Knoll Furniture: Going Public

Paul A. Gompers; Jon Asher Daniels

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Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2002

Knoll Furniture: Going Public

by Paul A. Gompers and Jon Asher Daniels

Abstract

This case examines the decisions of John Lynch, president and CEO of Knoll Furniture, to go public in early 1997. Knoll went private in an LBO in 1996 and Warburg Pincus, the LBO sponsor, wants Lynch to take Knoll public. Lynch needs to weigh the positive and negative issues of a public offering.

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Decisions; Initial Public Offering; Going Public; Privatization;

Language: English

Format: Print

26 pages

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Citation:

Gompers, Paul A., and Jon Asher Daniels. "Knoll Furniture: Going Public." Harvard Business School Case 202-114, April 2002.

About the Author

Paul A. Gompers

Eugene Holman Professor of Business Administration

Finance

Entrepreneurial Management

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Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2018

Clover Food Lab

Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali

Citation:
Gompers, Paul, and Silpa Kovvali. "Clover Food Lab." Harvard Business School Case 818-073, March 2018. View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2018

Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad

Rohit Deshpandé, Paul A. Gompers and Scott Duke Kominers

Silkroad — a cross-cultural music collaboration that world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma had spearheaded since 1998, was preparing to celebrate its twentieth anniversary. In parallel, Ma was stepping back from his role as the organization’s Artistic Director. Silkroad had come of age, gaining international recognition for its uniquely global music, which blended musical traditions from across the world — especially Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America. The Ensemble had also forged strong partnerships with universities, local governments, and civic groups, and developed an array of outreach programs to help people understand and express themselves through music. Ma was confident that there could be no better time to hand over leadership. But the transition was bittersweet: He felt a deep personal connection both to the Ensemble as a whole and to every one of its performers and staff members. And he wondered how reducing his involvement would affect the organization’s sustainability.

Keywords: Cultural entrepreneurship; Managing diverse teams; Leadership transitions; Global innovation; nonprofit organizations; music; Cultural Entrepreneurship; Nonprofit Organizations; Music Entertainment; Leadership; Transition;

Citation:
Deshpandé, Rohit, Paul A. Gompers, and Scott Duke Kominers. "Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad." Harvard Business School Case 818-110, March 2018. View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2018

Nykaa.com: A Passion for Beauty

Paul Gompers, Anjali Raina and Rachna Chawla

The experience of being an entrepreneur was a childhood dream for Falguni Nayar. The opportunity to build Nykaa.com, a woman centered business, with a multi brand retail format in the beauty and wellness space, and the fact that she was doing it with her daughter Adwaita ( HBS MBA 2013) made it both exciting and meaningful. Still, she was the founder and with that came control over the most important decisions. While she sought advice from many people, Nykaa, like Adwaita, was her baby. How should she structure the organization and the team to best deliver the results she wanted?

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Technology; Human Resources; Brands and Branding; Operations; Marketing; Decision Making;

Citation:
Gompers, Paul, Anjali Raina, and Rachna Chawla. "Nykaa.com: A Passion for Beauty." Harvard Business School Case 218-049, February 2018. View Details

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Knoll Furniture: Going Public

Abstract

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