More from the Author

• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Novartis: Leading a Global Enterprise

  William W. George, Krishna G. Palepu and Carin-Isabel Knoop

  Novartis, the world's leading healthcare company, was formed in 1996 out of a merger of two very different, mid-tier Switzerland-based pharma companies. The case traces the company's evolution over the past 17 years, as it transformed into a truly global enterprise with 127,000 employees of 153 nationalities in 140 countries generating $56.7 billion in 2012 revenues and $9.6 billion in net income, making the firm one of the world's largest and most profitable companies. CEO since 2010, Joe Jimenez had taken over from one of the merger's architects and visionary legacy CEO Daniel Vasella. He recognized that the global health care environment would create severe challenges for Novartis in the years ahead and that Novartis needed to make sure it had the right strategy, structure, talent and spirit to live up to its ambitions.

  Citation:

  George, William W., Krishna G. Palepu, and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "Novartis: Leading a Global Enterprise." Harvard Business School Case 413-096, May 2013.

  CiteView Details

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013

  Unilever's Paul Polman: Developing Global Leaders

  Bill George, Krishna G. Palepu, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble

  Citation:

  George, Bill, Krishna G. Palepu, Carin-Isabel Knoop, and Matthew Preble. "Unilever's Paul Polman: Developing Global Leaders." Harvard Business School Case 413-097, May 2013.

  CiteView Details

  Related

• Case | HBS Case Collection | 2013 (Revised from original 2013 version)

  Omar Ishrak: Building Medtronic Globally

  Bill George and Natalie Kindred

  Omar Ishrak, Medtronic's first non-American CEO, aims to reinvigorate the medical device maker's growth by focusing on emerging markets, therapy innovation, and creative business models. In 2012, budget constraints in mature economies, the lack of new medical therapies coming to market, and the decline in growth of Medtronic's core businesses has reduced the company's once dynamic growth close to zero. As the newly appointed CEO, Ishrak faces the formidable challenge of restoring the company's growth. In his first 18 months as CEO, he has laid the groundwork for future growth by ramping up R&D investment in breakthrough therapy innovations. To bolster Medtronic's near-term prospects, he has supported creative product and business model innovations aimed at overcoming adoption barriers in emerging economies. Ishrak restructured his executive team and their responsibilities: the heads of Medtronic's global operating regions and major countries, who previously reported to the head of international, now report directly to the CEO, putting seven non-Americans on the executive committee. In another important milestone, Medtronic acquired a Chinese orthopedics company, which became its first fully integrated business unit outside the U.S. Ishrak is trying to decide whether these steps are sufficient to transform Medtronic from a multinational into a truly global company and restore its growth.

  Keywords: healthcare; medical devices; Medtronic; globalization; leadership; emerging markets; innovation; reverse innovation;

  Citation:

  George, Bill, and Natalie Kindred. "Omar Ishrak: Building Medtronic Globally." Harvard Business School Case 413-065, May 2013. (Revised from original March 2013 version.)

  CiteView DetailsPurchase

  Related