatives of the ornamental fish industry in Singapore. Susan Chong (the CEO) has taken a conscious strategic decision for the company to step out of its comfort zone to enter an unfamiliar market. Greenpac has invested significant time, effort and money into the project. The packaging it has proposed is clearly superior to the existing packaging: it is green as well as innovative in terms of design and ease of handling. However, it is also significantly costlier. Will the industry representatives agree to go with this solution? Will they have the long-term vision to adopt an innovative solution even though it will increase cost? Or will they be conservative and stay focused on their bottom line?

Dodla Dairy, a family owned dairy business based in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, India, has successfully made its mark on the Indian liquid milk industry, but now needs to move to the next level. The company is considering a backward integration initiative into the dairy farming business, but is faced with internal limitations of capital constraint and limited risk propensity. D. Sunil Reddy, the managing director of Dodla Dairy, is looking at the option of getting an external partner on board via private equity. This would not only help him to bring in the needed resources, but also provide him with the expertise to rapidly enter into the dairy farming sector, which is a relatively new area for him. However, he must decide carefully, would the benefits of bringing in an external private equity partner be worth the dilution of control that would come along with this option?

After studying medicine and specialising in paediatrics in India, Dr Vibha Krishnamurthy, the founder and Medical Director of Ummeed, underwent further training in children's developmental disabilities in the US. The resources available at the centres there highlighted the lack of similar facilities in India. After relocating to India in 1998, she decided to set out on her own. In November 2001, supported by her husband, Vibha founded Ummeed - a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that provides an integrated medical and therapeutic support system for children with developmental disabilities. Founded with an initial staff of only three, Ummeed has grown to include about 50 professionals, ranging from paediatricians to therapists and social workers. It has also moved into areas of training, research and advocacy, and is increasingly well regarded as one of India's leading NGOs, respected for its work with children with disabilities. But with this growth, the constant challenge to procure adequate funding has been exacerbated. Ummeed's strategic plan and business model is built around the theory that if it were able to access children with disabilities early through their families, it could maximise their outcomes for educational, financial and social achievement. Hence, its business model involves creating ways to access families by building awareness and demand in communities, with subsequent capacity building and training. But is this the most effective way to create a change for children with disabilities? Vibha also recognises that Ummeed's evolution has brought her to a crossroads where a decision will soon have to be made: while on the one hand, she would like to keep Ummeed 'small', retaining the personalised organisation culture that she has embedded at all levels - on the other hand, she would like to scale-up Ummeed, so that it could extend its reach. How should Ummeed position itself? What would be the best way to create an impact in this field?