John Whitehead: A Life in Leadership

William W. George; Andrew N. McLean

Case | HBS Case Collection | November 2005 (Revised August 2006)

John Whitehead: A Life in Leadership

by William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

Abstract

In 2005, John C. Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. (LMDC), confronts the collapse of a delicate agreement among business, government, and public interests in rebuilding on the World Trade Center site. Provides information on the leadership development of the protagonist, tracing his youth and education, his military service, his leadership at Goldman Sachs and the State Department, his long involvement in philanthropy and nonprofit enterprises, and his chairmanship of the LMDC. Raises questions about leadership legacies and the application of different leadership tools across a range of tasks and environments.

Keywords: Education; Construction; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Biography; Leadership; Leadership Development; Agreements and Arrangements; Nonprofit Organizations;

Language: English

Format: Print

14 pages

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Citation:

George, William W., and Andrew N. McLean. "John Whitehead: A Life in Leadership." Harvard Business School Case 406-024, November 2005. (Revised August 2006.)

Some CEOs remain in the role too long, hurting investors, employees, and their own legacy. The author sees a frequent reason for that: CEOs don’t know how to identify the optimal time to retire, and they procrastinate because they can’t imagine what they will do after they leave the job. In this article he presents questions that chief executives can ask themselves to determine the right time for an exit; a step-by-step process for stepping down; and an overview of the options a former CEO may find fulfilling.

The case, “Facebook Confronts a Crisis of Trust,” starts with the crisis Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is facing in March 2018 over Cambridge Analytica’s accessing data from 87 million Facebook accounts in order to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. The case covers Facebook’s advertising business model, the Congressional uproar that follows, the opposing views of Apple CEO Tim Cook, and pending regulations of user privacy. The case provides an opportunity to discuss why Zuckerberg handled the crisis as he did, plus the importance of user trust, the role of the new technology giants in protecting user privacy, and the potential for regulating the treatment of private user information.

Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2017

Battle for the Soul of Capitalism: Unilever and the Kraft Heinz Takeover Bid (A)

William W. George and Amram Migdal

This case describes Kraft Heinz Company’s (KHC) February 2017 unsolicited $143 billion takeover offer to acquire Unilever. The offer was made to Unilever CEO Paul Polman by KHC chairman Alexandre Behring, who was also co-founder and CEO of Brazilian-based 3G Capital (3G). Since being acquired by 3G in 2013, KHC profit margins had increased by more than half, to 28%, well above food industry averages, as its share price rose 24%. The case examines the divergent approaches to value creation embraced by 3G and Unilever, respectively. 3G had a well-earned reputation for immediate return to shareholders by cutting costs in its acquired companies, creating rapid increases in earnings and cash flow. Under the leadership of co-founder Jorge Paulo Lemann, 3G had teamed with Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway in recent years on the acquisitions of Burger King, which then bought Tim Horton’s in Canada, and H.J. Heinz, which subsequently acquired Kraft Foods. Under Polman’s leadership, Unilever focused on long-term shareholder value accretion with a multi-stakeholder approach that emphasized global growth in revenues and earnings through deep penetration in rapidly growing emerging markets and creation of competitive advantage through sustainability. In Polman’s eight years at the helm, Unilever had delivered a 190% return to its shareholders. The case presents Polman’s dilemma: a takeover of Unilever by KHC/3G could erode the company’s commitment to sustainability and a multi-stakeholder model, and the 18% premium of KHC/3G’s offer undervalued Unilever and its long-term value creation strategy. However, 3G’s emphasis on efficiency could enhance Unilever’s profitability, and Polman was obliged to give serious consideration to the KHC offer and whether it would drive near-term value creation for Unilever shareholders.

Keywords: Acquisition; Value Creation; Decision Choices and Conditions;

Citation:

George, William W., and Amram Migdal. "Battle for the Soul of Capitalism: Unilever and the Kraft Heinz Takeover Bid (A)." Harvard Business School Case 317-127, May 2017. View Details

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