Publications

October 2023
Case

Shredder Setups or Straightlining into Risk?: Investing in What You Love

By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger

Bob Hall, President of Green Gables Partners, evaluated whether to angel invest into an up-and-coming ski brand. As the son-in-law of the founder of Vera Bradley and having retired from a lengthy career on Wall Street, Hall was well-versed in both direct investing and... View Details

Keywords: Family Office; Angel Investors; Direct Investment; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Small Business; Financial Strategy; Personal Finance; Investment Portfolio; Private Equity; Decision Choices and Conditions; Risk and Uncertainty; Consumer Products Industry; Montana; United States

22 Nov 2023
News

So You Want to Join a Startup

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: At age 29, Gus Bessalel (MBA 1988) decided to leave consulting for a decidedly less glamorous life as an entrepreneur, working out of a storage room in the bowels of an underground hotel... View Details

28 Jun 2021
Research & Ideas

Keep or Cut Workers? How Companies Reacted to the COVID-19 Crisis

financial flexibility—that is, plenty of cash in the bank—were able to continue operating without making deep cuts, compared to companies with smaller cash reserves, the findings showed. While some companies with high cash reserves... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

09 Jan 2024
Blog Post

Insights From Harvard Business School’s Peek Program

students to learn about the HBS community and student experience, and hear about MBA admissions and financial aid. We spoke with Yue Yu, a graduate of Connecticut College and a current master's student at Vanderbilt University, originally... View Details

Web

Social Enterprise - Faculty & Research

on political councils, political legacy, and financial resources—affect the likelihood of firms issuing CSR reports. Second, we focus on the symbolic nature of CSR reporting and how variance in the risk of government monitoring through... View Details

May 2013
Case

Bridgewater Associates

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Heidi K. Gardner

Bridgewater Associates was the world's largest hedge fund with approximately $120 billion in assets under management in mid-2012, and its leaders attribute its record-beating performance to the firm's culture of "radical transparency." The founder, Ray Dalio, was... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance; Leadership Style; Investment; Financial Services Industry

April 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Teaching Note

Buffett's Bid for Media General's Newspapers

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Annelena Lobb

On May 12, 2012, BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced an offer to buy Media General's (MEG) newspaper division for $142 million in cash and provide debt financing to the struggling firm. Reactions from investors and industry... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Risk Management; Executive Compensation; Cash Flow; Business Exit or Shutdown; Media; Advertising; Restructuring; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

June 2013 (Revised April 2015)
Case

Buffett's Bid for Media General's Newspapers

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

On May 12, 2012, BH Media Group, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, announced an offer to buy Media General's (MEG) newspaper division for $142 million in cash and provide debt financing to the struggling firm. Reactions from investors and industry... View Details

Keywords: Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Bankruptcy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Capital Structure; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Financial Strategy; Risk Management; Executive Compensation; Cash Flow; Business Exit or Shutdown; Media; Advertising; Restructuring; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

13 Aug 2020
Blog Post

The U.S. Job Search for International Students

given student’s unique career vision, they are going to utilize different approaches to the job search, and a lot of this revolves around timing. Some companies, typically the large MBA employers – such as large consulting, financial... View Details

April 2013 (Revised June 2016)
Case

AIG and the American Taxpayers (A)

By: Karthik Ramanna and Matthew Shaffer

Explores the decision faced by AIG's board on whether to join shareholder and ex-CEO Maurice Greenberg's lawsuit against the U.S. government. The suit, argued by super-lawyer David Boies (of Bush v. Gore and California Gay Marriage fame), claims that in September 2008... View Details

Keywords: Property Rights; Financial Institutions; Financial Markets; Financial Crisis; Property; Insurance Industry; United States

01 Dec 2023
News

Venturing Forth

“Right now the industry is going through a massive hangover after a complete rager,” says Jo Tango (MBA 1995), a senior lecturer at HBS and a venture capitalist who has exited from three unicorns. Like any financial industry, venture... View Details

Keywords: Janelle Nanos; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

Web

Rock Entrepreneurship Advisor Program - Entrepreneurship

Partner Photon Venture Partners Alex Jiang Alpha Startup Fund Beijing, China Michael Kaplan Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer MKaps LLC Mickey Konson CEO Quantum Financial Technologies Washington DC Kelsey Morgan Pasqualichio New... View Details

June 2021
Case

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments): April 2021

By: Josh Lerner, Reza Satchu and Alys Ferragamo

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is one of the largest pools of investment capital in the world and follows a rigorous “Total Portfolio Framework” in its approach to investment management. In April of 2021, John Graham was just two months into his role... View Details

Keywords: Pension Funds; Investment Strategy; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Investment; Asset Management; Financial Institutions; Private Equity; Growth and Development Strategy; Investment Portfolio; Assets; Financial Markets; Financial Services Industry; Canada

Web

Faculty & Researchers - Managing the Future of Work

and academic case writer, he has covered business, science and technology, public policy, design, and sustainability for The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Economist, Wired, Metropolis, FastCompany, and other publications. He... View Details

January–February 2014
Article

Building a Game-Changing Talent Strategy

By: Douglas A. Ready, Linda A. Hill and Robert J. Thomas

When most of the world's financial services giants were stumbling and retrenching in the aftermath of the 2008 recession, the asset management firm BlackRock was busy charting a course for growth. Its revenues, profits, and stock price all performed consistently... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Success; Business Strategy; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry

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May 1995 (Revised April 1998)
Case

AT&T Paradyne

By: Robert S. Kaplan

A company making data communication devices has adopted a Total Quality philosophy for working with suppliers, employees, and customers. The finance group finds its existing cost system has become obsolete because of a shift from manual to automatic production... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Product; Corporate Accountability; Activity Based Costing and Management; System; Performance Efficiency; Financial Reporting; Operations; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry

January 1994 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

By: Stephen P. Bradley and Pankaj Ghemawat

Focuses on the evolution of Wal-Mart's remarkably successful discount operations and describes the company's more recent attempts to diversify into other businesses. The company has entered the warehouse club industry with its Sam's Clubs and the grocery business with... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Price; Marketing Channels; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Information Technology