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- Faculty Publications (92)
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- All HBS Web (284)
- Faculty Publications (92)
Ira C. Copley
Copley revived his father’s utility corporation by marketing gas as a fuel instead of an illuminant. Copley went on to acquire other utility companies, which he merged in 1905 to form Western United Gas and Electric Company, later renamed Western Utility Corporation,... View Details
Keywords: Utilities & Energy
Arthur E. Andersen
Andersen built a small auditing firm into one of the largest accounting consultancy operations in the world. Andersen capitalized on the passage of federal income tax laws in the early decades of the twentieth century to build his business initially. He was one of the... View Details
Keywords: Services
William Wrigley III
Throughout William III’s early years at the family firm, Wrigley’s gum enjoyed a substantial lead in its industry. However, by the time he assumed the presidency in 1961, sugarless gum, and later bubble gum, were chipping away at that lead. Wrigley began to invest... View Details
Keywords: Food & Tobacco
Charles R. Walgreen
Though Walgreen was trained as a pharmacist, he was an equally astute businessman. Walgreen personally manufactured some of his drugs in order to be able to maintain profitable low prices, and he also offered Walgreens branded merchandise and other services in his... View Details
Keywords: Retail
Frank A. Vanderlip
Because of his extensive study of European public and private financing systems during 1901, Vanderlip helped National City Bank become a tremendous resource for American businesses wishing to expand abroad. Vanderlip’s international interest led to the building of the... View Details
Keywords: Finance
Jane Trahey
Trahey was one of the first women to own and manage a major advertising agency in the United States. A prolific copywriter and author, Trahey is credited with the inspiration for the long-running “What becomes a legend most?” campaign for Blackglama mink. Her agency... View Details
Keywords: Services
Thomas M. Siebel
Siebel founded his firm in 1993 as a provider of sales force automation systems. Though his firm quickly became a major player in sales force automation, Siebel Systems achieved tremendous growth when its software was applied to customer service functions. In many... View Details
Keywords: Computers & Electronics
Edward W. Scripps
Beginning with the purchase of the Cleveland Penny Press, a cheep mass-market publication in 1878, Scripps went on to build the first newspaper chain in the United States. Through a series of acquisitions, he formed United Press International consisting of 34... View Details
Keywords: Publishing & Print Media
Donald H. Rumsfeld
After Daniel Searle had all but run his family’s company into the ground, Rumsfeld took over and began cutting costs across the board. After selling off the majority of Searle’s non-pharmaceutical business with the exception of the Pearle Vision chain, Rumsfeld’s... View Details
Keywords: Healthcare
Michael Ovitz
Ovitz founded and led one of the most successful talent agencies in Hollywood. By representing both scriptwriters and actors he was able to offer a unique service that often resulted in the packaging of the two talents. For the 20 years that he led the agency, he was... View Details
Keywords: Services
George J. Mecherle
Leaving the family farm in 1918 to tend to his ailing spouse, Mecherle joined an automobile insurance company and quickly discovered that farmers were charged the same auto insurance rates as non-farmers even though they were consistently less accident prone. Since his... View Details
Keywords: Finance
Oscar Gustave Mayer
Mayer is responsible for Oscar Mayer and Company’s rapid growth. Under his leadership, he laid the foundation for a billion dollar operation – a far cry from the $200 million operation he had inherited. View Details
Keywords: Food & Tobacco
Bruce E. Karatz
Karatz has led KB Home during a period of immense growth. When he took over the CEO position, the company was selling and delivering 4,000 prefabricated homes a year. By 2003, the company was producing and selling over 27,000 homes. Karatz grew the business through... View Details
Keywords: Construction & Real Estate
F. Kenneth Iverson
Iverson pioneered the mini steel mill and, in the process, reinvented the steel industry. By the early 1980s, Nucor Corporation had grown into the most profitable carbon-steel operation in the world. In 1984, it produced 1.5 million tons of steel, with sales of $660... View Details
Keywords: Metals
Haroldson L. Hunt
Hunt built the largest independent oil company in the U.S. During World War II, Hunt sold more oil to the Allies than the total German output, and supplied 85% of the natural gas piped into the eastern United States. By the 1970s, his fortune, through major... View Details
Keywords: Utilities & Energy
Hugh M. Hefner
In 1953, Hefner broke out of the conventional sleaze of the adult entertainment business by indulging the fantasies of the middle class executive male and including interviews with high profile celebrities and editorial content from well-respected literary figures in... View Details
Keywords: Publishing & Print Media
Louis K. Eilers
Eilers presided over 5 years of consecutive Top 50 market value performance. He developed new products and services, most notably in the area of petrochemicals. View Details
Keywords: Fabricated Goods
Alfred B. Dick Jr.
During World War II, under Dick’s direction, approximately 50% of A. B. Dick and Company’s facilities were devoted to war materials production. After the war, Dick launched the 400 series of A. B. Dick Mimeographs. Dick expanded the company to emerge as one of the few... View Details
Keywords: Fabricated Goods
Alfred B. Dick
Dick conceived the idea for the mimeograph, and secured permission from Thomas Edison for what would become known as the Edison-Dick Mimeograph. At the time of Dick’s death, the Edison-Dick Mimeograph had become virtually indispensable to every kind of public and... View Details
Keywords: Fabricated Goods
Morse G. Dial
Dial was instrumental in the growth and diversification of Union Carbide. He strongly supported research and development, and it was with this foresight that Union Carbide was able to become a leading producer of chemicals and plastics. View Details
Keywords: Chemicals & Industrial